Four grams doesn’t sound like much, but at a weight that could be described as the golf equivalent of the Princess and the Pea, Matt Fitzpatrick believes this small weight could be the reason for his recent poor form. And his first two rounds at the Players Championship certainly support his theory.
Nine-under-seeded Fitzpatrick sits third, five behind Wyndham Clark, in the £20m event and is looking to put behind him an indifferent start to the year that has left him out of the world’s top 10 after missing three cuts in seven starts and only finishing one of the top 10. I’m recording.
Fitzpatrick explained the strange story in which a counterbalanced weight placed under the rider’s grip caused him to spend a year making left-handed strokes. “We did some tests in February last year and I put my weight on my irons,” he said. “It was successful for three, four weeks and we thought, ‘Okay, let’s match that with the driver because I felt there was a bit of complacency there,’ so we did that and then for whatever reason we forgot about it.” he was ever there.
“After Harbor Town my driving got a little worse [where Fitzpatrick won the RBC Heritage last April] and we were going back and forth. We were just so confused.”
In fact, the problem gave him and his coach Michael Walker sleepless nights as they could not figure out the cause of the hooks. The reason only became apparent last month when he sent his driver to have the clutch replaced. “It was so worn out that I took it to Titleist and they re-handled it for me and said, ‘Oh, you know there’s some weight there,’” he said. “I almost had a heart attack.”
Fitzpatrick took responsibility for the surveillance and it was quickly removed. “I felt it day and night the moment it came out and the next day when I shot it,” Fitzpatrick said. “I could hit it as hard as I wanted, but it wouldn’t go left. I felt like I hit it hard before and it would go straight left.
So far this week, I’ve been riding like I could ride. Frankly, that puts me in a great position to hit solid shots.” The 2022 US Open champion hit 21 of 28 fairways, an ill-fated Pete Dye design that had a more than four-stroke lead on the field off the tee, as evidenced by putt stats This is a good return and many of Fitzpatrick’s fans will be praying he can continue this improvement.
When he made that breakthrough at Brookline Country Club, success was largely due to the strides he made at the big club. Stretched after using the Stack System, a weighted training aid, he ranked 10th in strikeouts gained from the starting spot that year, but fell to 55th in 2023. He’s ranked 92nd this season, but he needs to move up those rankings quickly with this show. .
Could he become the third British golfer to win the PGA Tour’s flagship event, after Sandy Lyle in 1987 and Rory McIlroy five years ago? Wyndham Clark may be a tough leader to beat.
The 30-year-old succeeded Fitzpatrick as US Open champion last June – edging out Rory Mcilroy – and has been on a fantastic run to lead the American into fifth place with victory at Pebble Beach last month and a second victory at Bay Hill last Sunday. performed. World. His two 65s on the Famous Stadium Course put him in a commanding position at 14-under, four points ahead of countryman Xander Schauffele.
His two 65s on the famous Stadium Course put him in a commanding position. But Clark was denied by Scottie Scheffler at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and seven days later it could happen again with the world No. 1 in the eighth after a 69 of his own. round. The Texan required medical attention multiple times.
“I hit a putt on my second hole and felt something on my neck, and when I tried to putt on the next hole I could barely get the club back,” Scheffler said. “I had some treatment but for most of the day I was trying to somehow get the club away from me.
“I did my best to stay in the tournament and hopefully I can relax and make some normal moves tomorrow.”
McIlroy is six-under after a disappointing 73. It was an up-and-down second round for the joint night leader, who had five birdies, four bogeys and a pair of bogeys. There was also the inconvenience of the frog delaying his chip in the third round. A strange day for Northern Ireland.
At least he did better than playing partner Jordan Spieth, who missed the cut. Spieth later confirmed that PGA Tour players will meet with Saudi sovereign wealth fund manager and LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan at what could be a crucial time.
The Tour is negotiating with the Saudis in a bid to strike a peace deal to end the sport’s civil war, which has seen the likes of Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson banned from the US circuit, including here this week. Some still insist on the selection of an unofficial fifth major.