Matt Fitzpatrick admits the 122nd U.S. Open holds a special significance as the in-form Englishman hopes to draw on inspiration from his 2013 US Amateur Championship success and challenge for a maiden Major title at Brookline.
The 27-year-old returns to The Country Club in Boston for the third men’s Major Championship of 2022, nine years after he beat American Oliver Goss to win one of the most prestigious titles in the amateur ranks.
Fitzpatrick, ranked 18th in the Official World Golf Ranking, is widely regarded as one of the tournament favourites this week after some excellent performances worldwide so far this year, including finishing a tie for fifth at the most recent Major – the US PGA Championship.
“This U.S. Open is different for obvious reasons for me just because of winning the U.S. Amateur here and just having such an amazing experience last time,” said Fitzpatrick at his pre-tournament news conference.
“For me, I feel like this week is about just enjoying it and knowing that I do have a chance because, A, I've had success here before, even though it was a long time ago, and B, I've been playing well.
“I'm just really looking forward to it. It's been on my radar for years that I knew it was obviously coming here.
“I'm staying with the family I stayed with when I played the Amateur here and my parents are here as well, so I'm just really excited for the week more than anything.
“I’ve been back (to Brookline) a few times since and love coming back here. Obviously, I loved having my family here the whole week and having my brother (Alex) on the bag was really special.
“It’s a memory that will live with me forever. I can’t believe it’s nine years ago really. It’s crazy how fast it’s gone.”
I'm staying with the family I stayed with when I played the Amateur here and my parents are here as well, so I'm just really excited for the week more than anything.
Fitzpatrick played in the last group in the final round at Southern Hills last month and missed out on a play-off between Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris by two shots after a closing three-over 67.
The seven-time DP World Tour winner registered a seventh top-ten finish in just 12 appearances this year at last week’s RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR, and he is determined to focus on the positives of his near miss at the US PGA Championship.
“I’ve still not really had a chance to do a full reflection, to be fair,” the two-time Ryder Cup player said. “I was home for a few days and then left to go to a wedding and then this is my third week (competing) in a row.
“Obviously, it was disappointing at first when you come off the golf course and sort of the realization that you had a chance to win, and you’ve not taken it.
“But it’s funny, I was actually more angry about my finish in 2021 when I tripled the 17th at Kiawah than I was finishing the way I finished a few weeks ago.
“I think that probably shows me how much I’ve come along as a player and also maybe just sort of got better mentally, just kind of accepting it is what it is, and more taking the positives out of it than the negatives.
“Billy (Foster, his caddie) has obviously experienced that a lot himself, and he just sort of said the same thing. The more chances you give yourself, you’re eventually going to knock one of them off.
“I think that’s what he told me – and that’s what I believe in.”
Two-time Ryder Cup player Fitzpatrick, who is making his 29th appearance in a Major this week, is aiming to become the first Briton to win the U.S. Open since Justin Rose in 2013 – the year the Sheffield-born golferbecame the first Englishman to win the US Amateur Championship title since 1911.
“If I look back at my game nine years ago, I would say I’m the same player but a very different player,” added Fitzpatrick, who will play alongside two-time Major winner Dustin Johnson and 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson in the first two rounds.
“My strengths are still my strengths, but they’ve just got better in my opinion.
“I think looking at what I’ve achieved, sometimes maybe I don’t give myself enough credit for what I have done, but I’m always trying to get better, I’m always trying to do things better and find ways I can improve.”
