By Nick Neumayer
Medill Reports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Matt Fitzpatrick was a student at Northwestern for all of 80 days.
Yet as thousands of people lined the fairways Feb. 8 to watch Chris Gotterup win the WM Phoenix Open in a playoff, a man wearing a Northwestern polo followed every shot of Fitzpatrick’s round.
The shirt was worn by Quinn Baker, a wide receiver on the Northwestern football team from 2013 to 2016 and Fitzpatrick’s college roommate throughout his lone collegiate season.
“I first met him when he was the No. 1 amateur in the world,” Baker said. “And now I’ve been following his journey ever since.”
Baker kept in touch with Fitzpatrick following his departure in 2014, continuing to support him through PGA Tour wins, Ryder Cups and major championships.
“It’s been incredible,” Baker said. “Seeing him from the U.S. Amateur to a U.S. Open champ was an incredible journey.”
Northwestern men’s golf coach David Inglis said he remembers when he first watched Fitzpatrick play in the summer of 2012, when he was serving as an assistant for the Wildcats. Fitzpatrick was competing at the European Championship in Sweden and immediately caught Inglis’ eye.
“We met with him after the tournament was over and there was just something about him,” Inglis said. “He was just very composed, had a lot of poise. Just certainly different than your average 16-year-old.”
Fitzpatrick’s maturity impressed both Inglis and former head coach Pat Goss, who both worked to lure him to Evanston. As the process went on, Northwestern was the only school Fitzpatrick was considering, with Inglis calling it a rarity in collegiate recruiting.
“He felt really strongly about player development and about going somewhere that was going to help him improve,” Inglis said.
Fitzpatrick signed with the Wildcats on Nov. 14, 2012, nearly three months after winning the British Boys Amateur at Notts Golf Club. At the time, he was ranked 11th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
“We knew we were getting a good player when we signed him that fall,” Inglis said. “It all kind of went turbo that July and August.”
In the buildup to his freshman year, Fitzpatrick finished as the low-amateur in the field at the Open Championship, claimed runner-up honors at the English Amateur and later won the U.S. Amateur at Brookline to reach the coveted No. 1 amateur ranking, all before stepping foot in a college classroom.
“I would say we probably saw the writing on the wall after he won the U.S. Am for sure,” Inglis said. “It’s hard to win that event and not have doors open for you. It would’ve been nice if that win had come somewhere longer down the line in his college career, but he was just that good.”
Fitzpatrick officially withdrew from Northwestern in January 2014 and immediately turned professional. Since leaving the Wildcats, Fitzpatrick has become one of the game’s best golfers with 11 worldwide wins, highlighted by the 2022 U.S. Open Championship at Brookline, the site of his U.S. Amateur triumph nearly 10 years prior.
Fitzpatrick has also competed four times for Europe at the Ryder Cup, winning twice in 2023 and 2025 under fellow Wildcat alum Luke Donald.
Despite his success, Fitzpatrick still remains involved with the program at Northwestern. Inglis says both Donald and Fitzpatrick host the team in Florida, with Fitzpatrick making time to play with fellow Wildcats if they are ever competing alongside him in PGA tournaments.
“It’s just great to have him so involved with the future of Northwestern golf, even though he wasn’t here for long himself,” Inglis said.
At TPC Scottsdale, Fitzpatrick opened the week with a strong start, playing his opening nine holes at seven-under and on pace to break the 11-under course record. However, a one-over back nine put him two shots off the lead at the conclusion of his round.
The Englishman played his next three rounds at seven-under-par, good for a career-high ninth-place finish at the Phoenix Open, but three shots short of his third career PGA Tour victory.
As Fitzpatrick made par on his final hole, Baker and his friends waited for him just off the green. It wasn’t the result they were hoping for, Baker said, but they stayed to cheer on their fellow Wildcat all the same.
“This is our second time down here, it’s a great tournament,” Baker said. “Matt usually plays well in it. We’re really excited to see him. Always excited to see him be in contention. Obviously you always want to see him win, but it was exciting to watch him play well.”
Nick Neumayer is a sports media specialization graduate student at Medill.