Matt Fitzpatrick Will Continue Magical Run with Epic Walker Cup Performance

Matt Fitzpatrick is in the form of his life and nothing looks set to stand in his way at the Walker Cup in Southampton, New York this weekend.

For the first time in Walker Cup history, the U.S. Amateur champion is not with the U.S. team.

Fitzpatrick's success had been building ahead of that historic victory at The Country Club at Brookline in Massachusetts last month.

A month earlier he qualified for The Open at Muirfield, where he went on to win the Silver Medal as the tournament's leading amateur.

The U.S. Open victory secured him the Mark H McCormack medal as the No. 1 amateur in the world and ensured him a place on this year's Walker Cup team.

This may seem like a lot of pressure for a 19-year-old to handle, but the Yorkshire player has already shown remarkable poise and confidence to get to this point.

The National Golf Links of America course will work in Fitzpatrick's favour. Huge greens are bordered by steep bunkers, with overstated contours set to bemuse unsuspecting opponents.

It's an impressive layout that boasts some fiendish complexities around its greens, which should allow Fitzpatrick's impressive short game to shine.

This was already evident at the U.S. Amateur, where Fitzpatrick was able to claw back his power disadvantage with deftly controlled shots from the rough and accurate putting.

As he did at the Country Club, Fitzpatrick will likely hit the shortest tee shots this weekend, but look for him to shine from his second shot onward.

For his part, the young revelation puts it down to nothing but confidence. After his U.S. Amateur victory, he spoke to Alex Miceli at GolfWeek.com: 

"

 ...Today I just think you've got to be confident coming out of the rough.

There's no way you can sort of just die it in as you come through. You've got to give it the full commitment to the shot. And I think hitting a few good chips early on gave me the confidence to keep going at it, chipping it quite well.

"

This sort of self-assurance should help him to raise his game once more for the Walker Cup. After all, The National Golf Links of America is not a course for the inhibited.