Sue and Matt looking for a repeat Fitzpatrick spectacular at St Andrews

Previously when Sue Fitzpatrick has teed up in the Alfred Dunhill Links, she confesses she has been super nervous, playing in a field crammed full of famous celebrities and a world-class collection of golf pro’s.

“I don’t have massive confidence and to take part in an event like this is a really big thing. I felt it was too stressful,” she says.

But last October all that changed when, in a moment of golfing history, she and her son Matt Fitzpatrick became the first family winners of both the Alfred Dunhill Links Individual and Team Championship at St Andrews.

So, when Sue teams up with Matt again at St Andrews next month as defending champions, will it be different?

“I just want to do well again for Matt,” she says. “The first year it just happened. Off the cuff, Matt had said ‘Mum, if you could play it would be great’. And the next thing we were a team. Then last year, our second year, it was such a lot of fun. At Kingsbarns particularly I played a lot better than I thought I could. Winning with Matt was my personal greatest moment in golf.”

With the event reduced to 54 holes because of weather, 2022 US Open champion Matt put together brilliant rounds of 67, 64 and 66 at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews for a 19-under-par winning total that drew warm applause from the Scottish galleries. In the Team Championship the Fitzpatricks finished with a betterball 35-under-par to win by five shots.

Matt recalls: “She got us off to a great back nine and she played great all day. I just helped guide her around. We had a great week and really dovetailed well. The US Open was a very special victory for obvious reasons, but winning such a prestigious tournament as the Dunhill including the Team event is something I am incredibly proud of as I know how much it meant to my Mum.

“I’ll try and help her as much as I can again, but she doesn’t like to know what score we’re on, so I’ll keep that quiet. The only time I told her last year was on the 18th green on the Sunday when I told her how many clear we were.”

He also feels their strong showing in the Team Championship played a big part in his victory in the Individual Professional event. “I felt very relaxed, focused on playing well with my Mum, not putting pressure on myself, not just focusing on my own performance and not trying to get stressed out or getting frustrated. I think that was the biggest thing that helped me to win.”

Will Sue be more competitive this year now she is a defending champion?

She says: “I think we’ll go into it exactly the same. Stick to the same mindset. Last year I had a knee problem and was limping around with a brace on my leg. I think a lot of people must have felt I was a drama queen. But I had a partial knee replacement earlier this year, so I will be fine for the Dunhill.

“The whole event is such a great experience. I recall in 2022 after a shotgun start at Kingsbarns walking in from the 8th green with Bill Murray holding one arm and Brandon Stone on the other, while Bill sang a song from the Wizard of Oz.”

The Fitzpatricks are a great golfing family. Sue recalls how she and husband Russell used to organise their holidays around the logistics for supporting Matt and his brother Alex in the early days of their golf career.

She says: “I never thought one of my boys could win a Major. It doesn’t seem real. Then every time I leave the house I look at the photo in our hall which captures Matt’s shot from the bunker on the 18th at Brookline to win the US Open and I feel indescribably proud.”

Now Sue and Matt are preparing for St Andrews, and Matt says: “Last year our goal was just to win the Team Championship, and I happened to win the Individual as well. The Team Championship is still probably the most important for us, I won’t say otherwise, but we’ll just go and give it a good go.”