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When Matt Fitzpatrick gets under way at Aronimink on Thursday, he will be aiming to end a 107-year wait for an English winner at the US PGA Championship.
Jim Barnes was the first and last, claiming victory at the first two tournaments in 1916 and 1919.
However, Sheffield’s Fitzpatrick is arguably the best-placed of any Englishman to end that long drought.
The 31-year-old has made his best start to a campaign on the PGA Tour – with three wins in his past five starts and more than $10.5m (£7.8m) banked already in 2026.
And with only Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young above him in the world rankings, Fitzpatrick believes his game is in a better place than when he won the 2022 US Open.
His second-placed finish at the PGA Tour’s flagship Players tournament in March was followed by a victory at the Valspar Championship and a strong showing at the Masters in April, the first major of the year.
He followed up defeating Scheffler in a play-off to win the RBC Heritage with further success alongside his brother Alex at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
“I think 2022 was my golden period and I said for two, three years afterwards it was the best period that I had ever played,” Fitzpatrick said.
“But the start of this year has definitely eclipsed that because of the results [and] the underlying numbers themselves have definitely been better.
“I’m trying to cherish it as much as possible. It’s all happening very quickly.”
US PGA Championship
Thursday 14 – Sunday 17 May
Aronimink Golf Club, Pennsylvania
Live text commentary of rounds one and two on Thursday and Friday from 12:30 BST, and of rounds three and four on Saturday and Sunday from 17:00.
Live radio commentary of Saturday’s round three from 20:00 BST on Sports Extra; Sunday’s final round from 20:00 on 5 Live (all timings subject to change)
Fitzpatrick’s fortunes are in total contrast to only 12 months ago, when he arrived at Quail Hollow for the 2025 PGA Championship without a top-20 finish on tour that term and sitting a lowly 85th in the world.
A quick glance through his statistics for this year show why his rise has been so sharp.
He is in the top five on the PGA Tour for strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained from tee to green and strokes gained approaching the green – which are all key indicators of a player’s form given they are measured as an average of the number of strokes they are better or worse than the field average.
And while not among the longest drivers of the ball, Fitzpatrick is top six for accuracy, which will be crucial at Aronimink which is renowned for its fairway bunkers.
The main cause for concern could well be his putting. Fitzpatrick is ranked 99th on the PGA Tour going into this week, on a course where he believes the “greens are going to be the defence”.
However, historical statistics would suggest his putting is one of the strongest parts of his game, given he has been top 30 in strokes gained with the putter in each of the past four seasons.
Getty Images‘I’m probably known as Alex’s brother now’
Fitzpatrick’s return to the top of the game has coincided with his younger brother Alex, also grabbing the headlines.
The siblings’ pairs win in New Orleans earned Alex a two-year PGA Tour card and the 27-year-old led after 54 holes before finishing fourth in last week’s Truist Championship.
“We have not really been in contention yet together but I would imagine it’s going to be a weird feeling when that time does come,” Matt said.
“I’ve been impressed more than anything. I’m super proud of him for how he’s been playing. I’m probably known as Alex’s brother now, as opposed to him being Matt’s brother.”
At the end of 2025, Alex was 203rd in the world but he has climbed to 83rd – and will be looking to build on a hugely impressive joint-17th on his solitary major appearance to date, at Hoylake in the 2023 Open Championship.
However, while Matt has employed a data-driven method to his quest to add to his US Open victory at Brookline four years ago – he is well known for writing detailed notes after every shot he hits – he says his approach, on and off the course, is not mirrored by his younger brother.
“He is messy, I would say. We shared a bathroom last week, actually, in the house that we shared, and it was a little bit messier than my side of the bathroom,” smiled Matt.
“I think he probably wanted to create his own path. He’s not really numbers orientated. I like to know the numbers.
“I personally just think that’s kind of good practice, not being over-analytical. I think Alex is definitely more go with the flow. He is doing a good job of where he is at the minute.”
