TULSA, OKLAHOMA | Wayne Riley, the former DP World Tour player turned TV commentator for Sky Sports, was leaning on an advertising hoarding by the eighth green at Southern Hills on Sunday afternoon. Riley nodded in the direction of Matthew Fitzpatrick, the Englishman who had begun the last round of the PGA Championship three strokes behind Mito Pereira, his playing competitor and 54-hole leader. “I like his courage,” Riley said as Fitzpatrick rolled in a 12-foot putt to save par on the eighth and remain on Pereira’s coattails. That was an echo of something Billy Foster, Fitzpatrick’s veteran caddie, said about his employer two years ago: “He carries his balls around in a wheelbarrow.”
Fitzpatrick, 27, does not have thunder in his golf strokes, nor in his voice for that matter. He is quietly-spoken and at 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 155 pounds, he is not physically imposing. Likewise, his golf is understated for one who is a career-high 15th in the world ranking.
“It’s a tough one to take right now. ... Just got to try to take the positives."
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Some are doubting his ability to get the job done at the highest level. He has played in two Ryder Cups and likely will be a mainstay of Europe’s team in Rome next year, but has yet to win a point. He began the final round at Southern Hills tied for second place with Will Zalatoris, yet a 3-over-par 73, four shots worse than his previous worst of the week, sent him down to tie for fifth with Tommy Fleetwood, his fellow Englishman, and Chris Kirk.
“(Fitzpatrick) has to learn how to deal with bad shots,” Nick Faldo said in commentary after Fitzpatrick had run up a bogey-5 on the 71st hole, one that that eventual playoff winner Justin Thomas, runner-up Zalatoris, Cameron Young, and Fleetwood all birdied and Kirk eagled.
“It’s a tough one to take right now,” said Fitzpatrick, a seven-time winner on the European Tour who is still searching for his first victory on the PGA Tour, within minutes of finishing his round.
He looked and sounded tired and dejected.
“Just got to try to take the positives. The first three days I was immaculate. Everything I was doing was right. Maybe today I wasn’t quite as switched on. I made too many mistakes on the simple things. I didn’t hit it in the fairway enough. There were just a few things today which I could have done better, looking back.”
John Hopkins