Everything we know about Sheffield golf star Matt Fitzpatrick as he targets major glory at The Masters
Matt Fitzpatrick has enjoyed a remarkable career in golf since turning professional in 2014.
He’s already reached what many would consider to be the summit by winning the US Open in 2022, but he’ll be confident that he still has more majors in the locker as he prepares to rub shoulders with some of the most fierce competitors the sport has to offer in Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm.
Fitzpatrick has long been considered one of Britain's top golfers and alongside Danny Willett, the 31-year-old is right up there with the best to come out of Sheffield.
His rise to the top began from a young age. Fitzpatrick was born to parents Russell and Susan Fitzpatrick on September 1, 1994. He was a pupil at Tapton School, who as well as having an affiliation for golf, also enjoyed football playing for Hallam Rangers in the Sheffield Junior Sunday League.
Fitzpatrick, a Sheffield United supporter, showcased a talent for golf at a young age. He was a member of the junior section of the Hallamshire Golf Club on Redmires Road and began to make the headlines aged 18 when won the Boys Amateur Championship, a top tournament in the UK.
He continued to attract attention after winning the US Amateur Championship a year later becoming the first winner since Harold Hilton in 1911.
After completing A Levels in geography, history and PE, he turned professional in 2014. He had his first professional tournament win on October 11, 2015, winning the British Masters - and has since won three PGA Tours, 10 European Tours and one Asian Tour.
His biggest and most notable achievement to date in the sport, however, came in 2022 when he defied won his first major championship at the U.S. Open, with a one-shot victory at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts - ironically the same venue where he had won the amateur championship almost a decade earlier.
It made him only the second men's golfer to achieve such a feat, with the other being the great Jack Nicklaus.
Fitzpatrick hasn’t won a major in the last three years but has quietly been building momentum in recent months. He recently won the Valspar Championship at the end of March and only narrowly missed out on the Players Championship just a week earlier.
The 31-year-old is not the only great sportsman to have hailed from the city, in fact he might not even be his family’s only great golfer by the time he retires.
His brother Alex, while not yet at Matt’s level in terms of profile in the sport, currently plays on the European Tour and has been rising the ranks since turning professional in 2022.
In March, he enjoyed his best moment to date as a golfer so far, overcoming a six-shot deficit to win the Hero Indian Open for his first European Tour victory. He’ll hope it’s the first of many as he aims to continue his upwards trajectory and potentially follow in the footsteps of his brother by winning a major at some stage in the future.