Fitzpatrick, Caddies Shine In U.S. Amateur Final

Jimmy Golen's AP story on Matt Fitzpatrick's 4&3 win over Oliver Goss at the U.S. Amateur at The Country Club touched on many parts of the first English win since Harold Hilton(!), including this on his deceptive dominance.

From Golen's report:

Fitzpatrick never trailed in the final match, taking the lead for good on the second hole of the afternoon round - the 20th of the day - and going 2 up one hole later. Goss cut it to one on No. 9, but fell behind two again on the 10th hole when he lipped out on a 4-foot putt.

Fitzpatrick went 3 up on the 14th hole and then on No. 15, where he had won four of his previous five matches, he was short of the green and Goss was off the back.

Goss' chip missed the hole by about 6 inches and rolled 3 feet past, while. Fitzpatrick two-putted from the closely mown area leading up to the green, hitting his second from less than 6 feet. When Goss missed his par putt, the two shook hands and Fitzpatrick hugged his brother, Alex, who was caddying for him.

"It was nice to win 4 and 3 again today," Fitzpatrick said. "It's kind of a strange thing. I did have a feeling that I could close it out."

Fitzpatrick, who was the low amateur last month in the British Open, got a gold medal for his victory along with exemptions into the 2014 U.S. and British Opens - where he will be paired with defending champions Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose - and a likely invitation to the Masters. His name will be inscribed on the Havemeyer Trophy alongside five-time winner Bobby Jones, three-time winner Tiger Woods and two-time winners Jack Nicklaus and Ouimet.

It's the first time Englishmen have won the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same calendar year.

The story of the caddies was as compelling as the matches, particularly considering this was the home of Eddie Lowery. Saturday, Ryan Lavner noted the amazing occurrence of semi-final loser Brady Watt picking up Goss' bag for the final, where there was Fitzpatrick's younger brother on his bag. Still, it'd be great to know if a semi-finalist has ever looped for the man he lost to the next day? (NBC showed a photo of Watt and Goss going to a Red Sox game Friday night on the eve of their match!)

NBC's coverage, however, lacked one of those thrilling, pulsating and buzz-killing interviews with a member of the USGA Executive Committee or senior staff. The poor affiliates losing out on such a ratings booster.

Anyway, in his story from Sunday, Lavner noted this about Fitzpatrick, who is following in Luke Donald's footsteps by attending Northwestern.

The Fitzpatrick family has a four-year college plan in place, however, no matter how impressive and mature Matt has seemed this summer in earning low-amateur honors at the British Open and winning the U.S. Amateur, all in a four-week span.

“This might be as good as it ever gets,” Russell Fitzpatrick said. “You just never know. Professional sport is really, really tough. I’ve seen players turn pro, and we never hear from them again. If he decides to play professional golf someday, he has no pressure because he knows he has a fallback option. If he turns pro after one year and it doesn’t work out, and he doesn’t have a degree, if he’s just a flash in the pan, then what’s he go with?”

A super USGA image gallery from the final.

Matt Fitzpatrick's post-win interview with Jessica Marksbury.

Fitzpatrick's parents were interviewed.

Oliver Goss' post-match interview.