Matt Fitzpatrick beats Scottie Scheffler in playoff to win RBC Heritage

Matt Fitzpatrick celebrates winning the RBC Heritage on Sunday. Andrew Redington / Getty Images Share articleA year ago, Matt Fitzpatrick was ranked outside of the top 75 golfers in the world, and falling fast. With a win on Sunday at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., Fitzpatrick will find himself ranked in the top five again. The 31-year-old Englishman won for the second time in three starts Sunday, holding off the best player in the world, Scottie Scheffler, in a playoff. “To go out today and go toe-to-toe with Scottie and get it over the line on the 73rd (hole), it’s special,” Fitzpatrick told the CBS broadcast. Both men were in the fairway on the first playoff hole, the par-4, 458-yard 18th, for their second shots. But while Fitzpatrick fired a masterful 4-iron that rolled past the hole and to 13 feet, Scheffler’s shot blew to the right and was pushed down by a blustery wind. Fitzpatrick watched Scheffler’s third shot, then holed a birdie putt that looked good the whole way. Fitzpatrick cheekily held his finger up to his ear after shaking Scheffler’s hand, but before lifting the ball out of the cup. Throughout the 18th hole in regulation, he was treated to “USA” chants from the crowd, reminiscent of what he dealt with during The Players Championship last month. Matt Fitzpatrick takes home his second win in three starts @RBC_Heritage. pic.twitter.com/I7tM9uRJnh — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 19, 2026 Scheffler shot a final-round 67 to tie Fitzpatrick at 18 under par. Fitzpatrick had been in contention all week, shooting 65-63 in the first two rounds before going 68-70 on the weekend. Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Championship last month in his final pre-Masters tournament, his first PGA Tour win since the 2023 RBC Heritage. Fitzpatrick has a known fondness for the course — his family used to vacation in the area during his youth. Even his playoff shot was reminiscent of the one he hit in the 2023 Heritage to beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Since November, Fitzpatrick has beaten both Rory McIlroy (DP World Tour Championship) and Scheffler in playoffs. Scheffler made a strong final surge, with birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to get to within a single stroke of Fitzpatrick and set up the drama on the 18th. Both men played off the green with their approach shots on the par-4 18th in regulation, with Scheffler going first. He hit a masterful chip to tap-in range for par, leaving Fitzpatrick to match. Fitzpatrick, a fast player, seemed rushed as a pro-Scheffler crowd dug in around him. Whatever the reason, Fitzpatrick’s cross-handed chip did not get very far into the green, leaving him 23 feet for par to save the win. His putt broke left and missed the hole by a foot. Fitzpatrick began the final round three shots ahead of Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world and coming off a second-place finish at last week’s Masters. And Fitzpatrick got off to a hot start, with birdies on two of the first three holes. But then began a streak of 14 straight pars, coming with an increasingly chaotic nature to them. Fitzpatrick’s return to the upper echelon of golf has been built on a foundation of steady driving and iron play, and surviving on the greens. On Sunday, he had to grit his way through it, with the putter becoming a strength when it had to be there for him. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Hugh Kellenberger is the senior managing editor of The Athletic's golf group. A native of North Carolina, Kellenberger previously served as sports editor and columnist for the Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion Ledger. He first covered Ole Miss for the paper, and in the past has covered Indiana for the Bloomington Herald-Times and the ACC for the Rocky Mount Telegram. Follow Hugh on Twitter @KellenbergerCBB