“Physically, Augusta is very hilly” - Matthew Fitzpatrick says golfers are tired after the Masters, ahead of RBC Heritage
Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick feels that the Augusta National is quite hilly and hardly gives players a chance to relax.
Fitzpatrick is in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, this week for the RBC Heritage, which kicks off on April 18. He finished T22 at the Masters last week, which wasn't easy due to the difficult course and challenging wind conditions. His 71 in the opening round was the lowest score for him in four days.
During the Tuesday press conference ahead of the RBC Heritage, Fitzpatrick was asked to describe his week at the Augusta National. He said it was more mentally draining for him than physically. He added:
"Physically, Augusta is very hilly, but I think the biggest thing for me is if you think of any hole on the PGA Tour or any golf course on the PGA Tour, take this as a great week, in my opinion."
Comparing the golf course with others, the Englishman added that while other golf courses had a few holes to breathe, Augusta had none.
"You can hit a shot and make a bogey in a split second without even trying," he explained. "Half the time I feel like you're scrambling for a bogey rather than just an easy bogey at times. For me, I think that's the biggest thing is that every single hole you got to be switched on, you got to be thinking about where you're hitting it."
Fitzpatrick added that this was his learning from his debut at the Masters: one had to make the way for himself, and missing in the wrong spots was unacceptable. He stated that the pins and golf course were set up in such a way that it forced players to be in more positions than in other PGA Tour events.
"A standard PGA TOUR event might be four, five right of the, from the right with a pin you can go pretty much at it, because it's only a bit of light rough or an easy bunker. Whereas, there's no gimmies at Augusta, in my opinion," he concluded.
When will Matthew Fitzpatrick tee off at the RBC Heritage, Round 1?
The defending champion is grouped with Nick Taylor for the first round of the RBC Heritage. The duo will tee off on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET from the first tee. For the uninitiated, all 64 players will begin their round from the first hole at their respective tee times.
Fitzpatrick is looking to defend his title at Harbour Town Golf Links to become the first player since Boo Weekley in 2008 to achieve this feat. However, the field is not going to be easy, considering 42 of the top 50 ranked players are in action this week.
Speaking of recent form, the 2022 US Open champion is entering this week with two top-10s in his last three starts. Besides, he just tied for 22nd at Augusta National last Sunday.