'There's No Better Feeling Than Coming Out On Top Against That' - Matt Fitzpatrick Responds To Crowd Behavior At RBC Heritage

Although it took a little longer than he'd have liked, Matt Fitzpatrick eventually won the RBC Heritage in a playoff against Scottie Scheffler at Harbour Town Golf Links on Sunday.

But that top line only tells part of the story, with the new World No.3 needing to overcome some particularly difficult circumstances in order to do so.

Not only did the wind begin to blow hard on the South Carolinan coast as the finish line approached, but the fans in attendance made their feelings crystal clear about who they were pulling for, and it wasn't Fitzpatrick.

As the 2022 US Open champion aimed to cling on to his 54-hole lead, which began at three strokes, Scheffler was slowly but surely chiseling away and closed to within one heading down the last.

At this point, the atmosphere felt almost Ryder Cup-like. Chants of 'USA, USA, USA' were being heard and the roars which met Scheffler hole-outs reverberated around an otherwise-sleepy corner of Hilton Head Island.

Despite a clumsy mistake at the 72nd hole which led to the playoff, Fitzpatrick kept his head down throughout and smiled in the face of the partisan crowd before putting his finger to his ear after the winning putt dropped.

It was all fun and games, really. No malice was intended by either party and Fitzpatrick confirmed afterwards that all was well from his side.

Speaking in his winner's press conference, the father-to-be explained how much he actually enjoyed the atmosphere late on Sunday.

He said: "No, it didn't get out of line in terms of... no one was shouting on backswings or anything like that, which was great.

"I'm all for it. I love the people. They're supporting Scottie, that's great. You want golf to have an atmosphere, in my opinion."

Sunday wasn't the first time that Fitzpatrick has been the antihero in home supporters' eyes recently.

Cameron Young, who was playing in the same group as Fitzpatrick in that final round, was carried to a remarkable win at The Players Championship last month by a raucous crowd at TPC Sawgrass.

At the time, Fitzpatrick downplayed the effect that noise had on him, stating that it was "child's play compared to the Ryder Cup."

And once again at the RBC Heritage, the 31-year-old spoke of his love for a boisterous crowd - even claiming that it spurred him on to victory on Sunday.

Using a soccer analogy to illustrate his point, Fitzpatrick said: "I grew up watching football. I'm paid so much money to be out there in front of those crowds, having them chanting at you every week, it's great feeling.

"However, there's no better feeling than coming out on top against that. There isn't a better feeling.

"To describe it in my terms, it's kind of like winning away against your biggest rival. Nothing to do with Scottie or the players; it's the fans that have sort of spurred me on there.

"It was nice to obviously win, but it never crossed the line. It was just loud. Just loud."

Later on in the press conference, Fitzpatrick was once again quizzed on the subject and asked whether he found it strange the Ryder Cup rivalry had been reignited by fans on the PGA Tour.

The Englishman's response was typically considered and cheeky. He said: "No, no. Americans are incredibly patriotic, and I think that was amazing.

"I guess the only issue is they just have shorter memories because we won in [September] (smiling)."