Jordan Spieth Jumps into Top 6 with Strong Showing at Harbour Town

Matt Fitzpatrick dramatically won the RBC Heritage — and now he can call it a career.

"I can retire now," the Englishman said jokingly after his first non-major PGA Tour win. "This one is the one that I've always wanted to win. Any golf tournament, other than the majors, of course, there isn't a higher one on my list than to win this one, and that's the truth."

The 2022 U.S. Open champion vacationed at Harbour Town growing up and attended many RBC Heritages as a spectator. In 2014, he was inside the ropes at the event for the first time and made his first non-major Tour cut.

Nine years later, the 28-year-old's dream of donning a tartan jacket came true as he bested Jordan Spieth on the third playoff hole by hitting his approach to tap-in range.

However, Spieth, the RBC's defending champion, was on the brink of preventing Fitzpatrick from notching a childhood dream — twice.

On the first playoff hole, the three-time major winner's 12-foot birdie putt scathed the right edge and spun out. Then, on the next go-around, Spieth's 9-footer for birdie burned the cup’s right side.

Therefore, the third time would be a charm for Fitzpatrick.

"I don't know how the one on the first playoff hole didn't go in," Spieth said afterward. "I think if I hit the same putt 10 times, it goes in eight times. It should go left at the very end there on the grain. It just wasn't meant to be."

It was Spieth's fourth top-5 in his last six starts. And if he can take any consolation from his latest close call, the Texan moves inside the top 6 on the U.S. Ryder Cup points list, jumping from No. 10 to No. 4. Spieth has played every Ryder Cup since 2014.

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Spieth wasn't the only one to move inside the U.S. standings' automatic qualifying threshold. Patrick Cantlay, who made his Ryder Cup debut in '21, moved up three spots to No. 6 with a solo third at Harbour Town.

Cantlay was tied for the lead early on the back nine Sunday before recording bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14. He ran into a precarious situation on the par-3 14th when his second shot (a chip from the green's edge) ran off the putting surface but was caught by the bulkhead. The 30-year-old decided to play the shot, rather than take a drop, and knocked the ball to 4 feet.

"It was in a spot that you never practice or play from," he said.

Ultimately, that bogey left Cantlay one stroke back of Fitzpatrick and Spieth at the end of regulation.

A stroke behind Cantlay on the leaderboard was Xander Schauffele, who moved from No. 12 to No. 10 on the Ryder Cup points list. Schauffele and Cantlay now head to the Zurich Classic — the Tour's lone team event — to defend their 2022 title.

Another notable mover in U.S. standings was Sahith Theegala, who jumped from No. 15 to No. 13. The 25-year-old finished T-5 at Harbour Town for his seventh top-10 this season, which is tied for the second most on Tour.

"I'm learning every tournament," he said afterward. "Hopefully, I never stop learning out here. I feel like there's always something you can pick up on out here with all these world-class guys."

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If he continues his strong play, Theegala may join the world's best players at Marco Simone in September for his first Ryder Cup.

And Team USA will almost surely be going up against a European squad that boasts Fitzpatrick as one of their 12 team members.

So Fitzpatrick might want to wait on retirement.

U.S. Team Captain Zach Johnson first announced the 2023 qualifying structure last year. Points in 2023 are awarded as follows:

- 1 point per $1,000 earned at regular PGA Tour events beginning January 1, including the Zurich Classic and WGC events, through the BMW Championship (August 20)

- 2 points per $1,000 earned for winner of the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- 1.5 points per $1,000 earned for all others that make the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- No points available at PGA Tour opposite-field events

Points qualification will conclude immediately after the second FedEx Cup Play-Off event (BMW Championship) on August 20, 2023, with the top six eligible players on the points list securing spots on the U.S. Team.

The six remaining slots on the U.S. Team will be Captain’s Selections and will be announced by Johnson following the 2023 Tour Championship.

For a full list of the Top 100 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, click here.