Can Matt Fitzpatrick defend his US Open title at LACC? Defending champion’s odds explored

Matt Fitzpatrick is set to participate in the upcoming US Open 2023. He is the defending champion of the tournament and will look to retain his title. If he manages to win this year's tournament, he will become only the eighth English player to defend his title.

According to Caesars Sportsbook, Fitzpatrick's odds of winning the 123rd US Open Championship are 35-1, which is actually even worse than last year's odds. Scottie Scheffler has the best odds (13-2), followed by Jon Rahm (8-1), and then Brooks Koepka (17-2).

Interestingly, Matt Fitzpatrick has just won one tournament, the 2023 RBC Heritage, after winning the 2022 US Open. In the last 10 tournaments, he has missed the cut in four tournaments. He was T10 in the 2023 Masters leaderboard and missed the cut in the 2023 PGA Championship.

Here are Fitzpatrick's last 10 tournaments results:

1. RBC Canadian Open - T20
2. Memorial Tournament - T9
3. PGA Championship - Missed The Cut
4. Wells Fargo Championship - T35
5. RBC Heritage - 1 (winner)
6. Masters - T10
7. Valspar Championship - Missed The Cut
8. The Players Championship - Missed The Cut
9. Arnold Palmer Invitational - T14
10. Genesis Open - Missed The Cut

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"I feel like I can perform": Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick is confident heading to 2023 US Open

The 28-year-old professional golfer made headlines after he became the first English player to win the US Open in the last nine years after Justin Rose. Matt Fitzpatrick not only registered a major to his name, but it was also his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Before the 2023 tournament begins, Fitzpatrick spoke with the media and expressed his views on winning the tournament last year. He felt that his game last year was at its best. He added that winning the US Open gave him confidence that he could win a major tournament.

"I think for me winning last year gave me the boost that when I played my best or when I play well I can compete with anyone and I can win a major. As long as my game is there or thereabouts, I feel like I can perform," Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick with the 2023 RBC Heritage Trophy (via Getty Images)

Matt Fitzpatrick spoke later on about his performance in the last year. The English golfer won the 2023 RB Heritage in April, just after a decent campaign in the first major of the season, the 2023 Masters, where he finished T10.

"I feel like the start of the year, I had a good obviously first event in Hawaii and then got injured, and that kind of felt like it set me back quite a bit for February and March. I ended up obviously playing well in April," Fitzpatrick added.

Speaking about his game, Matt Fitzpatrick said that it was getting better. He also emphasized his performance in the 2023 Memorial Tournament, where he finished T9.

Fitzpatrick added that his game got better on Friday, but he still feels it was not as good as it was in 2022. He also shared his feelings about letting go of the US Open Trophy if he does not defend the title.

"I was so sad about that. I didn't feel like I spent enough time with it, really. It went a few places. I just can't believe it's been a year already," he concluded.

Matt Fitzpatrick will tee up at 2:02 AM at the Los Angeles Country Club. He is paired with Cameron Smith and Sam Bennett.