Matt Fitzpatrick defeated defending champion Jordan Spieth in an dramatic play-off to claim the RBC Heritage title in South Carolina.
Both golfers spent time at the summit of the leaderboard during different stages of Sunday’s final round with Fitzpatrick leading by two shots right at the start while Spieth showed his quality hitting four birdies in the first six holes to put him level and then lead when Fitzpatrick dropped a stroke on the par-three seventh. But nothing could separate the two at the end forcing the play-off.
This is the second consecutive year the tournament has ended with a play-off as both Fitzpatrick and Spieth tied on 17-under at Harbour Town.
Both missed the chance to clinch victory after the two extra holes but it was Fitzpatrick who eventually came out on top sinking a birdie on the third to collect his first win of the 2022-23 season.
Victory meant that Fitzpatrick became only the second Englishman to win the RBC Heritage after Nick Faldo who won the competition in 1984.
“Of every single one on the calendar, this is the one I wanted to win the most,” Fitzpatrick said speaking to Sky Sports. “I feel so far I’ve been very lucky in my career – I’ve won a major and now this.
“Obviously Jordan got off to a fast start doing Jordan Spieth things on hole No 1, so I just felt I had to be real patient. Certainly when I’ve played well, that’s a real strength of mine.
“To be a winner here, every year I’ve driven down the drive and you see the winners here and I’ve always thought ‘I want to be one of those’ – and here I am.”
Patrick Cantlay, runner-up in the tournament last year, finished behind the duo in third on 16-under while a late surge from Xander Schauffele meant he ended in fourth.
2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm finished on 11-under alongside Tommy Fleetwood.
The next event on the PGA TOUR is the Zurich Classic of New Orleans taking place between April 20-23 at TPC Louisiana.