The post ‘Not really a fan’: Matt Fitzpatrick unloads on Old Course Open Championship setup appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘Not really a fan’: Matt Fitzpatrick unloads on Old Course Open Championship setup appeared first on Golf.

Despite all the exciting action happening inside the ropes, the real star of this 150th Open Championship has been the course. Or sho uld we say The Course. The Old Course at St. Andrews, the oldest and most iconic golf course in the world.

Everyone — from players to media to fans — have fawned over the ancient links all week. Everyone, it seems, but Matt Fitzpatrick.

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The 2022 U.S. Open champion is having a great week at the Open so far, riding scores of 66 and 69 in rounds 2 and 3 to a nine-under total. He starts the final round T8. But you wouldn’t know it from the comments he made following Saturday’s round at “the Home of Golf.”

Instead of showering the host venue with praise as his competitors have done, Fitzpatrick opened up about how little he likes what Tiger Woods calls his favorite 18 holes in the world.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not really a fan,” Fitzpatrick said on Saturday. “I’ve heard it on commentary all week. You can hit good shots and get bad bounces. And you can hit bad shots and get good bounces. I felt, for the first seven holes, I didn’t really miss a shot. I’m walking off 7th green and I’m plus-1. It’s tough to take. It’s tough to stay patient.”

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Despite his solid score in the third round, and the near-record low scores this week, Fitzpatrick was feeling snakebitten by the course, which he argued has been tricked up for the final major of the year.

“I said earlier in the week that it’s not my favorite golf course to play,” Fitpatrick added. “But I think, obviously, with how firm it is, they obviously exaggerate some of the slopes and stuff as well. You see where the pins are this week. A lot of them are incredibly tucked, just to try and protect it as much as possible.”

Starting the day seven shots back, Fitzpatrick’s chances of winning back-to-back majors are slim. But should he pull off a legendary comeback to win this Open, it will be interesting to see if there’s any change in his opinion of the course he did it on.

The post ‘Not really a fan’: Matt Fitzpatrick unloads on Old Course Open Championship setup appeared first on Golf.

The post How this Ryder Cupper plugged his power leaks and boosted his ball speed appeared first on Golf.

The post How this Ryder Cupper plugged his power leaks and boosted his ball speed appeared first on Golf.

HAVEN, Wis. — He looked much different the last time he played in the Ryder Cup. His frame was smaller, he swung slower, and he walked away from the contest without earning a single point.

No, we’re not talking about Bryson. We’re talking about Matt Fitzpatrick, who is stronger and faster coming into this year’s contest — and is already seeing the benefits that added distance affords.

“The shorter version of myself would just hit driver everywhere,” he said on Thursday. “Now I’m hitting a few 3-woods, so that’s progress.”

Fitzpatrick’s quest for more started late last year. Alongside his coach Mike Walker, he began consulting with golf biomechanist Sasho Mackenzie to plug the power leaks in his swings by undertaking routine speed-training sessions — complimented by a weight-training program that has seen him gain muscle mass.

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“I was pretty close to Bryson at 175 [mph ball speed],” he said sarcastically. Yet Fitzpatrick’s improvement is no laughing matter: He’s up to 15th in SG: Driving in 2020, and back on the Ryder Cup team after a year on the sidelines. A marked improvement from 2019 alone, his tour average ball speed was in the mid 160s range, and he was 35th in SG: Driving.

Technically speaking, Fitzpatrick’s golf swing has stayed largely similar, though he has made some subtle adjustments to his setup:

The latter two are two hugely important keys for power among regular golfers. The best golfers tend to turn their hips more both on the backswing and the downswing.

And this week, Fitzpatrick is already seeing the benefits of that distance boost around Whistling Straits, especially on the shorter par-4s.

“All of the sudden I can drive it up by the green and that makes a difference. I can hit a normal one and it’s going to make it easier for myself or my partner,” he said. “In the past, holes like that, it’s like I’m hitting a great drive and it’s 30, 40 yards short rather than up by the green.”

Powering up, just in time for well-earned European redemption story at Whistling Straits.

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The post How this Ryder Cupper plugged his power leaks and boosted his ball speed appeared first on Golf.