Jordan Spieth cruelly lipped out a $5.4 million putt on Monday, and narrowly missed another as Matthew Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage at the third playoff hole.
The young major winners sparred in a thrilling set of extra holes at Harbour Town, ending in Fitzpatrick claiming his first win since last year’s US Open.
It was heartbreak for three-time major winner Spieth, who was aiming to become just the tournament’s fourth-ever back-to-back winner.
Spieth long looked in the ascendancy but couldn’t close out birdie putts at both the first and second playoff holes that would’ve claimed the win.
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At the third playoff hole, Fitzpatrick almost holed out from the fairway to leave himself with just a tap-in for birdie.
Spieth couldn’t respond, making England’s Fitzpatrick the winner of the $3.6 million (A$5.4m) top prize.
The American had to settle for second and a cheque for $2.2 million.
The tournament’s leading Australian was Cameron Davis who finished the tournament at 13-under, good enough for a share of seventh.
Elsewhere, Patrick Cantlay came third at 16-under, missing the playoff by one shot, followed by Xander Schaffuele one shot further back.
Fitzpatrick, the US Open champion, becomes the first Englishman to win the tournament since Nick Faldo in 1984 and he did so in the town where he spent many of his family vacations after first visiting as a six-year-old.
“It’s hard to describe. I said to (caddie) Billy (Foster), it doesn’t get better than this — walking down here, just looking around. It’s a course I dreamed of playing when I was young,” he said, with his family congratulating him at the side of the green.
“I managed to play a couple of times with my dad and yes, this one means more than anything.”
Spieth had made four birdies in the opening six holes but he missed a short putt for bogey on the par-3 14th and left the door open for Fitzpatrick.
The Englishman then made birdies on the 15th and 16th to grab a share of the lead and could have won it at the death if Spieth hadn’t made a tricky six-footer to force the playoff.
“It was a really good round. I got off to a dream start and then just kind of hung in there for a little while and then made a nice putt to get into the playoff, and then played the playoff really well,” said Spieth.
“Someone was going to make a birdie. It wasn’t going to be a bogey to lose that playoff the way that we were both playing today. He just did what he needed to do on 15 in, when it had been kind of me and Patrick for a little while there. He just snuck in and played some tremendous golf.”
Cantlay, the other member of the leading group, finished in third after carding a 68 to leave him one shot behind Fitzpatrick and Spieth.
Cantlay paid the price for bogeys on the par-4 13th and the par-3 14th, where his ball had stuck in the wood barrier by the waterside green.
Xander Schauffele’s final-round 66 earned him fourth place, two shots behind the leaders after he ended with a late surge by making birdies on 15, 16 and 17.
World number two Scottie Scheffler’s final round of 70 left him 12-under overall and tied for 11th while Masters champion and world number one Jon Rahm shot 68 but was tied for 15th, six shots off the pace.
