The Open Championship began play on Thursday out at Royal Portrush and by the time people stateside were on their second cup of coffee things were already operating at an intense level.
Consider that most Americans woke up to see that Phil Mickelson was 1-under and that Lee Westwood (playing in his millionth Open, I believe) was one stroke better. This is one of those tournaments that delivers each and every single year and that is true for players of all ages.
Matt Fitzpatrick is obviously on the younger side of that spectrum and while he has not won a major since his victory at the 2022 U.S. Open he has had moments of greatness in the aftermath. Already sitting at 2-under on the par-3 16th… Fitzpatrick dunked one in to tie what was the lead at the time.
It goes without saying that there is a lot of golf to be played, both for Fitzpatrick and for the field. But these are the types of shots that we often look back at for a winning performance as ones that made the difference.
Time will tell what the rest of the week looks like for Fitzy.
