How Fitz made it to the elite
Great work ethic, more distance off the tee and a cross-handed chipping technique have sent Matt soaring
THEY came for him from the start. Rory McIlroy birdied the first. Scottie Scheffler birdied the first despite driving into a divot — and the second for good measure. Matt Fitzpatrick had not even made it to the first tee for the final round of the 122nd US Open and he had been caught by the Masters champion.
It was clearly going to need a prodigious feat of craft and guile for the pint-sized Englishman to get over the line and claim his first major, but whatever his fate it was clear that no one will underestimate Fitzpatrick again.
Playing in the final group on Sunday for the second successive major will do that. Heaven knows who was the last
Englishman to manage that feat? You might get there once at the end of a good week but not twice in a row. Fitzpatrick’s career is on another level now.
In a modern game dominated by 6ft-plus twentysomethings, Fitzpatrick is a 5ft 9in anomaly, and a fascinating one at that.
How did it happen, to be rubbing shoulders — metaphorically at least — with the elite? How did Fitz alter the general perception golfers have of him? What makes him different? Let’s have a look..
1. HE WEARS BRACES
Has there ever been a serious US Open contender who shows off a mouthful of metal when he smiles? Fitzpatrick started wearing them back in March and they’ll be in for a while yet. ‘I thought it was about time if I was ever going to do it, and I’ve just got used to them,’ he told Sportsmail.
2. HE’S RATED BY THOSE IN THE KNOW
Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley likens him to Sir Nick Faldo in his diligent approach to the game. His veteran caddy Billy Foster, in a nod to Fitzpatrick’s prodigious work ethic, refers to him as ‘Bernhard Langer’s love child’.
McGinley, before the start of the final round yesterday, added: ‘I don’t think there’s a weakness in his game. He had a problem in some tournaments against the big bombers but he’s certainly fixed that with how far he hits it now. And he’s got a big heart, which tends to be overlooked.’
3. HOW’S HE ADDED SO MUCH LENGTH?
It’s all down to The Stack. It’s a speed training system devised by Fitz’s coach Mike Walker and a biomechanist called Sasho Mackenzie. It’s complex to describe but the benefits are clear. Fitzpatrick’s clubhead speed is now comparable with the likes of Jon Rahm.
‘The difference it has made to my game is crazy,’ he said. ‘It was the thing that was most holding me back. I used to look for courses favouring shorter hitters but now I feel comfortable stepping on to the tee with anyone.’
4. CHIPPING CROSS-HANDED
Another Mike Walker innovation. Fitzpatrick adopted this method as a training drill until it felt so comfortable that he incorporated it into his game for certain shots around the greens. When that proved effective, he went the whole hog and now uses it everywhere, bar playing from bunkers. Last year, Fitzpatrick was ranked outside the top 100 in all four chipping categories. Now he’s in the single digits in each, resulting in seven top-10 finishes — and counting — on the PGA Tour this season.
5. HE’S GUTSY
Given the precipitous decline of Luke Donald and Matteo Manassero when they went searching for more length off the tee, it was a bold decision to put at risk a highly successful career in search of the X factor that he lacked.
In years to come it might well prove comparable to Faldo’s decision to seek out the innovative coach David Leadbetter, and a partnership that transformed him from a European Tour winner into a six-time major champion.
6. HE’S A NERD
From the moment he first emerged as an amateur golfer of high promise, Fitzpatrick started taking a note of every stroke he played. Twelve years and tens of thousands of strokes later, he’s still at it. He doesn’t note where his ball finishes in relation to the flag.
He charts where it lands in relation to the shot he was trying to hit. Take the 15th hole on Saturday, a seemingly superb iron shot dead on line that finished 6ft from the hole.
In Fitz’s book, that went down as a fiveyard miss on accuracy and length because he was aiming to be that far to the right of the flag and that far longer. It gives him more accurate data than relying on PGA Tour devices charting similar information.
Let’s return to the early final-round action. Fitzpatrick began well, a complete contrast to his opening holes in the US PGA Championship last month, when he looked nervous from the start.
A perfect drive down the opening hole was followed by an approach to 20ft for a stress-free par. The same at the difficult par three second. Alongside Fitzpatrick was American Will Zalatoris, another wonderful ball-striker who, like his playing partner, has still to win on the PGA Tour. He stumbled with two early bogeys.
By Fitzpatrick’s side was Foster, the man who’s done everything in the game carrying the bag for players such as Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Seve Ballesteros, but who was seeking his first major.
Fitzpatrick was playing beautifully, becoming the first player to hit the green at the driveable par four fifth and two putting to be two under for his first five holes.
You’d have thought that would have earned him quite the lead, but Scheffler was relentless. He followed up his opening two birdies with two more and the pair were tied at the top at six under, four clear of everyone else, as McIlroy fell off the early pace. What a start to this day that promised so much.