Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist Pro V1x) became Matt Fitzmagic with his win in the RBC Heritage.
I had him in two pools, including PG Golf, so I’m totally biased. I also had him in another pool.
But I don’t know if I’ve ever been so challenged emotionally hoping for a player I’ve picked to win.
When he shot an eight-under par in round three to rocket up in the standings and sit in first place going into round four, I was conflicted.
He had just played the round of his life and I knew he would not be able to duplicate that on Sunday.
My buddy, Dave Hilson, who is also in the PG Golf pool, texted me after Fitzpatrick’s round, and that’s when I talked to him about the bounce theory. In thoroughbred horse racing, when a horse runs the race of its life, or far better than its recent races, the likelihood is next time out it will not duplicate it. In effect the horse will “bounce.” Horses are not machines, and maybe everything worked out perfectly in that one race.
Now let’s compare it to golf. Have you ever had the round of your life and couldn’t wait to get back out because everything worked out perfectly? Did the fairways seem wider and the holes bigger? And then in the next round, it was the complete opposite? It’s just too hard to duplicate that great performance.
So, I knew Fitzpatrick was not going to have the same round the next day, it was just a matter of how much the dropoff would be. I didn’t expect the drop to be too much because he’s an elite player and a major winner. I also knew some player would shoot an amazing round the next day when everything works out perfectly. Think of Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5x) in the final round of the 2022 Masters and the amazing birdie from the bunker in the final hole?
Sahith Theegala (Titleist Pro V1) had a six-under to finished tied for fifth. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Titleist Pro V1) had the round of the day with a seven-under par to finish tied for 19th.
By comparison, Keegan Bradley (Srixon Z-Star) shot a seven-under par in round three and shot a four-over par in round four to fall 32 spots.
Only one player, Jordan Spieth (Titleist Pro V1x), had me truly worried going into the final round. He had gone from three-under after the first round, to four-under after the second round and five-under after the third round. He was the defending champion and everything pointed to him repeating, something he had never done in any tournament in his PGA Tour career.
When Fitzpatrick blew a short birdie attempt on the 17th hole to miss a chance to take the lead, I knew that could cost him the win. But then Spieth rimmed out on a birdie attempt in the first hole and he missed another opportunity – albeit not so dramatically – on the second hole to seal the deal. When Fitzpatrick’s second shot on the third playoff hole landed a foot from the cup and he had a tap-in to win, you just knew the golfing gods were going to reward him. When Spieth’s approach shot landed 26 feet from the hole and he couldn’t make the low-percentage birdie attempt, it was fairly obvious he had been cursed.
That’s the game of golf.
LPGA’S FIRST MAJOR: A few weeks ago, my editor asked me if I could write a little bit more about women’s golf, so I’ve started doing it. I’m looking forward to the first major of the season this season with The Chevron Championship, which runs Thursday to Sunday for the first time at The Woodlands in Texas at the Club at Carlton Woods. Jennifer Kupcho (Titleist Pro V1), who is about 70-1 in the various betting line, is the defending champion. The purse has been bumped up from $3.1 million to $5 million as part of Chevron’s partnership with the LPGA Tour.
Growing up, I loved watching this tournament, which was known as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner’s Circle or simply The Dinah and featured the winner jumping into the water. Back in the day – and I feel so old saying that – when there weren’t a zillion channels, the tournament received significant airtime. The tournament ended last year after its 51st year as part of the new sponsorship agreement with Chevron. So the tournament has a new home and a bigger purse. I wonder if the tradition of the winner jumping into the water will continue.
According to the various odds posted by the betting books, Lydia Ko (Titleist Pro V1x), Kelly Korda (TaylorMade TP5) and Jin Young Ho (TaylorMade TP5) are the favorites at about 10-1.
