Fitzpatrick Win Will Make Him Youngest Top 100 Player
/While most of the golfing world was paying attention to the Presidents Cup, the British Masters was taken in wire-to-wire fashion by Matthew Fitzpatrick, 2013 U.S. Amateur champion who also attended Northwestern for about 20 minutes.
The win, which gave the re-born British Masters a little extra juice in an already successful relaunch, justifies the former Walker Cupper's decision to bail on school and adds yet another over-achieving youngster to the growing list of young talents.
Dempster writes:
However, add in the fact that this two-shot success means Fitzpatrick has become the youngest player to break into the world’s top 100 – he’s expected to move into the top 60 from 111th when the latest standings are published today – and the future lying ahead of the Yorkshireman could well see him become the heir apparent to European No 1 McIlroy.
“This is an unbelievable feeling and I know it won’t sink in for a long time,” admitted Fitzpatrick, who has moved to the top of the Ryder Cup points table and leapt to 12th in the Race to Dubai after picking up a trophy that had previously been in the hands of players like Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo."
As James Corrigan notes in his Telegraph story, Fitzpatrick is a man of modest needs right now, with his real focus on the golfing perk that is the world top 50.
Fitzpatrick also said this week that he wanted to earn enough to replace his Ford, which is the source of some “banter” in the locker room, with his fellow pros nicknaming him “Mondeo Man”. Yet this son of a bank manager has a bigger prize in mind.
Since playing in the Masters as an amateur two years ago it has been his mission to get back there as a pro. This victory lifts him from 111th in the rankings to the top 65 and within sight of the top-50 placing he requires. He knows what is at stake in the next couple of months.
“If you’re in the top 50 it opens so many doors and my dad says it’s self-perpetuating,” Fitzpatrick said. “The money is bigger, ranking points are bigger and your card is easier to keep.
He and his brother celebrated by having a big night out on the town...
