Low amateur puts studies ahead of golf

Paired with Fred Couples a man nearly three times his age for the final round,Fitzpatrick shot a 1-over 72 on Sunday for an overall score of 10 over,beating fellow amateur and compatriot Jimmy Mullen by five shots.

Ill have a few days off and let it all settle down a bit but I cant imagine it will, a grinning Fitzpatrick said. I think Ill be on my phone too much.

Luminous names to have won the silver medal down the years include Rory McIlroy 2007,Justin Rose 1998 and Jose Maria Olazabal 1985,so Fitzpatrick is in very good company.

He wont be turning pro just yet,though he is following the path trodden by Luke Donald and heading to Northwestern University in Chicago for four years on a golf scholarship. He doesnt know yet what he will be studying.

Mum and dad make sure education comes first,rather than the golf. So Ill make sure I do my four years at Northwestern and get a good degree,hopefully, he said. Something to fall back on if the golf doesnt work out.

The way he played this week,that shouldnt be an issue.

Scott does it again,collapses at back 9

Adam Scotts collapse in the final round at the British Open wasnt nearly as spectacular as it was a year ago. The end result was still the same. For the second year in a row Scott held the lead on the back nine; for the second year in a row he left without his name on the claret jug. Even the green jacket he won in between at the Masters couldnt ease the sting of this one. In the lead with seven holes to go,it unravelled in the 13th green when he hit a great pitch to seven feet. But the putt lipped out,beginning a string of three straight bogeys that took him out of contention.

Last year at the Open at Lytham,Scott had a four-shot lead with four holes to play but it quickly came apart,with Scott finishing with a string of bogeys in one of the great collapses in golfing history.