Matthew Fitzpatrick: Modest, with a game to shout about - Carter

Last updated on .From the section Golf

Matthew Fitzpatrick's British Masters victory fittingly caps a season of extraordinary progress that has been in keeping with his short but glittering amateur career.
Having won his European Tour playing rights at Qualifying School last autumn, Fitzpatrick began the year ranked outside the world's top 400 players.
Now, following his British Masters victory, the 21-year-old is knocking loudly on the door that leads to the biggest events. He is just nine places short of the top-50 ranking that would make him eligible for the majors and World Golf Championships tournaments.
This rapid rise speaks volumes for the Sheffield youngster, especially when you consider he only claimed the 11th qualifying card at tour school. This provided a limited number of European Tour starts.
So Fitzpatrick was under immediate pressure to make the most of the opportunities he had earned and the 2013 US amateur champion has wasted little time in establishing himself on the circuit.
Before completing his two-stroke victory over a strong field at Woburn over the weekend, Fitzpatrick had enjoyed five top-five finishes this year.
He was runner-up to Danny Willett at the European Masters in July and, in the build-up to his maiden win, he finished third at the Italian Open and Czech Masters.
His decision to drop out of Northwestern University and turn professional in June 2014 has been fully vindicated.

Joining the paid ranks cost him a place at that year's Open, though he did play the Masters and US Open after winning the US Amateur Championship. At the time, many an eyebrow was raised when this relatively slight figure decided to try to mix it with the big boys.
While his composure and on-course maturity were never in doubt, there was an assumption Fitzpatrick would struggle to generate the requisite length off the tee to compete.
While he is not the biggest beast in the driving stakes, he is no slouch either and averages 287 yards in distance while hitting more than seven out of 10 fairways.
Fitzpatrick's greatest strength, though, appears to be his ability to hit greens in regulation, for which he is ranked seventh on the European Tour.
His 75.6% success rate is all the more impressive because he has played significantly more holes than any of the other leading players in this category.
Who is Matthew Fitzpatrick? |
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Age: 21 |
Ranking: 59 |
Nationality: English |
European Tour wins: One |
Best finish at a Major: 44th at the 2013 Open Championship (as an amateur) |
Indeed, it is around the greens where there is most room for improvement - his putting and scrambling statistics are relatively poor.
Not that he should worry too much. These are still very early days in a career that has already netted more than £1m in prize money.
Encouragingly, Fitzpatrick has one of the brightest young coaches behind him in Mike Walker who, in turn, has the ear of Pete Cowen - perhaps the country's wisest and most experienced teacher of golf.
It means the player is ideally equipped to build on his breakthrough victory. Fitzpatrick is one of a dozen first-time winners on the tour this year, which illustrates an ever deepening pool of talent.

Much of what is being said of Fitzpatrick at the moment could also be attached to the likes of Belgium's Thomas Pieters, Anirban Lahiri of India and another Englishman, Andy Sullivan.
And all emerging talents should be mindful of the fragility of tour life.
Few would have predicted the awful collapse in form suffered by Matteo Manassero.
The Italian, who became the youngest winner of the BMW PGA Championship in 2013, has tumbled out of the world's top 400.
His apparent quest to find extra length from the tee has backfired dreadfully. The 22-year-old has missed 16 cuts this year, including in his past 11 tournaments.

At times such as these, professional golf is thoroughly unforgiving and Manassero faces a huge challenge to resurrect his career.
He is a likeable and popular figure, and there are plenty in the game who would love to see him arrest this worrying decline.
It is hard not to like Fitzpatrick either. He has a modest demeanour but a game that is well worth shouting about.
If he continues his form through the European Tour's lucrative Final Series of events, the Yorkshireman could land the top-50 ranking that forms his immediate target.
It would take him into the virtuous circle of being able to play for the biggest prizes and most valuable ranking points. It would also book his return to the Masters next year.
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Aint golf in a good place right now with the likes of McIlroy, Speith et al...certainly a young mans game nowadays and i for one, am certainly looking forward. Golf is very much in safe hands and more watchable than ever
Young golfers please note.... if you are fit and have a good technique you will hit the ball a fair distance. Lets not worry too much about trying to out carry every player you play against.... but if you practice your short game and putting as much as you do blasting balls out of site on the range then you will become one hell of a player!!!!!!!!
Really enjoyed the British Masters thanks to Sky showing their commitment to golf once again.
Ian Poulter takes a lot of stick but did a load of work for the tournament and handled himself well as host.
Also enjoyed Luke Donald with his putting instructions.
All in all a great credit to British golf.
Cant agree with you more!
This is becoming more noticeable than ever and both tours need to stamp it out ASAP.
The game is built on etiquette and honesty and not shouting fore after hitting an errant shot is against the foundations that this great game is built on.
He looked a little nervous at first
But on the back 9 when it really mattered he seemed to be thoroughly enjoy himself
I am sure there is going to be lots more days that he will enjoy
Well played Matthew
I'm afraid that is an absolute load of tosh Rab_C
Were not talking about a bunch of hackers here, these guys are the best in the world!
They don't shout simply because it stops the ball going further into the sxxt. Selfish
WHY ???????
Once met Matt Fitzpatrick at a Junior event, excellent golfer and a credit to his family and the game.
spent 3 days marshalling at this event and was sickened by the reluctance of many pros to shout 'fore'...a fellow marshall was badly hurt by a stray shot [julien quesne] who didn't even have the good grace to wander over and check on his victim's well-being...the tour needs to do something before somebody suffers a fatal blow
He has a bright future if he continues to work hard and with a great family around him should do.
Anyone mention what a massive amount of Ryder Cup Points he's also just got ??
this one was greenside...the ball would have gone into the bracken [from where harrington had just made a double bogey] but rebounded off the marshall onto the green...quesne made par and the marshall still has the bruising to prove it!
just to put the record straight, not ALL the pros are guilty of this but, sadly, too many are
100% agreed no idea when this came into the game
The pro's are looking for the advantage of joe public (or a steward) to get in the way of a bad shot & gain a better lie
it is only a matter of time until someone is seriously hurt with the ball being hit progressively harder
Sadly as usual this will have to happen for the powers to act