Matt Fitzpatrick’s coach picks out his biggest strength after third PGA Tour win of the season

Matt Fitzpatrick’s coach says his clutchness is his biggest strength

Fitzpatrick has established himself as one of the greatest clutch performers in golf over the last two weeks. He won in a playoff against Scottie Scheffler at the RBC Heritage and hit the shot of the tournament out of the bunker on the 18th to win the Zurich.

His coach, Mark Blackburn, said that’s always been his strength. He told Gravy & The Sleeze: “Going back to when he was a kid, if you look at him going over to the States and then winning the US-Am with Alex on the bag, when he was about 18, he’s very, very good in big moments. 

“Phil Kenyon’s known him since he was a kid, and Phil was like, ‘The kid does not get stage fright.’ Any situation he’s very stoic, he’s got ice running through his veins, he runs very, very cold, as I call it, which I think is a massive asset under pressure.

“He’s certainly someone you would like to hit a shot for you if your life was on the line. He’s brilliant. His demeanor doesn’t change from Monday at a tournament. You’re talking football, a bunch of different stuff, and he’s the same on a Sunday.

“Most of the other players I coach get a little bit more amplified as the week goes on. But Matt is cool as a cucumber. And I think that’s one of the things that makes him so good under pressure and playing hard golf courses.

“He’s very resilient, quite stoic, and I think that’s one of the things that really sets him apart.”

He’s gone toe-to-toe with the best in the game in the highest pressure moments the PGA Tour can offer and produced two of the best shots of his life- the four iron in a playoff at Harbour Town, and a bunker shot on the 72nd hole in New Orleans.

So if anyone had any questions about his mental fortitude before, they have been answered emphatically now.