Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap: It Clicks For Fitzpatrick

One of the most important characteristics in a professional athlete is resiliency – how they respond to adversity.

In the past couple of months in golf, we have seen Jacob Bridgeman kick away a chance to win at Pebble Beach only to win the following week at Riviera. And we have seen Shane Lowry implode at the Cognizant, then miss his next two cuts. Lowry rarely misses cuts. In 2022 and 2024, he missed two all year.

Which brings us to Matt Fitzpatrick.

The Englishman had THE PLAYERS Championship in his grasp last week, only to bogey No. 18 and see Cameron Young wrest away the title at the last possible moment.

Fast forward to Sunday at  the Valspar Championship; Fitzpatrick birdied two of the final four holes at Copperhead -- including the diabolical 18th -- to emerge from a pack and capture the title by one shot over a gallant David Lipsky.

Part of a five-way tie on the back nine, Fitzpatrick played a brilliant bogey-free round for a 3-under 68 and 11-under total for the week. He had a bogey-free weekend and made only four all week. That is some big-time golf.

"I felt like last week I played so well, right until the end," Fitzpatrick told reporters at Innisbrook. "To lose the way I did, it's always disappointing, always feels like it takes a little out of you when you spend four days of your life battling to try and get that top spot, and to lose it right at the [end] is always difficult to take. So this week was important to get back on the horse and try and push myself to continue playing well."

Fitzpatrick won for the third time on the PGA Tour and first since the 2022 U.S. Open, although he did win the season-ending DP World Tour Championship last year. He is now back in the top 10 of the OWGR for the first time in two years, and it was quite an adventure in between. Last year, he had fallen into the 80s.

"There's a big difference in my approach play," he said. "My irons are just so much better. Just better control, better distance control, better accuracy left-to-right. Hitting the shape that I want to hit."

Two years ago, Fitzpatrick ranked 127th on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach. Last year, he ranked 76th. Now, he's seventh.

In light of all this, and with the Masters lurking, the question is: Can Fitzpatrick contend for a green jacket? The evidence would suggest yes. He's had two top-10s at Augusta, the latest in 2023, plus three other top-25s. He certainly knows how to close out a major, having won the 2022 U.S. Open.

Asked on Sunday about his confidence level heading into Augusta, Fitzpatrick said: "Yeah, I mean, I'm probably going to win, yeah."

He laughed. He was kidding. But he continued:

"No, no. Yeah, I mean, I'm obviously very confident in my game right now. But what it takes to win a major is very different to what it takes to win on the PGA Tour, in my opinion. Particularly the Masters, there's extra pressure on the Masters, no matter who you are. You know, it just has that standing above all the other events, as well as the majors, you know."

We know.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

David Lipsky
Looking for his first PGA Tour win, Lipsky played very well. Among the five guys tied for the lead on the bac -nine, he shot 1-under on the day and was the second to last man standing. This was his second runner-up on Tour, after the 2024 Procore. Now 37, Lipsky is one of the shortest hitters on Tour. But when you rank 34th on Approach and sixth in both Around-the-Green and Putting, that's a formula to have some very good weeks, especially in lesser fields.

Jordan Smith
The veteran Englishman has more than held his own in his first season on Tour, after coming over from the DP World Tour. With this solo third, he's made 5 of 7 cuts with two other top-25s. The 33-year-old Smith ranks 41st in the FedEx Cup standings, so he's certainly worth considering in DFS in most tournaments, especially since he's always in the $6000s or $7000s.

Xander Schauffele
Can a world-class player be considered to be playing well when not contending for a title? You'll have to decide for yourself. Schauffele hasn't contended for a title in 2026. But he's run off five straight top-25s, three of those being top-10s and two of them being top-5s, including last week's solo third at THE PLAYERS and this week's T4 at the Valspar. He is ranked in the top-45 in every strokes-gained metric except Around-the-Green. It sure seems as if a win is coming sooner than later.

Sungjae Im
This was only Im's third tournament of the season after being sidelined with a wrist injury. And he missed the cut in the first two. But after you play so well for 54 holes and carry the lead into Sunday, the injury can't be an excuse when you collapse. Im bogeyed five of the first 10 holes. He played the rest of the way in 2-under to get back into a tie for fourth but still. If you said T4 at the beginning of the week, it would be great. But now? Not so much.

Marco Penge
Penge has had some growing pains adapting to the PGA Tour. The Englishman finished first among the 10 DP World Tour players who earned dual membership for this season. He has missed 3-of-6 cuts, but he just tied for fourth, on top of a T16 at the Genesis. He was one of the five guys with a share of the lead on the back nine. If the playoffs started today, Penge would be in them. He leads the Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee by ranking seventh in distance and 154th in accuracy. 

Patrick Cantlay
There's been a Cantlay sighting! It took seven tournaments, but with this tie for seventh he has his first top-10 of the season. And it was a backdoor T7, at that, thanks to a closing 67. Cantlay is ranked top-100 in every strokes-gained category, but top-20 in none of them. Which means he's playing … okay.

Emiliano Grillo
Grillo needed this tie for seventh in the worst way, after playing his first seven starts in almost the worst way: four missed cuts, zero finishes in the top 35. Normally a great ball-stiker and a vastly improved putter in recent years, Grillo is ranked outside the top 100 in every SG category. So we will need to see more from him before declaring an end to his slump.

Jordan Spieth
Spieth finished T11, which is pretty good, but he finished second among all Jordan S. golfers. That's not so good. Seriously, Spieth is playing … decently? He's so hard to figure. This was his third top-12 of the season. He has four top-25s. He's missed only one cut. He's ranked 33rd in SG: Approach and 22nd in Putting. All things considered, that's very good. And now with the Masters ahead … well, who knows with this roller coaster of a golfer.

Jacob Bridgeman
Bridgeman has been playing a lot. So a tie for 14th in an off-week is very good. This was his eighth start of 2026. He's finished top-25 in all of them. That's great considering he needs to take a week off. He is skipping the Houston stop.

Brooks Koepka
Koepka leads the Tour in SG: Approach and that is a very big deal. But he really needs to solve his putting issues to contend for a title. He tied for 18th at the Valspar, his third straight top-25. Like at THE PLAYERS, though, a late double bogey crushed him. This time it was on 16 when he three-putted. For the week, he did putt decently, 26th in the field, and now is up to 127th on the season. But the greens at Augusta are not for the faint of heart. Before that, Koepka will play in Houston.

Tony Finau
Finau tied for 18th, his third top-25 on the season, though none has been a top-10. A former great player is playing decently. Can he be great again? Finau now heads to Houston, where he won three years ago and was runner-up two years ago. If there's anywhere where he could re-elevate his game, it's H-Town.

Brandt Snedeker
This could've been quite a story. The 45-year-old, 306th-ranked Snedeker contending for a title eight years after his last win. In the final group on Sunday, with a share of the lead on the back nine, it was not to be. Snedeker collapsed by going home in 40 to plummet into a tie for 18th. The Valspar will probably be the highlight of Snedeker's season, unless you want to include his Presidents Cup captaincy later this year.

Adrien Dumont de Chassart
The 26-year-old from Belgium has two top-25s this season and two other T26s. Not bad at all. But the T26 at the Valspar came with a closing 74 after an opening triple and some controversy while paired with Fitzpatrick. He was playing so slow that his own playing partner turned him in. Fitzpatrick called it "glacial." Dumont de Chassart got a warning but no penalty.

Ryo Hisatsune
Hisatsune tied for 30th in his ninth start already in 2026. He's been great, with three top-10s and a T13 at THE PLAYERS. But he's been playing a lot of golf and on Sunday he withdrew from Houston after initially being announced in the published field.

MISSED CUTS

Viktor Hovland, J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin, Sahith Theegala, Max Homa, Wyndham Clark, Austin Smotherman, Michael Brennan. Hovland was the defending champion but hardly playing like one. He has enough talent to play great in any given week but he's having a lot of bad weeks. … Spaun and Griffin continue to struggle one year after they broke through with amazing seasons. … Theegala missed the cut by a lot and it will probably do him well to have a couple of extra days off; he has been playing a lot of golf. … Homa's MC – by a lot – was a surprise after he had been playing well this season. … Clark continues to be a shell of his former self. … Smotherman has been playing a lot of golf and has already WDed from Houston. … Brennan was high on a lot of people's 2026 lists after his breakthrough win during the fall. But he does not have a top-25 in eight starts.

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