Matt Fitzpatrick arrived at the RBC Canadian Open with, by his own admission, low confidence on the greens. He left with a Sunday 64, a runner-up finish, and 116 feet of putts made in the final round, fifth in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting that day. The difference, he said, was one small routine change: he stopped taking an extra look at the hole after his practice strokes.

“Normally I look at the hole while doing the practice strokes and then have a look again when I’m stood over it, just eliminating the look. Just taking a little bit too long and just allowing myself just to have a little bit more flow with the stroke and everything.”

Fitzpatrick said after his final round in Canada

That level of detail from a player heading into a major is rare and useful, because the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills will test the qualities Fitzpatrick was trying to find: flow, commitment and pace control on greens that punish hesitation.

What the Change in Fitzy’s putting Fixed

Fitzpatrick’s putting has been a drag on otherwise elite ball-striking for much of the season. He ranks fourth on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and fourth in Greens in Regulation at 71.05%, but sits 102nd in SG: Putting. Over his last five starts before Shinnecock, his putting numbers averaged negative.

After a conversation with putting coach Phil Kenyon at the start of the Canadian Open week, Fitzpatrick shortened his decision cycle over the ball. The change paid off quickly: five birdies and an eagle in the closing round, with the eagle coming after a 4-iron from 221 yards to 12 feet on the par-5 18th. He finished 11th for the week in SG: Putting, two shots behind winner Bud Cauley.

Fitzpatrick has long described himself as a feel putter. In earlier interviews, he said he sometimes drops the alignment line on his ball when greens are very fast because he wants to rely on instinct rather than locking into a start line. The Canada tweak fits that pattern: fewer mechanical checkpoints, more trust in the stroke.

Why Shinnecock Rewards This Approach

The USGA has already signalled a more conservative setup at Shinnecock this week. Chief championship officer John Bodenhamer said forecast wind and the course’s tendency to dry out forced the association to reduce target green speeds from 11½–12 on the Stimpmeter to the mid-10s, syringe greens before play, and use gentler hole locations.

Even at those speeds, Shinnecock’s green complexes remain among the most severe in championship golf. Fitzpatrick made that clear in his pre-tournament press conference: “For me, I wouldn’t want to be putting aggressively on these greens.” On steep downhill putts, he said, “you’re trying to die it in.”

Fast-draining surfaces with heavy internal movement reward a player whose stroke arrives with tempo and without delay. A routine that adds an extra pause over the ball can be costly on greens where feel and commitment are the difference between a makeable second putt and a three-putt.

Fitzpatrick’s Shinnecock Credentials

Fitzpatrick tied for 12th at Shinnecock in 2018, the last time the U.S. Open visited. He won the championship at The Country Club in 2022, joining Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win a U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur at the same venue. He leads the FedExCup Regular Season standings with 2,817 points and has five top-five finishes in his last 10 starts.

The ball-striking profile already fits a U.S. Open. Whether the putter cooperates on Shinnecock’s greens will depend on whether a tweak made in Canada holds up under major championship pressure, on surfaces where one extra second over the ball can cost two extra strokes on the card.

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