PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | Behold the change in Matthew Fitzpatrick’s golf. Even when he won the 2022 U.S. Open at Brookline in heroic fashion, the baby-faced Englishman was considered to be a hitter of only moderate length. Indeed, before that victory there were those who said he wasn’t long enough and that no matter how accurate his iron play was, how sharp his short game was and that despite seven victories on the DP World Tour, his home tour, he would struggle on the PGA Tour. Until Brookline, that is.
If you thought he was good then, look at him now. On three separate holes over TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course at the Players Championship, who should hit the longest recorded drives? Step forward, Fitzpatrick. His measured drives were 338 yards (seventh hole in the second round), 339 (12th hole, third round) and 325 yards (14th hole, third round). “He’s driving fantastic,” Billy Foster, his caddie, said.
Using the Stack System developed by one of golf’s leading biomechanists, Fitzpatrick has added 8 mph to his swing speed, a surprising increase for one who does not spend hours in the gym. This is considered to be the equivalent of 20 yards. “Before, he was like 280 yards,” Foster said. “Now, he’s more like 310 consistently. He’s hitting the ball as well as I have seen him for a long time.”
After his 68 on Saturday, Fitzpatrick said: “This is probably as good as I have driven it since the 2022 U.S. Open. I would say I’m pretty confident around a course like this.”
When a player is driving as well as Fitzpatrick is, he gets a lot of birdie chances, and if his putting is on song, then his scores will tumble. In his third round, Fitzpatrick had six birdies in his last 10 holes.
As he chased Scottie Scheffler, Brian Harman and Xander Schauffele over the closing holes in Sunday’s final round, Fitzpatrick put on another driving and putting display. He had seven birdies in all, four in a row beginning at the 15th. His 3-under 69 final round, for a 72-hole total of 16-under 272, put him four strokes behind Scheffler, the winner. Fitzpatrick was level with Scheffler and Hideki Matsuyama as the only men to have four rounds in the 60s.
“It’s a testing golf course,” Foster said. “When the wind is swirling about all over the place and the greens are crusty, you’ve got to be on it 100 percent all the time. You need to shape shots off the tee. It’s not overly long, but you need to position yourself in the right side of the fairway to access the pins. The thing about Matt is that he plays difficult courses well. He enjoys the challenge. When it’s borderline impossible, he plays well.”
John Hopkins