Fitzpatrick wins the RBC Heritage with a putter switch he justified entirely in data. Plus what Harbour Town's redesign means for your simulator sessions.
Matt Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town on Sunday, defeating Scottie Scheffler in a playoff. It's his second Tour win this season and fourth career PGA Tour title. But the more interesting story for anyone who cares about golf data is how he got here.
Fitzpatrick spent the back half of 2025 gaming a Bettinardi BB48 Prototype mallet — and while his strokes-gained putting numbers were roughly comparable to his blade, his make rate from 5 to 15 feet told a different story. He was sitting 130th on Tour in putter average from that distance, holing 42 of 99 attempts (42.4%). Not good enough.
He switched back to his Bettinardi BB1 Fitz blade before the Valspar, explained his reasoning in data terms ("my make rates sort of between 5 to 15 feet were much better with the blade"), and has since won twice. He's now up to 67th on Tour in that distance category, and the aggregate strokes-gained stats are clear.
This is worth thinking about for any amateur who's obsessed with AimPoint or green-reading systems. Fitzpatrick didn't switch putters because it felt better. He kept notes on every shot in competition, ran the numbers over months, and the data pointed one direction. That's tour-level strokes-gained analysis applied to equipment selection, not just course management. Your simulator's putting stats can do the same thing at a smaller scale if you're tracking make rates by distance across sessions.
The final result at Harbour Town: Fitzpatrick hit his approach to 13 feet on the playoff hole, made the birdie. Scheffler's approach left him short of the green, and the playoff was over. Approach play and make rate from scoring range. That's what won it.
Harbour Town course renovation — Plugged In Golf noted that Harbour Town went through a significant renovation since the 2025 event, restoring Pete Dye's original design intent. Holes 7, 13, and 14 saw the most visible changes. The course still rewarded the same skill set: strokes gained approach was the dominant metric, as it has been here for years. SG: Off The Tee barely registered among top-5 finishers. For golfers using simulator software with Harbour Town in the course library, this is a relevant update — the layout has changed.
Fitzpatrick's bag at RBC — Titleist GT3 driver (9 degrees, A1 SureFit), Titleist Pro V1x ball, Bettinardi BB1 Fitz putter. Full WITB detail at GolfWRX.
If you've been putting off a proper analysis of your own putting data, Fitzpatrick's 2026 is the case study for why you shouldn't.
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