Matthew Fitzpatrick becoming a regular in Augusta

In case you hadn’t noticed, 21-year-old Matthew Fitzpatrick has become a fairly regular major competitor in the Augusta area.

For the third time in four years, the young Englishman will compete locally in April. Fitzpatrick finished eighth in the 2013 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. He returned the next year as the 19-year-old U.S. Amateur champion for his debut in the Masters Tournament.

Now he comes back to the Masters for the first time as a professional, having risen into the top 50 in his rookie season on the European Tour after starting 2015 outside the top 400.

That he’s coming back to Augusta National so soon even surprises Fitzpatrick.

“Yeah, definitely, it’s something I didn’t expect at all,” he said. “I only got my card a year ago December. I’m just trying to keep it and all of the sudden I’m in the top 50 in the world. I had a good year and before I know it my schedule’s completely different from what we thought it might be if I kept my card. All good stuff and I’m excited about it.”

After a typically inauspicious start for a 20-year-old rookie on the European Tour, Fitzpatrick got on a hot streak in the middle of last summer. A runner-up in the European Masters and then his maiden victory at the British Masters moved him into the top 100 for the first time by October. Then a series of top-25 finishes, including a tie for seventh in the World Golf Championship event in China and a tie for fourth in the European Tour’s season finale in Dubai, finally pushed him into the top 50 by year’s end.

It was not a quest that he ever focused on until he already had it in hand.

“I didn’t even think about top 50 at the moment,” he said. “People at home said I was lying, but I genuinely didn’t. It was like when I got to the final of the U.S. Am, I didn’t even know that got me into Augusta. No clue. I was just trying to play as well as I could. I think I was just trying to win again rather than get top 50. I felt like I was playing well and was just trying to compete.”

The 5-foot-10, 155-pound Fitzpatrick hardly cuts an imposing figure. When he finished low amateur at the 2013 British Open, he played the first two rounds at Muirfield with Jordan Spieth and Russell Henley and looked more like an over-achieving young teenager beside those slightly older players.

But Fitzpatrick plays within himself and uses his strengths well to keep competing against the best players in the world who typically all hit it “miles” past him. He isn’t trying to change a working formula to chase distance gains.

“Just happens over time,” he said. “I’m 21 so I’ve still got to grow in over time.”

Returning to Augusta National as a professional peer instead of an amateur doesn’t change Fitzpatrick’s realistic goals. He missed the cut by only one shot in 2014, playing with a pair of reigning major champs Adam Scott (Masters) and Jason Dufner (PGA).

“To make the cut and play four days there is a good start,” he said of his own expectations this time. “I try not to set goals from week to week. I just try and play as well I can each week and see where it ends up.

“Obviously I’ve got a bit more experience. That’s it really. I won’t say I’ve tried to do anything differently. Hopefully my game’s better than it was two years ago. I felt like I played well that week to miss by one. Hopefully the work I’ve put in over the last two years has improved me. We’ll wait and see.”

The highlight of his previous Masters appearance was getting invited to play nine holes with Rory McIlroy in his first practice round. He also played subsequent practice rounds with his European Tour heroes Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson.

Fitzpatrick expects his return to Augusta National to feel as special as his first Masters.

“I don’t think it will ever feel normal,” Fitzpatrick said. “If I’m qualified for the next 25 years and do well, I don’t think I will ever find it normal. It’s just a special place. I loved being there last time and loved being there a few weeks before to practice and I’ll love being there again. There’s nowhere like it.”