Matthew Fitzpatrick

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www.thetimes.co.uk

Choirboy turned bruiser Matt Fitzpatrick is just the hero golf needs

Alex Fitzpatrick almost missed his big brother’s moment. He had flown home from Boston to North Carolina on Saturday with Matt four off the pace at the US Open
www.thetimes.co.uk www.thetimes.co.uk

Alex Fitzpatrick almost missed his big brother’s moment. He had flown home from Boston to North Carolina on Saturday with Matt four off the pace at the US Open. By the time he landed his sibling was tied for the lead and Alex hastily rebooked a flight. “I thought, ‘I ain’t missing this.’ Cost me $160 [£130]. I reckon Matt might reimburse me.”

If Fitzpatrick’s win at the US Open had an underlying message in this time of flux in golf, then it was about the value of drama rather than contracts. His one-shot win had a seam of history running through it: he is the first non-American to win both the US Open and US Amateur, back on the same Brookline course where he won the latter in 2013; he is only the third English winner after Tony Jacklin and Justin Rose; and his win came literally over the road from where Francis Ouimet lived and plotted the 1913 US Open win credited with truly growing the game.

Its emotional current sent a jolt of electricity through the game where the Saudi Arabia-bankrolled LIV Golf series is recruiting players with overblown contracts. Graeme McDowell, one of the converts, dubbed the criticism “smear stories” at the weekend. It will get uglier, probably sillier, this week, but on Sunday, as bunkers beat blinkers and sand shots topped cheap ones, it was clear these brothers from Sheffield know their worth.

Both have turned down the Saudi money. Alex, 23, carried his brother’s bag at the US Amateur nine years ago and is a good player, just turning professional, but the money would have changed his life.

“This reinforces to me that I made the right decision with LIV,” he said. “It was money being thrown at me and more money than I could comprehend, but what was the risk? Matt’s win has just highlighted to me why I practise so hard every day. It’s about the dream, not the money. Matt helped me make my choice, along with my parents, and this just shows we made the right decision. I can’t tell you how much I would love to achieve what my brother has. He isn’t anywhere near finished either.”

It was hard not to be swept up in the shared joy, the sportsmanship of the defeated Will Zalatoris and the tears of Billy Foster, caddying for a major winner for the first time in his 40-year career, but Fitzpatrick is also an arch pragmatist and his rise to the top ten in the world has come from a near- puritanical work ethic. No stone has been left unturned. He had won seven times around the world, including big European gongs such as the British Masters and Tour Championship, but winning in the US provides enhanced status. Accolades came fast. “Tons of British bottle,” said Sir Nick Faldo, whose European record of six major wins is Fitzpatrick’s stated target. “One of the greatest rounds of golf I have ever seen,” said Jack Nicklaus. Yes, it was a two under par 68, but the conditions were rough and the tension tougher.

How did the boy from Brookline 2013, when he looked like a choirboy and about six stone wet through, become Brookline’s 5ft 8in bruiser? A significant change came at the end of 2020, when Bryson DeChambeau was threatening to revolutionise golf. The American piled on 45lb in the pursuit of huge distance and bombed and gouged his way to the US Open title. Fitzpatrick called it “daft”, but he did not mean the pursuit of distance; he just felt the loss of accuracy would not work in the long term. DeChambeau’s best finish at a major since has been joint 26th and he has now decamped to LIV Golf.

At that time Fitzpatrick, now 27, began working with Dr Sasho Mackenzie, a biomechanist who had developed a system called The Stack, which adds weights to a custom-engineered stick. The science behind the quest for improved speed appealed to the self-confessed numbers nerd, who writes notes on every single shot he takes and has done since he was 15. Mackenzie’s methods have been so successful that he was recruited by the LA Dodgers baseball team to work out which bats would suit specific players by taking in the physics of flight and impact as well as the quirks of individual pitchers.

It quickly gave Fitzpatrick an extra 7mph and the required confidence for being in the last group at a major with a longer hitter such as Zalatoris. “If I was in this position three years ago, I’d be worried I’m going to be 15 or 20 yards behind Will,” he said. “There’s a mentality thing when you are hitting it past people. It’s quite nice.”

That “quite nice” was typical of his no-nonsense, hype-less manner. The improved length off the tee has been evident for some time, but it was when he was out-driving his playing partner, Dustin Johnson, one of the game’s established bombers, over the first two days at Brookline that lay folk began to notice. Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1, quipped that Fitzpatrick was on the Bryson plan.

How had he done it? “I’ve done my drug test and it was negative,” he laughed on Sunday. “Since 2020 I’ve spent a lot of time working with Mike Walker [his coach] and Sasho Mackenzie. Sasho gave me this speed stick called The Stack and I’ve been doing that religiously week in, week out. It’s like going to the gym. I’ll be honest — it’s worked wonders.”

Under the tutelage of the Yorkshire-based Walker, he also changed to the cross-handed chipping technique. It looks odd but makes for a more consistent action. “I’d rather win than worry about looking stupid,” he said when questioned about it. “It depends if you want to be second all your life.”

Edoardo Molinari, brother of 2018 Open champion Francesco, is a former Ryder Cup player with an engineering degree. His complex statistical program does a deep dive into data and a player’s tendencies under sub-headings such as wind direction, green speed and pin positions. The Italian’s own self-assessment found he struggled to play well early in the morning so began to get up hours earlier so he could simulate the routine of his optimal tee time. Fitzpatrick loves this stuff.

The forensic desire to improve is insatiable. Hence, the sight of him knocking in putts from two feet without removing the flag. One theory is the stick reduces energy and the stats say you will hole more putts that way. Phil Kenyon, the putting guru and another part of Fitzpatrick’s team, says it is more psychological, “almost superstition”, stemming from a successful trial at the 2019 Open.

That is the other side of Fitzpatrick. His practical magic does not mean he is immune to the whims and prayers of golf. For the tournament he stayed with Will and Jennifer Fulton, the US Open volunteers who put the family up during the 2013 US Amateur. That was because his father, Russell, had not booked them a hotel beyond the quarter-finals. “He obviously didn’t think I’d get to the final,” Fitzpatrick said last week.

On Sunday the two families celebrated back at the house. “He’ll party with us whether he likes it or not,” Russell said. They played table tennis and Foster sang Cher, but it was hedonism Hallam style.

Fitzpatrick went to university in the US and quickly dropped out, but likes the life in Florida, saying the positivity is good for him. Made in Sheffield and polished in the US, the cutting edge is ready to engrave his name on more trophies. “Six is the target,” he said of Faldo’s mark, without any boastfulness.

When an American then dubbed his home town “scrappy” in the aftermath, his roots showed. “It’s a steel town, I love Sheffield, it’s where I’m from, it’s where my football team’s from, it’s where my best pals are from,” he said. He even likened himself to Sheffield United. “I’m the same deal: not expected to do well, not expected to succeed.” They lost in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs this year, but Fitzpatrick was good enough to avoid one. As he explained to the media that his friends keep him grounded and would no doubt be abusing him soon, one of them stood at the back, nodding.

Meanwhile, the row between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf festers, with Abraham Ancer, the world No 20, officially injured and so not at the US Open, set to join up. At 31, he comes into the category of jumper that Rory McIlroy has accused of taking “the easy way out”. Fitzpatrick prefers the hard way. As Alex Fitzpatrick put it: “If you look at 99 per cent of the field, none would go through what he does every day to be better, even one per cent a day.”

He seems an old-fashioned soul in many ways, but in the crisis engulfing golf, he is also a very modern, and much needed, sort of hero.
 
South Sea Blade said:
They couldn't even get that right - Rick Allan is the drummer in Def Leppard.........Also, including a dead MP who nobody outside of this area has heard of is really scraping the barrel. 🤣
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I think they did mean Rick Savage, who is a Wednesday fan, but he's the bassist not the drummer.

I dunno, maybe Allan is as well but his allegiances aren't as well known as Elliott's or Savage's.
 
Broomhall Blade said:
Oh no they are not apparently someone asked if they had any celebrities that supported them. One of them came up with this little list Michael Vaughn Former England Test Captain of the 2005 Ashes Side, David Blunkett Former MP, The Late Joe Ashton MP and Rick Savage Drummer of Rock Legends ' Def Leppard '.

Oh and the customary side splitting comments when we are naming a stand after him.
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Michael Vaughan who was a Man Utd fan when he moved to sheffield, and Michael Vaughan who has since moved back and got two lads who supports Man Utd? That Michael Vaughan?
 
Tickhill Blade said:
Only 4 players have won both in the same year since WWII, so he'd be joining a pretty elite club if he did
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Tbf . He was a decent drive on 17 away from a play off a the US PGA title last month as well.
 

Currently a really good documentary on Fitzy on Sky.

United heavily mentioned with interviews with Billy and footage from the Lane and Shirecliffe.

His Dad mentions he'd only have been prouder had Matt played for the Blades 🙂
 
Barnette said:
Crowd was hugely in favour of Spieth but that 9 iron on the third playoff hole was a thing of beauty 😍 .

Terrific win for the Blades' finest golfer ⚔️
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The US golfing fans can turn into a right bunch of disrespectful so and sos later in the day.

No fan of the whooping and hollering at the best of times and don't get me started on the stupid comments shouted as teeing off. Rich Beem commented on one idiot who shouted 'get in the hole' on an unreachable par 4.

Think it was the first play off hole when Fitzy asked someone to move who was casting a shadow in front of his ball and got booed for it.

Probably helped him playing with Spieth. Obviously gets on with him snd he's one of golf's all round good guys.

Don't get me started on Cantlay though.
 
Davalon said:
The US golfing fans can turn into a right bunch of disrespectful so and sos later in the day.

No fan of the whooping and hollering at the best of times and don't get me started on the stupid comments shouted as teeing off. Rich Beem commented on one idiot who shouted 'get in the hole' on an unreachable par 4.

Think it was the first play off hole when Fitzy asked someone to move who was casting a shadow in front of his ball and got booed for it.

Probably helped him playing with Spieth. Obviously gets on with him snd he's one of golf's all round good guys.

Don't get me started on Cantlay though.
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I thought the USA chanting was pretty pathetic....of course root for your player...but it wasn't the Ryder Cup for gods sake.

So impressed he managed to win under thar pressure and it was the same club that won him the US Open I think
 
I thought the USA chanting was pretty pathetic....of course root for your player...but it wasn't the Ryder Cup for gods sake.
Barnette said:
So impressed he managed to win under thar pressure and it was the same club that won him the US Open I think
Click to expand...
He’s used to it. The Netflix documentary showed the same behaviour at the US Open and he shut them up there too.
 
watched it last night matt showed imense bottle to win that his 2nd shot on the last hole was one of the best shots ive ever seen watching golf the yanks of course were rowdy in their support of speith but to be fair to him he told em to pipe down twice in play off holes when they were chanting u.s.a.well played matt great ambassador for british golf and sheffield united
 
LIGHT THE CANDLE!!!!!!!!
MASHED POTATO!!!!!!
 
Barnette said:
I thought the USA chanting was pretty pathetic....of course root for your player...but it wasn't the Ryder Cup for gods sake.

So impressed he managed to win under thar pressure and it was the same club that won him the US Open I think
Click to expand...

Yeah can you imagine the same chanting in Europe if roles reversed....not.

Each sport has its own unwritten rules of conduct if you like and I'm not a fan of how too many US golf fans behave during individual events. That said I think they also push the boundaries too often at the Ryder Cup. Make plenty of noise, even cheer our missed putts if you like, but the regular abuse our players get from the galleries isn't golf for me.
 
Yeh it was another great win for him. I agree with all the American stuff as well. Me and my mate are going to the Ryder Cup this year and I can see me falling out with one or two 😂
 
Barnette said:
I thought the USA chanting was pretty pathetic....of course root for your player...but it wasn't the Ryder Cup for gods sake.

So impressed he managed to win under thar pressure and it was the same club that won him the US Open I think
Click to expand...


It only really began in earnest at the first play off hole and Spieth motioned for them to calm it down.,Priot to that Matt’s holing out was greeted with applause and some cheers.
 

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