“Just a mistake that no one knew about” - Matt Fitzpatrick gives ridiculous reason for his driver struggles
Matt Fitzpatrick shared an intriguing yet hilarious story behind his amazing improvement in the game at this week's The Players Championship 2024.
The English golfer teed it up at this week's PGA Tour event, which started on Thursday, March 14. Fitzpatrick shot a round 6-under 66 on Thursday and settled just one stroke behind the leaders for a tie in fourth place.
Following his game on the first 18 holes of the tournament, Matt Fitzpatrick revealed the reason behind his success, saying that a mistake resulted in his struggle with his drive throughout 2023.
"Since February of last year, probably," said Fitzpatrick (via Golf Digest). "There's a longer story to it, but yeah … just a mistake that no one knew about, and that's what caused the issue."
The English golfer said that at the start of 2023, he and his team decided to put some weight on the grip of his irons to enhance his game. The results were satisfying, and thus, he made the changes to the grip of his driver as well and put 4g weight on it.
In March 2023, he decided to remove the weight from his irons but completely forgot about the driver. The weight remained there, and Fitzpatrick played the entire season with that driver. The extra weight affected his swing, and he had trouble with shots.
In February 2024, his driver's grip was worn away, and he sent it to regrip it. Only then did he learn about the extra weight and remove it.
Matt Fitzpatrick admitted that after removing the weight, his game has improved. He said:
"My driving kind of got worse from pretty much after Harbour Town, and we were going back and forth. We were just very confused swing-wise, did all sorts. Turns out, take the weight out of the top of the driver, and I think since Phoenix is when I've taken it out, I've driven it a lot better."
Following the first round of The Players Championship, Matt Fitzpatrick settled in a tie for fourth place with Nick Taylor. Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Wyndham Clark secured the top position on the leaderboard.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler finished in a tie for sixth place with Tom Hoge, Jason Day, Ludvig Aberg, Tyler Duncan, Maverick McNealy, and Jimmy Stanger.
A quick recap of Matt Fitzpatrick's performance at The Players Championship 2024
Fitzpatrick shot 6-under 66 in the opening round of The Players Championship 2024. Although he started the game with a bogey on the first hole, he quickly bounced back with a birdie on the next. He again encountered difficulties on the next hole as he shot a bogey on the par-3 third hole.
Matt Fitzpatrick added two birdies on the seventh and eighth holes and started his game on the back nine with consecutive birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. He made another birdie on the 15th and wrapped up with an incredible eagle on the 16th. He settled for a total of 6-under.
The tournament is scheduled for its second round on Friday, March 15. Matt Fitzpatrick will tee off on the tenth hole of TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course on Friday at 8:24 a.m. ET in a group with Hideki Matsuyama and Max Homa.