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Matt Fitzpatrick let the crowd hear it at the RBC Heritage. Good for him ...

Fitzpatrick and the second-tier stars

Scottie Scheffler could only shake his head and chuckle. If he was going to lose, getting bested by a birdie on Harbour Town’s 18th into the teeth of a hefty wind was one of the few outcomes he could stomach. In many recent instances, Scheffler could easily claim he beat himself. On Sunday afternoon, Matt Fitzpatrick simply outlasted him.

In the moments after Fitzpatrick’s sensational 4-iron in the playoff, which cut through a heavy Hilton Head wind and nestled inside 15 feet, one of the closest approaches into the last hole all day that set up the improbable winning birdie, I did what any golf writer often does … overthink and extrapolate. I won’t let the world in on all those thoughts, but one that sparked then and remains now in the calmer aftermath: A burgeoning group of “second-tier” stars has emerged during the first third of the year that promises to make the rest of the season all the more compelling.

Scheffler and Rory McIlroy remain in a tier by themselves, one that will require more than a few hot months and a couple more major championship victories to break into. Yet in the absence of those counting statistics, the tier right behind them continues to grow in numbers and strength.

Fitzpatrick showed that on Sunday. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he did in many of the important moments. He birdied two of his first four holes to maintain an early lead and stifle any hope Scheffler had of a quick reversal. Fitzpatrick holed nervy par putts down the stretch, likely knowing if he remained even-par on the back nine, he would win. He was right, he just wasn’t able to execute. A poor chip on the 18th led to bogey and a playoff with the world No. 1, who was coming off birdies in two of his last three holes and a crowd hell-bent on rooting him to victory. Amidst that, Fitzpatrick executed one of the best long-irons of his life, flagging that 4-iron. It forced Scheffler to try to match, and he failed woefully.

As a result, Fitzpatrick may very well tie or surpass the highest world ranking of his career (fifth). And he fits neatly alongside the rest of the impressive “second-tier” stars, which include the likes of Cameron Young, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose. As the focus turns toward more majors, the strength of this tier provides as much, if not more, intrigue than the two names at the top of everyone’s mind.

It’s incredibly healthy for the game overall, one that one of golf’s closest counterparts, tennis, can’t claim. Men’s tennis also has two dominant stars – Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – but behind those two, there’s a dearth of challengers that ultimately harms the greater interest in the sport. There’s no tension unless Alcaraz and Sinner are going head-to-head.

That’s far from the case right on the PGA TOUR. Fitzpatrick just proved it.

Playing through

• 📸 Miss any of the action? Here are the highlights from the final round …
• 2️⃣ Scottie Scheffler stumbles out of the gates, makes a weekend charge and finishes second to a European past champion. This could be a line from either last week's Masters or this week's RBC Heritage. Here's what Scheffler had to say after his playoff loss ...
• 💰 Fitzpatrick’s victory earned him. $3.6 million and 700 FedExCup points. What about the rest of the field?
• 💬 If you're sick of my typing (fair), you can listen to my big takeaways from the week, here.

Morikawa progressing

Collin Morikawa’s murky injury situation is still the same. He remains hampered, mostly mentally, from the back spasms that ended his THE PLAYERS Championship after one hole. He’s not in pain, but he’s worried that the issue could flare up on any swing, limiting his willingness to go after shots with 100% effort. He’s not sure when he’ll get over that mental hurdle.

Yet, Morikawa finished in the top-10 for the second consecutive week, shooting 67 on Sunday to jump into a tie for fourth. The result comes on the heels of a T7 at the Masters last week.

It’s hard to know just how limiting the injury is. To my eye, Morikawa moved better in Hilton Head than he did at Augusta National. He’s still walking gingerly, and it’s easy to see he’s not swinging as hard as he could, but the numbers don’t point to that big of a drop off. While Morikawa previously said he’s swinging with about 50% effort, he was regularly hovering around 171 mph ball speed with his driver this week, which is right on line with his 2025 averages, though slightly below where he was earlier this year (around 173 mph) after gaining some speed in the offseason. In short: He’s still swinging it fast enough to be dangerous, and while he survived in Augusta mostly because of incredible putting, Morikawa played well this week because of his ball-striking. He led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and was second in approach play. He might not be ready to admit it, but that’s my sign that he’s starting to return to his old self, even if it comes with some caution.

When we see Morikawa next is an open question. He’s not in the field in New Orleans and hasn’t publicly committed to either the Cadillac Championship or the Truist Championship. How his body and mind progress will dictate it. So, too, will the impending birth of his first child, expected later this spring.

Parting shots

• 🤏 Remember that brief stretch last month when there were worries of significant regression from Scottie Scheffler? We can put those to bed for now. He’s not playing at his peak, but this version is plenty good enough to win, likely very soon.
• 🇰🇷 Si Woo Kim notched his fourth top-six finish this season, already tying the most he’s had in any TOUR season. Kim did it with a hot putter, the only part of his game that has struggled this year. Is he the Presidents Cup International Team’s best player right now?
• 🇺🇲 Harris English’s results are funny to look at. Other than a missed cut at THE PLAYERS, he had finished no better than T21 and no worse than T30. Quite the consistency. Though he happily broke out of it at Harbour Town, finishing T4.
• 😬 Jake Knapp lost 10.5 strokes on the greens this week, nearly twice that of the second-worst performer.
• 👍 It’s worth recognizing J.J. Spaun’s phenomenal week off the tee and with approach. Spaun led the field in SG: Off the Tee and was ninth in SG: Approach. Too bad he lost six strokes around and on the greens. He finished 8-under, tied for 25th.
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Who’s performed the best out of the 10 players who earned TOUR cards via the DP World Tour? Thus far, it’s Jordan Smith. The understated Englishman moved to 48th in the FedExCup with a T16 finish.

No Signature Scroll next week in New Orleans, but we'll be back for the Truist Championship, the start of a busy three-week stretch that culminates at the PGA Championship.