Matthew Fitzpatrick would not have needed to play in the final group with Scottie Scheffler on the penultimate day of The Open Championship to know just how good the world number one truly is.
Scottie Scheffler appears to have more than one hand on the Claret Jug after three rounds at Royal Portrush. The world number one made 15 pars on Saturday at The Open Championship, and yet, his lead increased by three.
Matthew Fitzpatrick posted a level par round on Saturday. However, the Englishman now finds himself five shots back as he prepares to tee it up with Rory McIlroy in the final round.
Fitzpatrick struggled to get any real momentum going up against Scheffler. With that, he has got a monumental task if he is going to win a second major title on Sunday.
Matthew Fitzpatrick explains the difference between himself and Scottie Scheffler during the third round at The Open Championship
You would imagine that Fitzpatrick is going to need to at least match his best round of the week – a 66 on Friday – to stand any chance of catching Scheffler.
And if he is going to do that, he is going to need his putter to be a lot more clinical when opportunities present themselves.
Speaking after his third round, Fitzpatrick suggested that the big difference between himself and Scheffler came on the greens.
“Just didn’t make any putts. I didn’t hit it close enough. Drove it well enough, didn’t hit it close enough. Just made way less putts than Scottie,” he said.
“They just wouldn’t go in. That’s the long and short of it. They went in yesterday. They didn’t go in today. I just felt like I left myself too many short, mid-range, like five to eight feet. Obviously that starts to build up a lot of pressure as the round goes on, and never gave myself a lot of chances with the irons to kind of make anything. So you’re hoping for a 25, 30 footer to go in. That’s just hard to sustain over the course of 18.”
Scottie Scheffler could be about to stroll to glory at Royal Portrush if his putter remains hot on Sunday
You never know what could happen over the final 18 holes. Scheffler surprisingly opened the door for Jon Rahm at the PGA Championship before managing to get across the line.
But clearly, his peers are preparing to need the round of their careers if they are going to catch the 29-year-old around the links, as Fitzpatrick noted.
“Let’s be realistic, he’s five ahead. It’s not easy. But if you get off to a good start, then obviously put a bit of pressure on early doors and hope for the best really. You get three under through six, like some of the guys today, seven the par five, and all of a sudden you’re kind of right back in it, you would hope,” he said.
“For the most part, you don’t want to be behind, you want to be leading as much as you can. It’s clear what I have to do tomorrow.”
It is remarkable to think that Scheffler’s putting has become such a strength in his game. Many fans spent much of 2023 and 2024 wondering what level he could reach if he became a better than average – by PGA Tour standards – putter.
Fitzpatrick was asked about the admiration he has for Scheffler’s improvement on the putting surfaces.
“Yeah, obviously — yeah, I guess it’s mixed. At the end of the day, it’s your job. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to put the work in. It’s not just going to happen overnight. I would expect that of someone of a high class professional that Scottie is. I wouldn’t expect anything else,” he replied.
“Yeah, there’s definitely plaudits for doing that, putting in the work, but at the same time it’s to be expected. I think that’s the minimum standard of work really.”
It really does feel that the likes of Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy will need Scheffler to have a day on the greens much more reminiscent of his week at the Genesis Scottish Open if they are going to stand much of a chance of glory.
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