Hot-putting Fitzpatrick finally gets that Ryder Cup feeling

ROME : Matt Fitzpatrick could be forgiven if he didn’t quite join the Ryder Cup love-in during the build up to this week' event in Rome having had personally deflating experiences as part of two huge away defeats in his previous appearances.

But by the end of his amazing fourballs victory alongside Rory McIlroy on Friday he was declaring it "one of the greatest days I've ever had on a golf course."

In 2016 the Englishman was overlooked entirely for the first day and trusted in only one team match on Saturday – losing in foursomes – before being thumped by Zach Johnson in singles as the U.S. romped to a 17-11 win.

Two years later he just failed to qualify and watched frustrated from home as his mates danced in Paris after their own big win.

In 2021 was back on the wrong end of things, losing both his foursomes games and his singles to Daniel Berger with the overall match already long decided in another thrashing, sending him home with a career record of 0-5.

In 2022 however, Fitzpatrick became a major champion, winning the US Open, saying this week that it definitely made him feel he belonged with the elite having probably not been ready for his Ryder Cup debut in 2016.

"You build it up to be this amazing thing that you wanted to be part of thinking that you'll get a real good go at it, and obviously I never did really," Fitzpatrick said of that chastening 2016 experience.

On Friday he was on the sidelines again in the morning as Europe raced to a 4-0 lead after the foursomes but captain Luke Donald had made it clear that everyone one of his team would play on the first day.

And when Fitzpatrick was finally unleashed, in the final fourballs match against Collin Morikawa and world number one Xander Schauffele, he seemed to pour