For his fairway approach on the third playoff hole against Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage on Sunday, Team Troon’s Matt Fitzpatrick chose a 9-iron, just as he did for an unforgettable bunker shot on the final hole while winning last year’s U.S. Open in Brookline, Mass.. The result this time was equally memorable. His shot ended up a foot from the hole, leaving an easy birdie putt that clinched his second PGA TOUR win. Even better? It was a home game of sorts for the 28-year-old Englishman. He and his family have vacationed annually on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina since 2000, when Matt was six years old. 

“Yeah, this one is the one that I’ve always wanted to win,” he said afterwards. “Any golf tournament, you know, other than the majors, of course, there isn’t a higher one on my list than to win this one, and that’s the truth. My family can tell you that, and my friends can tell you the same thing. This place is just a special place for me, and it means the world to have won it.”

When asked if he felt this win validated his success at last year’s U.S. Open., Fitzpatrick responded, “Yes and no, I guess. I don’t feel like — I feel like winning the U.S. Open is probably enough, but I think — I’m sure people are going to be like, oh, this golf course suits him perfectly, as well. But if you look at my results here, that’s not necessarily the case. I’ve missed the cut a few times. I’ve finished middle of the pack a couple times, and I’ve added some good finishes (his previous best was tie for fourth in 2021). I just feel like I played really well this week, and I felt solid coming in off the weekend of last week, and just took it through into the rest of the week.”

It was quite a week all-around for Team Troon. At 10-under, Matt Kuchar finished tied for 19th, his seventh top-20 finish this season. Justin Thomas fired a final round 66 to end up tied for 25th, while Gary Woodland, after starting off with rounds of 69 and 68, wound up tied for 31st.

Next up for Fitzpatrick, now ranked 8th in the Official World Golf Rankings, is the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he will pair with his brother Alex in an alternating-round Four-ball and Foursomes format. 

For the third consecutive year Yealimi Noh made the cut at the LOTTE Championship at Hoakalei Country Club in Ewa Beach, Oahu, Hawai‘i. Although she finished in 72nd place, Noh has now made the cut in each of her three appearances on the LPGA Tour in 2023. Next up for her is the LPGA’s first major this season: The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods, The Woodlands, Texas, April 20-23. On PGA CHAMPIONS, Colin Montgomerie will also be in Texas, competing in the Invited Celebrity Classic at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving. 

For more information on Team Troon, go to https://old.troon.com/about-troon/team-troon/.