Paul McGinley believes that both Patrick Reed and Matt Fitzpatrick have many of the same attributes as those who have previously won the US Open at Shinnecock Hills over the years.
The wait for the third major of the year is almost over, with the world’s best players in New York preparing for the game’s toughest test.
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And Shinnecock Hills is certainly likely to push the field’s buttons over the coming days. Just a handful of players have ever finished under par at a US Open at the Southampton course.
Why Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick Reed have been backed to contend at the US Open
Brooks Koepka was one over par for the week when he won the event at Shinnecock back in 2018. Meanwhile, just two players were able to break par when Retief Goosen won 14 years earlier.
Paul McGinley believes that the players who have won at Shinnecock over the years have a handful of similar characteristics.
And speaking on Indo Sport, McGinley explained why that leaves him optimistic about the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick and Patrick Reed.
“I’m looking at the winners as I said earlier, there’s two common denominators of the guys who won around here. Horses for courses, I’m a great believer in that. Preparing for the exam, I’m a great believer in that,” he said.
“There’s two things that stand out: great putters, and also guys that are dogged and gnarly characters, just give you nothing, just have that stare about them. I’m thinking of Ray Floyd, I’m thinking of Corey Pavin, I’m thinking of Retief Goosen, Brooks Koepka. There’s a common denominator in the attitude, they’re gnarly, dogged competitors that are not going to get upset with the odd bad break. They’re in the zone. They don’t give a lot of emotion away. They’re not emotional players. That’s going to be a big key this week, on top of really good putting.
“When I look at that, the two guys that come to mind that are not quite at the very, very top level when we talk about Rory and Scheffler, would be Patrick Reed and Matt Fitzpatrick. I think they’ve got the skill sets and the mentalities to win a test as difficult as this.”
Fitzpatrick and Reed have adopted different tactics leading into the US Open
It is fair to say that Reed and Fitzpatrick have taken very different approaches in the build-up to the US Open.
Fitzpatrick currently leads the FedEx Cup after finishing second at the RBC Canadian Open this past week. Of course, the Englishman has won three times already this season.
Meanwhile, Reed’s last two starts have been The Masters and the PGA Championship.
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With the American’s PGA Tour card for 2027 all but secure, he has obviously decided that he is best off preparing for the majors away from the spotlight.
In fairness, it is a strategy that is working. He finished 12th at Augusta National before going on to finish 10th at Aronimink.
And if he gets himself in contention at Shinnecock, there will be plenty of players worried about Reed going on and winning his second major title.
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