'Winning away' Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick silences 'U-S-A' chants

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Matt Fitzpatrick not only had to withstand the Pete Dye design at Harbour Town Golf Links and the challenge of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler for 19 holes on Sunday, but he also had to deal with patriotic Americans fans who chanted U-S-A at the Englishman. But Fitzpatrick had the perfect retort, a lovely 4-iron from 204 yards to 13 feet to setup a birdie that sealed the deal at the 2026 RBC Heritage.

“It didn't get out of line in terms of no one was shouting on backswings or anything like that, which was great, I’m all for it,” Fitzpatrick said. “You want golf to have an atmosphere, in my opinion. I grew up watching football. I'm paid so much money to be out there in front of those crowds, having them chanting at you every week, it's a great feeling. However, there's no better feeling than coming out on top against that. There isn't a better feeling.”

Matthew Fitzpatrick poses with the trophy after winning the 2026 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Fitzpatrick had his share of supporters given that he won this tournament previously in 2023 and he’s been adopted as one of their own by the locals as the story of how his family vacationed here and attended the annual PGA Tour stop during family vacations. Still, there were a few rotten apples to spoil the bunch.

“To describe it in my terms,” Fitzpatrick said, “it's kind of winning away against your biggest rival. Nothing to do with Scottie or the players; it's the fans that have sort of spurred me on there. It was nice to obviously win, but it never crossed the line. It was just loud. Just loud.”

Scheffler made things interesting with birdies on 15 and 16 to cut his deficit to one and snuck into the playoff when Fitzpatrick missed a 20-foot par putt for the win. He noted that the fan support spurred him on and he characterized it as not stepping over the lines as it did at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last fall.

“It's nice always to get some support from the crowd. I thought they were pretty cordial in terms of cheering for me and not cheering against Fitzy, so I was definitely appreciative of that,” he said.

Did Fitzpatrick, who was a member of the winning European side in 2025, find it odd that the fans turned it into a US-Europe contest in a non-Ryder Cup year?  Not really, and he said he embraced the chance to shut them up.