Matt Fitzpatrick hoping for Ryder Cup boost off Royal Portrush finish
Matt Fitzpatrick hopes his return to form will boost his Ryder Cup hopes after contending at The Open for the first time in his career.
The former US Open champion began the final day at Royal Portrush in the penultimate group with career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy but finished six shots behind Scottie Scheffler.
He struggled for momentum and was only able to advance his score by two shots but his 11-under total earned him a share of fourth place.
It represents a considerable uptick from what he described as the lowest point of his career at March's Players Championship, where his form deserted him and confidence took a severe knock after he comfortably missed the cut.
This week's exploits have boosted his hopes he can force his way into Luke Donald's team for Europe's defence of the Ryder Cup in New York in September.
"The first time being in contention for The Open, it's a big step forward," said the Sheffield golfer, whose improvement started at the US PGA where he finished tied eighth as Scheffler won his third major. "I've been in contention for two of the four majors this year, which is really nice. Last time I did that was 2022.
"There's a lot of good stuff to build on, knowing that my game is there to give it a go. Just got to do a few more things to get it over the line again.
"Hopefully my form so far is good enough to get me in the mix (for the Ryder Cup).
"There's obviously still a few more weeks to go and I want to play well in those as well. I've still got to keep up the good form and hopefully it's enough.
"Particularly from where I've come, it's been much better than where I was.
"My irons have been as good as I've ever hit them. My driving has probably suffered a little bit because of that but I've shown for three days that my approach play was good enough to give me a chance but I putted really poorly for me this week.”