Martin Dempster: 'Mondeo Man' now a major winner but Matt Fitzpatrick will never change

The ‘Mondeo Man’ is now in the fast lane as a major winner, but don’t be fooled into thinking that Matt Fitzpatrick will suddenly start strutting around like a Ferrari owner.

There was no hint of embarrassment whatsoever when he talked about his beloved Ford Mondeo after landing a maiden DP World Tour win in the 2015 British Masters at Woburn. He even tweeted about what a “sad day” it had been when it had to be “taken away forever”.

In short, Fitzpatrick has always come across as a grounded individual and the new US Open champion is the first to admit that is down to his parents, Russell and Sue.

“They did such an amazing job with me,” said Fitzpatrick after joining Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have won the US Amateur and US Open at the same venue - Brookline in Fitzpatrick’s case and Pebble Beach for Nicklaus.

Matt Fitzpatrick celebrates his US Open win at Brookline with dad Russell, brother Alex and mum Sue. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images.

“That was the thing, they always taught me to be humble and to be down to earth, and, if they're not bringing me back down to earth, my friends are. That will always be me.”

Sunday’s success may have been Fitzpatrick’s first on the PGA Tour, but it certainly wasn’t a huge surprise to see the Sheffield man do it in style.

Not when you take into account that he’s a two-time DP World Tour Championship winner and has also tasted victory around Valderrama - one of the toughest circuits in the game.

He’s added length off the tee, which has certainly come in handy, but it’s the quiet and effective way he goes about his business that is the most impressive thing about the 27-year-old.

It doesn’t matter to him that hardly any other top player chips cross-handed or that he’s almost the only one who still occasionally keeps the flag in for short putts..

It’s about doing what makes him feel comfortable and, boy, was hitting 17 out of 18 greens in regulation in the final round of a major mighty impressive.

I remember someone not being very nice about Fitzpatrick in reply to a tweet about him during last year’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, where he ended up on a second losing side.

I hope that individual is now choking on his cruel comment because, on the back of breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time, Fitzpatrick is going to have a big part to play in that event over the next 20 years.

He’ll rightly savour this success before going again in the 150th Open at St Andrews. “Six is the number,” he said of the target he’d set himself in majors along with his team. “I've got a bit of a way to go, but it's a good start.”

While it always comes down to the man hitting the shots, there’s no denying that Billy Foster has played an important part in Fitzpatrick taking this huge in his career.

As has adopting the same sort of attitude he’s enjoyed watching his beloved Sheffield United display on the football field. “Yeah, like an underdog, not expected to do well, not expected to succeed,” admitted Fitpatrick. “But you work for what you get and I’ve won a major.”