Fitzpatrick and Kim Win In Playoffs | Sunday Swing

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week in the world of golf, the PGA Tour hosted one of its elevated events with the RBC Heritage. The LPGA Tour was in Hawaii for the Lotte Championship as the best ladies in the game geared up for their season's first major next week. 

RBC Heritage - Tournament History 

The RBC Heritage has been a staple on the PGA Tour since 1969. Played on Hilton Head Island at Harbour Town Golf Links, players can expect windy conditions and small greens. This event is often overshadowed by the Masters week hangover, but not this season. This year, the RBC Heritage was played as one of the PGA Tour’s new “designated events” meaning one of the highest prize pools in Tour history, and the greatest field strength possible. This week, 17 of the world's top 20 players made the trip to South Carolina on the heels of Jon Rahm’s historic victory at Augusta. Jordan Spieth was set to defend his title after a solid showing at the Masters.

The Big Swing 

This week the Big Swing goes to Matt Fitzpatrick, who claimed his second PGA Tour victory (first since 2022 U.S. Open). Since that major win last summer, he’s struggled with a neck injury that has impacted his game. However, a T10 finish at Augusta showed signs of turning things around. He carried his momentum up the coast and opened this week with rounds of 66 and 70. He found himself in a crowded leaderboard all week with the likes of defending champ Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, and Masters winner Jon Rahm.

Heading into the weekend it was the veteran and former PGA Champion Jimmy Walker who had a commanding three-shot lead over the star-studded field. Unfortunately for Walker, Fitzpatrick caught fire on Saturday and made the turn in 30. He would add two more birdies on the back nine to post a bogey-free 63 and take a one shot lead over Cantlay heading into Sunday. Walker would stumble and post 72, while Scheffler, Schauffele, Cantlay, and Spieth all played well and remained within striking distance. 

On Sunday, Spieth came out firing early and made birdies on four of the first six holes to grab the lead on the front nine, which he held onto well into the back nine. Then Fitzpatrick made a pair of birdies at the 15th and 16th to grab a share of the lead. Cantlay, meanwhile, made bogeys at 13 and 14 that effectively took him out of contention, and he settled for a solo third place finish – which made the finish a two-horse race between Spieth and Fitzpatrick. Both made pars on the final two holes, and the pair headed for a playoff. 

Spieth burned the edge of the cup on birdie putts on each of the first two playoff holes that would have given him the win. Fitzpatrick seized the moment on the third playoff hole and hit a perfect 9-iron to a foot from the pin to secure a tap-in birdie. Spieth tried his best to hole a 33-footer to extend the playoff but he was unable to get it to fall, and Fitzpatrick was left alone at the top. 

Winner’s Bag - Matt Fitzpatrick 

Matt Fitzpatrick is one of the most detail-oriented players the game has ever seen. As documented in the Netflix documentary series “Full Swing”, Fitzpatrick has tracked every shot he has hit from both practice and tournament rounds since his junior golf days. The clubs he chooses are built to his exact specifications, and his bag is a rather fun one to unpack. Fitzpatrick plays the Titleist TSi3 driver (9 degrees) and two PING fairway woods: a G430 Max 3-wood (15 degrees), and a G410 7-wood (20.5 degrees). The middle of his bag features a Ping i210 4-iron along with a set of PING S55s (5-PW). Around the greens, Fitzpatrick plays a pair of Titleist Vokey Design SM9 wedges (52 and 56 degrees), and a Vokey Design WedgeWorks wedge (60 degrees). He’s also still rolling the same custom Bettinardi BB1 Fitz that he used to win the US Open last season.

In the World of Women’s Golf

This week on the LPGA Tour, the ladies got to spend the week in Oahu, Hawaii at the Hoakalei Country Club for the Lotte Championship. The field this week featured a solid group of big names such as Brooke Henderson, Celine Boutier, Stacy Lewis, and Georgia Hall. One of the biggest stories on Sunday was China’s Yu Liu, who was seeking her first LPGA Tour win. She opened her round by making birdies at four of the first five holes. She would also make birdies on four of the last nine to card a bogey-free 64 and take the clubhouse lead. The three players in the final group all teed off the 18th needing birdie to force a playoff with Liu. 

Of the three, 22-year old Australian Grace Kim and South Korean Yu Jin Sing were able to make birdie and force a three-way playoff. In the playoff, Kim was able to take advantage of some sloppy play by the other two competitors and make the lone birdie of the group, which provided Kim a win in her third start on the LPGA Tour. 

Winner's Bag - Grace Kim

Kim is on Srixon's tour staff, so it's no surprise to see her bag filled with the latest technology from Srixon. Off the tee, Kim plays a Srixon ZX7 MK II driver that offers both adjustability and low spin. She also plays a Srixon ZX MK II fairway wood (15 degrees) and two Srixon ZX MK II hybrids (19 and 22 degrees). Kim's irons include a combo of the Srixon ZX5 MK II (5-iron) and the Srixon ZX7 MK II irons (6-PW). Her short game is powered by Cleveland RTX 6 ZipCore Black Satin wedges (50, 54, 58 degrees) and an Odyssey Toulon Garage Series Chicago putter.