Matt Fitzpatrick, of England, right, hugs his caddie Daniel Parratt after winning the RBC Heritage golf tournament Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Hilton Head, S.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Matt Fitzpatrick was in a playoff at Harbour Town against an American favorite Sunday, facing a large and noisy gallery cheering and chanting for his opponent — Scottie Scheffler this time, the No. 1 player in the world.

It was practically a repeat from three years ago, right down to the shot into the 18th hole that Fitzpatrick said was “out of this world.”

The 31-year-old from England quieted the crowd with a 4-iron from 204 yards, a little more left than he intended but no less magnificent. It covered the bunker, rolled past the pin and settled 13 feet away for a birdie to beat Scheffler and win the RBC Heritage for the second time.

The playoff was almost a repeat from when Fitzpatrick defeated another American favorite, Jordan Spieth, in a playoff at the RBC Heritage three years ago. That time, he hit 9-iron with the wind at his back that rolled out to a few inches for the winning birdie.

This time the closing hole was a brute, the toughest at Harbour Town on Sunday.

“It was quite funny that the playoff was just going to keep playing on 18. I was thinking it was going difficult in a way to separate ourselves because it’s such a difficult hole,” Fitzpatrick said. “To do it how I did was special.”

Scheffler, trailing by three shots with four holes to play, forced a playoff with a pair of late birdies for a 4-under 67 and some help from Fitzpatrick, who hit a poor chip from right of the green and missed a 20-foot par putt for his only bogey of the day and a 70.

The gallery that was allowed to come onto the fairway short of the 18th green in regulation filled the Calibogue Sound with endless chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A!” They returned outside the ropes to see Fitzpatrick hit 4-iron into a stiff breeze to a pin just over the bunker.

Scheffler followed with his worst swing of the day, a 6-iron he fanned so badly that it came up 37 yards short of the hole. He hit a superb pitch to 8 feet, but never had to putt when Fitzpatrick made the winning putt.

“A lot of grit,” Fitzpatrick said of holding on for the win.

Elsewhere:

– Stewart Cink pulled away from the field with an astonishing stretch around the turn Sunday to close with a 9-under 63 for a six-shot victory in the Senior PGA Championship, his first senior major and third win of the year on the PGA Tour Champions.

– Jon Rahm capped off a chaotic week on LIV Golf when he closed with a 7-under 64 for a six-shot victory Sunday in LIV Golf Mexico City, his second victory this year on the Saudi-funded circuit. The week was filled with uncertainty surrounding the Saudi-funded league, with CEO Scott O’Neil writing a memo to staff to say LIV was assured of funding through the end of the year amid reports speculating about the league’s financial future. Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the final round, citing an injury to his wrist that he did not want to further aggravate.

– Hannah Green won the JM Eagle LA Championship on Sunday for the third time in first four years and the first at El Caballero, holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole after a back-nine comeback.