Riding ‘golden period’ into PGA, Matt Fitzpatrick leans on Scottie Scheffler’s viral words

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Matt Fitzpatrick heard Scottie Scheffler’s viral message during last year’s pre-tournament press conference at the Open Championship and filed it away. Ahead of the championship at Royal Portrush, the World No. 1 got existential while talking about the fleeting feeling of success at the highest level.

“It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling,” Scheffler said last July. “To win the Byron Nelson Championship at home — I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf to have an opportunity to win that tournament. You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister’s there, it’s such an amazing moment. Then it’s like, ‘okay, what are we going to eat for dinner?’ Life goes on.

“Playing professional sports is a really weird thing to do. It really is. Just because we put in so much effort, we work so hard for something that’s so fleeting.”

Scheffler said that while winning gives him a sense of accomplishment, it does not “fulfill the deepest desires of his heart.” Fitzpatrick, who was in the midst of returning to top form, took Scheffler’s words to heart and vowed to approach his next wave of success differently whenever it arrived.

A few months later, the floodgates opened for Matt Fitzpatrick. He won the DP World Tour Championship in November and has won three times on the PGA Tour this season, including the RBC Heritage and the Valspar. He and his wife are also expecting, and he helped his brother, Alex, earn his PGA Tour card with a win at the team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It has been an unprecedented year for the Fitzpatricks, and Matt has made sure not to let the joy from this time slip away.

“I’m trying to cherish it as much as possible. It’s all happening very quickly,” Fitzpatrick said on Monday ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink. “[Scottie’s words] really stuck with me because I was very intent on saying, well, okay, if I’m lucky enough to win again, that I take it in. I enjoy it. I really think about it and enjoy it with the people that it means something to, as well as myself. … It’s about thinking of those moments, those great times that you’ve had, regardless of results this week, last week, next week, whatever it is, it’s making sure you remind yourself of those good times.”

The good times are here for Matt Fitzpatrick. They’ve never been better. When he won the 2022 U.S. Open, Fitzpatrick thought he was in his “golden period.” But that was then. Now is different. According to Data Golf’s raw Strokes Gained numbers, Fitzpatrick ranks third in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, sixth in ballstriking and fourth in approach. His tee-to-green and ball-striking numbers are better than in 2022 and the approach play is the same.

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This is Matt Fitzpatrick’s “golden period.” It is born out of “curiosity” and “work ethic.” Fitzpatrick is a deep believer in analytics. He wants every ounce of data he can find. He pores over Trackman numbers to compare them to different years of his career so he can best understand his game, what he is and isn’t getting out of it and how to elevate it to another level. He’s always looking for little edges to get better, even when he’s playing the best golf of his career.

“Looking for those small, small percentages, how does that look, I think that’s ultimately where you’re always trying to go,” Fitzpatrick said at Aronimink. He knows that it might look crazy from the outside when players at the top of their game make changes to try and get better. “You always think from the outside, like, why is he doing that? Like, you know, that seems so stupid,” Fitzpatrick said. But those “small gains” are the key to taking the best golf of your life and making it better. At the top levels, the difference between winning and losing is in decimal points.

So, Matt Fitzpatrick looks at every nook and cranny of his game to inch himself forward. But he also understands that golf is not linear. Stretches of good play, like the one he is now, often lead into dips. There are ebbs and flows. Rough and smooth. He’s willing to deal with that as he looks to push the boundaries of his game.

Earlier this season, Fitzpatrick felt this coming. He hit it well to start the season on the West Coast, but couldn’t get his putter going. All the data said he was hitting it the best he ever had. He felt it. Then came a near-miss at the Players. Then, the dam broke and he “cashed in” his consistent play with three wins in four starts. He is now ranked No. 4 in the world and arrives at the PGA Championship in prime form to add a second major.

Fitzpatrick likes to look at the charts on Data Golf that show players’ career arcs. He knows that eventually a rough patch will arrive; that’s golf. But the inevitability of a dip doesn’t mean Matt Fitzpatrick feels extra weight this week to make sure the best golf of his career leads to the most coveted prizes. Matt Fitzpatrick is methodical and addicted to the process — one determined by years of data. He’s just going to stick to what birthed this “golden” era and let the chips fall where they may.

“I wouldn’t say I put any more pressure on myself. I obviously know the situation that I’m in, even before playing well — I know how my game is, like I just do. I don’t think it is a case of putting in any more pressure on,” Fitzpatrick said. “So if anything, it’s trying to let it happen still.”

And make sure not to let the moment slip away too soon if it arrives this weekend at Aronimink.