This is a first for Matt Fitzpatrick, tasked with defending a Major title. First time around, he took the US Open trophy for a bit of a boating holiday to Italy – visiting the Amalfi coast, Capri and Positano if you don’t mind – and, having returned it safely to the USGA at Los Angeles Country Club, the Englishman believes he is trending, to use that buzz word, in the right direction in an attempt to retain the silverware.
“I was sad (about handing it back), I didn’t feel like I spent enough time with it really,” said Fitzpatrick.
Although troubled by a neck-cum-shoulder injury earlier in the season, Fitzpatrick – currently the world number eight – has shown form starting with a top-10 at the Masters and a win in the Heritage the week after, with a missed cut at the US PGA the only blip on the form-line.
Having required treatment for a flare-up of the injury last Friday in the second round of the Canadian Open, Fitzpatrck pronounced himself fit and healthy and ready to go ahead of this 123rd US Open at a first-time for the championship in Beverly Hills:
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“I feel like my game is kind of getting in the right place. I certainly felt like Memorial and last week I was playing some good golf. I didn’t necessarily score too well last week (in Canada), but again, I had a slight flare-up on the Friday afternoon with my neck. I definitely feel like my game is in better shape. I certainly don’t think it’s as good as it was last year.”
The numbers would actually dispute that. Ahead of his win at Brookline a year ago, Fitzpatrick was ranked 18th in the world; this time, he goes into the championship as the world number eight.
And, given his nerdish inclination to mapping out strategy and using data, after all this is a player who has kept notes of every shot he has hit since he was in his mid-teens, Fitzpatrick admitted to asking his stats guru – and DP World Tour player Edoardo Molinari – for some key pointers for this week’s examination.
“I guess in this day and age you’d like to think there might be some artificial intelligence you could use to kind of plot your way around. But that’s probably something I’ll have to look into. I spoke to Edoardo Molinari this morning about any questions I might have. He’s going to try and have a look and see what he thinks and give me the best information he can. That’s probably the only thing that I would probably go to,” said Fitzpatrick.
Molinari is the man who came up with the idea of StatisticGolf, a formula for measuring player performance and a source of data which Fitzpatrick uses.
For Fitzpatrick, his win last year – where he edged Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by one stroke – has given him firmer belief in his own ability.
As he put it, “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. I think that was the biggest thing for me to take away turning up to events, knowing that, ‘okay, my game feels in good shape. I’ve got a chance to win this week’, whereas maybe previously I’ve almost felt like I played well and not necessarily competed in Majors, whereas now I feel like it’s kind of the opposite.
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“As long as my game is there or thereabouts, I feel like I can perform ... (before the win), it was more about trying to get in contention, just putting myself in that position, giving myself a chance. I wouldn’t necessarily say I felt like my best golf could compete with some of the guys out here.
“I know I had conversations with my coaches about that, about what guys did that I didn’t. But certainly after last year I feel like I can compete.”
Fitzpatrick was on the charter plane that flew many of the players down to LA from Toronto, touching down in the early hours of the morning, which limited his time at the course. However, he paid a visit to the LACC back in February and previously played it in 2018, so the next couple of practice days will be about getting ready for the defence of his title and competing and ultimately contending.
“I feel like my approach play has been decent after the last few weeks. I feel like from my memory, this is a golf course that’s going to be important for second shots, and hopefully I can continue the trend of where I feel like my game is at with those clubs,” said Fitzpatrick.
