What Has Happened to Matt Fitzpatrick

Guest article by student sports journalist Fin Tait.

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler was all but out of the race, Will Zalatoris was close on his tail and a bunkered tee shot left Matt Fitzpatrick with tricky run down the final stretch.

It was a tense couple of moments, many hearts sat in mouths as Fitzpatrick’s head dropped into the challenging fairway bunker on 18.

As the Sheffield man swung back, the world fell silent for a moment. As the ball soared towards the 18th green, English viewers all had the same thought process - "be good."

And good it was...

A wonderfully played bunker shot saw Fitzpatrick close out the weekend with a par, as Zalatoris stepped up to the plate.

A birdie would force Fitzpatrick into a playoff for the title, a par would see it land in the hands of the Englishman.

Zalotoris rolled the ball a sheer inch off the hole. Fitzpatrick's caddie at the time, Billy Foster, had his head in his hands. It was all over.

In 2022 Matt Fitzpatrick hoisted high the US Open trophy at The Country Club in Brookline, which is also where Fitzpatrick claimed the US Amateur Championship in 2013.

Following his first major title, Fitz headed to the RBC Heritage in April 2023, where he would enter a playoff with Jordan Spieth.

Spieth would let Fitzpatrick off twice on playoff holes one and two, missing two winning putts.

Fitzpatrick, however, wouldn't be so forgiving. Like his approach shot from the bunker on 18 at Brookline, another huge approach shot would give Fitzpatrick an easy putt from a few inches to claim another PGA Tour win.

Following these victories, Fitzpatrick was soaring at 6th in the world rankings and heading towards the Ryder Cup, where he would be selected to represent Team Europe in Rome.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

As it looked like nothing could stop Fitzpatrick, his incredible form slowly began to peter away.

Billy Foster commented on Fitzpatrick’s struggle with his recent form, speaking to Genting Casino he said: "Matt had a little bit of a trough last year. He didn't play his best but you know he got married and had other things on his mind. I'm sure he'll come into this season strong."

Foster, however, remains assured that Fitzpatrick will soon find his form and be back to what we have previously seen him, saying: "He works incredibly hard and golf's an unforgiving game. Confidence is everything, even if you're one of the higher echelon players like a Rory or a Scottie Scheffler.

"It looks like he’s picked up a bit of ball speed again and has looked pretty solid after the first round at Maui but then he shot 20 under for the last three rounds.

"I'm sure once he gets a couple of good tournaments under his belt he'll go on a nice run for a couple of months. Golf is a game of peaks and troughs for the most part for the high percentage of the players."

Fitzpatrick entered the professional game at the age of 21, where he made his pro debut in the 2014 Irish Open.

Fitzpatrick’s first professional victory would come at the 2015 British Masters. The same tournament was won by many greats, such as Nick Faldo in 1989 and Seve Ballesteros in 1986.

After Fitzpatrick’s testing season, he now sits at 61st in the world rankings. It will take a lot of progress to get back to where he once was, that's for sure. At the age of 30, there is still bags of time for his turnaround.

Following a season of predominantly lows for the Sheffield man, Fitzpatrick now faces the possibility of missing out on another opportunity to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup.

Following some changes to the way captain Luke Donald will be selecting his team, Fitzpatrick currently sits at 75th in the Ryder Cup rankings. It's fair to say the odds of qualifying automatically are quite against him.

When Europeans look back on the Ryder Cup in 2023, most will quickly remember Fitzpatrick’s partnership with Rory McIlroy. The European pair took all the points from Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele on that Friday afternoon.

On the Sunday singles Fitzpatrick fell unfortunately short, losing out to Max Homa, who took the point for Team USA - not that it would matter anyway.

Fitzpatrick has had a rocky start to the 2024/25 season so far, failing to get himself a top 20 finish, as well as failing to make the cut at the Phoenix Open. However, there have been some rays of light, such as his second and third rounds in the Arnold Palmer invitational, where he only recorded two bogeys, with both rounds being 69.

In the 2022/23 season, Fitzpatrick managed 11 finishes in the top 25, six finishes in the top 10, one runner up finish and one win on the tour.

This compares to his nine finishes in the top 25 during the 2024 season, only three appearances in the top 10 and zero wins or runner up finishes. It's clear to see the drop in form between the two seasons.

In terms of FedEx Cup standings, it’s an even sorer sight for the Sheffield man. 2022/23 saw Fitzpatrick finish 9th in the overall FedEx rankings. A huge decline in 2024 saw Fitz drop all the way from 9th to 40th. He also made around $4.3 million less from winnings in 2024 than 22/23.

So, as we quickly approach the first major of the season, will Fitzpatrick find his form again?

It won't be easy, no doubt, but there's definitely potential of him playing in the Ryder Cup. As well as getting himself near the top of the leaderboards and rankings, away from his current 61st position.

However, with what feels like a whole season to catch up on, he needs to get some good finishes, and he needs them soon.