‘Baby-faced assassin’ Matt Fitzpatrick ready to come of age and build on last year’s late run at the Masters

Mother’s pride | Susan Fitzpatrick embraces son, Matt, at Augusta last year
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

While the Masters story of 2016 was of Danny Willett’s unlikely victory and Jordan Spieth’s demise, another native of Sheffield was tearing up the course with a final-round 67.

Matt Fitzpatrick’s performance on that Sunday matched that of his fellow Yorkshireman but, not surprisingly, his seventh-place finish went relatively under the radar.

Mum and dad, Susan and Russell, will again be at Augusta, willing their son on to what would be his biggest success and, most likely, a first Masters winner to be still living with his parents.

“I always thought I’d win a Major but I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” says the 22-year-old. “I just hope this is the stage for it.”

Fitzpatrick believes he is in far better shape than last year, when he picked up his only top-10 Majors finish to date.

“I didn’t think I was playing very well last year at Augusta and then suddenly I was seventh,” says Fitzpatrick, who claimed four birdies in his final five holes. “Those holes turned an okay round into a fantastic round, turned a good Masters into a great one.”

A win for Fitzpatrick would be less surprising than that of Willett a year ago. In an era of the big hitters, his tendency to hit the fairways, a captivating short game and excellent putting mean he has the make-up for victory.

In addition, in his corner he has Mike Walker, who coached Willett to victory a year ago. Walker describes his charge as being “hell-bent on getting to the top”. Fitzpatrick, nicknamed the “baby-faced assassin”, admits his affable exterior belies a steel to make his home city proud on the course.

“I’ve got this deep-down intensity to win every week,” he says. “I’ve always had that competitive drive.”

He has yet to break his duck in 2017 but there have been plenty of successes from the amateur career in which he was British Boys’ champion five years ago, then won the US Amateur title just after being the leading amateur at the 2013 Open.

Since turning pro three years ago, he has won the British Masters, Nordea Masters and, in November, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

With it he moved into the world’s top 30 and banked a winner’s cheque for £1million, money the son of a banker has barely spent, although he has plans to relocate to the US and buy a home there next year.

“There’s no doubt that I’ve exceeded my expectations, I didn’t know what to expect really, I just tried to keep card first year, then I was in the top 50 and before I knew it I’d won the British Masters,” he says. “Then from there the expectations raise.”

The speed of success is perhaps only a surprise bearing in mind his slow, meticulous approach to his career. Nick Faldo, who has been trumped by Fitzpatrick as the youngest player to three European Tour wins, was among those to highlight Fitzpatrick’s approach to his first Masters debut.

A single putt stood between him and making the cut in 2014 but he missed it. Instead of allowing his frustrations to spill out, he wrote a note about the ball breaking differently to what he had anticipated — information he took on board at Augusta two years on.

“Both Masters experiences were awesome but there was a big difference between being amateur and professional,” he says. “Last year, to be able to do what I did on the Sunday of a Major, was pretty special. Things like that give you confidence, so too the win in Dubai. I’ve been ready and raring to go ever since.”

The manner in which he closed out both final rounds earned him his nickname. In fact, he is so fresh faced he was once mistaken as a ball boy for Tiger Woods, while at last year’s Ryder Cup, amid some confusion, it was thought he was part of Europe’s junior team.

The look on his face at Augusta, he says, will be one of happiness. “I enjoy Augusta so much and I’m going to be playing with a smile on my face,” he says. “Why wouldn’t I? I’m just happy to be there.”

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