Nordea Masters top 10 power rankings

I confess. Defending Nordea Masters champion Matt Fitzpatrick is one of my favorite young golfers. I’ve been watching him since his 2014 pairing with Rory McIlroy at The Masters. I admire his poise and his grace and his determined approach to the game.

Fitzpatrick hasn’t disappointed me. The three-time European Tour winner works hard at his game and it’s paid off handsomely for him. Following his victory at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last November, Fitzpatrick has recorded a T-5 finish in Dubai, a T-16 at the WGC-Mexico Championship, and a T-12 at the BMW PGA Championship. He’s a young man on the move and his game is trending in the right direction.

Fitzpatrick is more accurate than most off the tee and therefore less likely to find himself in trouble and he’s very good at getting himself to greens in regulation, roughly equivalent to Alex Noren and slightly better than Alexander Lévy. His work on the putting surface, while not outstanding, will keep him in contention.

Look for a vigorous title defense from the young Englishman and don’t bet against him this week. Fitzpatrick could easily come away from the Nordea Masters with back-to-back titles.