Scottie Scheffler makes admission about American spectators after RBC Heritage defeat to Matt Fitzpatrick

Jack Otway
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:50:43 +0000

Scottie Scheffler has admitted he felt the American crowd were 'cordial' during his tantalising play-off defeat to Matt Fitzpatrick at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.
The world No 1 finished as runner-up once again, just days after missing out on Masters glory to Rory McIlroy.

Before the final round took place, Fitzpatrick suggested that his rival would have the American spectators on his side.

That was certainly the case, with the home fans cheering Scheffler on raucously while creating a hostile atmosphere for his opponent.

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Much to their dismay, Fitzpatrick was able to reign supreme. Scheffler was impressed by how they conducted themselves, however, and thanked them for their support.

“It’s nice always to get some support from the crowd," stated the 29-year-old.

“I thought they were pretty cordial in terms of cheering for me and not cheering against Fitzy, so I was definitely appreciative of that."

Scheffler then proceeded to lament his putting, while expressing his delight with his overall display.

“Yeah, I did some solid stuff," he added.

“I think I had only one bogey over the weekend here, so did a lot of really good things. Would have liked to have seen a few more putts go in, but overall I executed the way I wanted to.

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"It was just challenging out there. The wind is swirling all around, and it was hard to make birdies late in the day.

"I think in both weeks I put myself behind the 8-ball going into the weekend and had really nice Saturdays and Sundays in order to get myself into contention.

“On Sunday it’s a shot here or there that makes a difference. This was one of those weeks where anytime Fitzy needed something to happen, he made something happen.

“He definitely earned the win, and he just played great golf.“

Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, said the spectators created a 'great atmosphere' and insisted they'd kept themselves in check.

"Americans are incredibly patriotic. I guess the only issue is they just have shorter memories because we won in October," he said, referring to Europe's Ryder Cup triumph last year.

"It didn't get out of line in terms of no one shouting on backswings or anything like that, which was great. I'm all for it.

"You want golf to have an atmosphere in my opinion. 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 a great feeling.

"However, there's no better feeling than coming out on top against that. To describe it in my terms it's kind of 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."