‘Start again’: After 3 rounds, major winner still sour on ‘too penal’ Open hole

The 17th hole at Open Championship host Royal Liverpool has been the source of a lot of chatter this week.

The redesigned par-3, which plays approximately 130 yards, is super-short by Tour standards, but potential disaster abounds. The turtleback-style green requires pinpoint precision, as wayward shots will roll off into deep pot bunkers or a natural sandy area behind the green, which features a steep, riveted face.

Matthew Fitzpatrick and his caddie, Billy Foster, revealed their disdain for the new design before the tournament even began. Foster called the new hole “a monstrosity” to Golf Monthly, while Fitzpatrick simply described it as “interesting” in a pre-tournament press conference, refusing to elaborate further.

In what is perhaps an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, Fitzpatrick was stung by the 17th during his second round, when his tee shot went long. It took Fitzpatrick three tries to extract his ball from the sand, and he ultimately signed for a triple-bogey 6. Fitzpatrick then made a clutch par on 18 to ensure he’d make the cut.

After climbing the leaderboard with a third-round 67 on Saturday, Fitzpatrick revisited his Round 2 disaster.

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“I hit a bad shot, so that’s my — that’s on me,” he conceded. “Was it too penal? I think it is too penal down there.

“I hit a bad shot, got punished. At the same time, I think the punishment was a bit too severe.”

Despite taking some responsibility for his score, Fitzpatrick couldn’t resist taking one more swipe at the diabolical “Little Eye.”

“Start again,” he said. “I don’t see what was wrong with the last hole personally. Yeah, I don’t see — uphill par-3s, I don’t particularly like any uphill par-3s. I think it’s a little bit too severe in a way. I remember playing the last hole a long time ago, the last time, the par-3 which went the other way round I thought was a great par-3. It was a really, really good par-3. Yeah, that’s just my opinion.”

Perhaps somewhat ironically, Fitzpatrick has birdied the hole in two of the three rounds he’s played thus far. What will Sunday’s final round bring? One thing’s for sure: It will be “interesting.”