'I needed to get myself together' - Fitzpatrick on finding form
By the end of the Masters, where he finished in a share of 40th place, the former world number six was 75th in the rankings.He was not sure what to do to arrest the decline. And sometimes stuff happens away from the course as well.Such vicissitudes contributed to what had been previously unthinkable - splitting with Mike Walker, his coach and confidante since Fitzpatrick's mid teens.Walker works alongside fellow South Yorkshireman Pete Cowen and helped his protege win the US Amateur in 2013 before turning professional."My relationship with Mike is more important than golf really," Fitzpatrick said. "He's someone I've looked up to since I was 14 or 15."I could tell him anything and my respect for him is so high. At the same time I wasn't playing well and things probably needed to change."It's my job and I needed to get myself together."The week after the Masters, Fitzpatrick started to work with the Alabama-based coach Mark Blackburn."It was the first time I've ever had anyone look at my swing, or get a lesson off someone not named Mike Walker or Pete Cowen in 15 years," Fitzpatrick said.Blackburn wanted to know his new pupil's physical capabilities and his level of flexibility. They soon discovered Fitzpatrick possesses unusually long arms."Which is not great for hitting irons because its harder to control the depth of the club, and you are going to hit it heavier more often than not," he said."The other thing was I don't have great shoulder flexion and because of that, as soon as I swing it too long I come out of posture and my swing is all out of whack."While finishing 11 under par at Portrush it was noticeable that before every shot Fitzpatrick would pull back his shoulders and push out his chest. "It's me trying to pinch my shoulder blades together," he said."It is basically to create the radius of my arms, which means I can just rotate there and I don't need to stretch or move my arms."
The work is paying off. Fitzpatrick was eighth in May's US PGA at Quail Hollow, one of five top 10s since the Masters - including finishing fourth at the Scottish Open the week before Portrush, and a share of eighth at the Wyndham last Sunday.Now he is looking to push to finish top 30 on the PGA Tour and grab a place in the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta. He currently lies 41st and competes in the first play-off event, the FedEx St Jude, which starts in Memphis this Thursday.Asked who he credits for helping him through the toughest stretch of his career, Fitzpatrick says: "My mum and dad and wife Katherine."She was constantly reminding me that I won the US Open; 'you're a great player, you're going to get it back'."It really is true, you've got to have the right people around you and I feel very lucky that I've always had that."
Football tactics fascinate Fitzpatrick
The other constant has been his love of football. This conversation began with Fitzpatrick seeking contact details for a tactical expert who had appeared on the BBC Sport website."People think its a joke but I love football way more than golf," Fitzpatrick smiled. "I'm obsessed with football. It's brilliant for me."I love supporting Sheffield United, over here in the States they show every game I could wish to see, which is amazing."Fitzpatrick has visited Premier League side Brentford and spoken face-to-face with the performance team at champions Liverpool to glean insights. His voice lights up while recalling the people he met and the chats that followed.He was like a sponge absorbing information. "How they use data, how culture is so important," he said. "Just fascinating."Finding little things that maybe we could take into golf - I feel like we've taken a lot from it."But not just golf. He claims there could come a day when he might switch sports."I don't know when I'll ever get time to do this, but I'd love to work in football if the opportunity ever arose in some way, shape or form," Fitzpatrick said."That's extremely wishful thinking, but I just find it so interesting to be part of. I love reading about it and everything about it."More pressing is a golf career that is back on the up. Along with trying to make it to East Lake for the Tour Championship, he wants to retain his place in Europe's Ryder Cup team for next month's trophy defence at Bethpage in New York."It is nice to play well at the crunch time; the play-offs and the Ryder Cup," Fitzpatrick said. "To be part of that would be very special again."He has played three Ryder Cups but his record of only one win in eight matches is a frustration, and poor reflection of the talents of someone with 10 tournament wins in his professional career."Despite my record I still want to be part of it to give myself a chance to improve on it," he said.If he makes Luke Donald's team, Fitzpatrick will bring plenty of perspective to the European team."In the last 15 months there's been an extra effort to try and be a little bit more forgiving to myself and understanding my own psychology really," he admitted."My biggest thing I would take away from the slump is catching things earlier. I can't afford to get to that stage again."It was a tough time for me and the problem was it went on for so long. You can't afford to be behind the eight ball and you need to catch those things as early as you can, and turn them round as quickly as you can."Spoken like a golfer who might one day deliver half-time team talks.
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The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trio of British track cyclists target three new world records
A trio of British Olympians and para-cyclists will be attempting to break three track cycling world records this month. Double Olympic silver medallist Matt Richardson is aiming to break the record for the fastest flying 200m lap and to break the nine-second barrier for the first time, while Paris team pursuit silver medallist Charlie Tanfield is attempting to set a new men's elite Hour Record, which is currently 56.792km. Para-cyclist Will Bjergfelt is targeting the men's C5 Hour Record, which has stood for more than a decade, and is hoping to become the first para-cyclist to ride more than 50km in the process. The current record of 47.569km was set by Andrea Tarlo in 2014. Richardson, who formerly raced for Australia before switching to represent GB last summer, briefly held the 200m record during the Paris Games before his rival Harrie Lavreysen broke it, setting the benchmark of 9.088 seconds. Speaking to media including The Independent before the event, Richardson says his motivation 'is to become the fastest track cyclist of all time.' He and Lavreysen – who picked up three golds in Paris – have developed one of the sport's closest rivalries and the chance to go clear of the Dutchman is a major drive behind the record bid. He says: 'For me, it's a bit of a race between Harrie and I to be the first person to do it. It's been on my radar for the last couple of years. It's going to happen at some point, and once someone goes sub-nine [seconds], they'll be the first person to do that, forever. Records get beaten all the time but barriers stay with that person.' Bjergfelt was a successful road and mountain bike rider before he was hit head-on by a car in 2015 and suffered life-threatening injuries, with his right leg shattered into 25 pieces. He returned to racing in the C5 para-cycling category, winning a world silver medal on the track in 2019 and a world road race title in Glasgow two years ago, and was the first para-cyclist to ride the Tour of Britain. The Bristol native says, 'The Hour Record is iconic. I jumped on it straight away because it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. 'I definitely want to see if I can crack 50km. I would be the first C5 para cyclist to break that barrier, so that would be pretty special. I feel like I've done some pretty incredible things since I became a para-cyclist, so I want to put it out there that if you have an impairment or a disability, there's so many amazing things you can do, and it shouldn't hold anyone back who has aspirations. I want to try and inspire people to get involved.' All three world record attempts will be taking place on 14 August at the Konya Velodrome in Turkey, which hosted a round of the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in March. Richardson momentarily thought he had eclipsed Lavreysen's record at the Nations Cup, clocking a time of 9.041 seconds in qualifying, but the UCI voided his time as he strayed beyond the official bounds of the track. But the seeds were sown for future attempts. Bjerfelt says, 'With British Cycling this year being inspired by Matt's ride at the World Cup, everyone got really excited about the velodrome in Konya. That pre-empted the whole [idea], let's go back there and smash a record, and open it up to everyone.' Richardson explains, 'What makes this so appealing for a flying 200m is it's a very similar shape to the Paris velodrome [in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines], which is deemed probably one of the fastest sea-level tracks because of how wide and steep it is, but they've basically plonked it at 1200m of altitude. For a flying effort it's pretty optimal.' That steep banking allows riders to pick up more speed as they fly down to the bottom of the track, while the lower air pressure at altitude contributes towards lower air density, which means the riders will face less resistance. As Bjergfelt says, 'with the same power, you travel a lot faster'. Of his brief spell as official world record holder during the Paris Games, Richardson says, 'It was a bit of mixed emotions, because I didn't realise I'd broken it when I had, because you're so locked in to the competition. 'My first thought was 'that was a quick time', and then it dawned on me when I heard them announce that whoever wants to be the fastest qualifier now is going to have to break the world record. I was like, 'I got it, didn't I?!' And then 30 seconds later I watched Harrie go round the track, and was like 'and it's gone'.' Bjergfelt, who has had to balance the rigours of his training schedule alongside his full-time job as an aerospace engineer, says there is more to consider than just riding as hard as possible for an hour. 'We did relative tests in May up in Manchester and the one thing that I found there was that after around 40 minutes my hand became quite numb, so that's going to be interesting, pushing through the different barriers that you get. 'With the Hour Record you have to be really, really conservative in the first 40-45 minutes: you still want to be on pace to beat the record, but you have to be really within yourself, because it's an effort that comes back to bite you. In that last 10-15 minutes, that's where hopefully I'll be on pace, and at the same time I should have enough left in the tank to get the maximum out of myself.' All three riders will be on equipment designed to push them as far and as fast as possible, on the Hope-Lotus Olympic bikes from Paris last year, as well as wearing customised skinsuits. 'It's the fastest bike I've ever ridden on the track,' says Bjergfelt. 'Technology has moved on so far since the Hour Record was set in 2014. It'd be wrong if I didn't really smash the record to bits.' Richardson is similarly confident that history will be made next week. 'Nothing's ever a done deal, ever, but I'm pretty confident that I'm in a really good place to get the job done.'
The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ray French obituary
Although Ray French was a dual rugby international, winning four caps for England at rugby union and then, after signing professional terms to play rugby league, appearing four times for Great Britain, it was as the BBC's rugby league commentator that he came to national prominence. French, who has died aged 85 after living with dementia, succeeded Eddie Waring as the BBC's voice of the sport in 1981, spending 27 years in the role. Waring had established a public profile, beyond his verbally eccentric rugby commentaries, via frequent appearances in light entertainment shows and knockabout comedy routines. And, like Waring before him, French too became a somewhat divisive figure among a cohort of rugby league supporters who believed he entrenched a stereotypical perception of their sport. With his distinctive Lancashire enunciation, catchphrases and characteristic lexicon, his critics accused the national broadcaster of choosing a figurehead designed to 'keep the sport in its place': an idiosyncratic pastime of northern England. However, to focus solely on his presentational style would be to mask the depth of knowledge French had for both codes of rugby, especially league. His command of the history of the two codes and his personal experiences of the prejudices constantly marring their relationship were leitmotifs running through his spoken and written work, imbuing his delivery with authenticity. He also called some of the most celebrated matches during his BBC tenure, including the 1985 Challenge Cup final between Wigan and Hull, oft-regarded as the greatest final of all, and 12-man Great Britain's against-the-odds victory over Australia at Wembley in 1994 when fellow cross-coder Jonathan Davies scored one of the finest tries seen at the stadium. 'Davies, he's got some space. He's going for the corner, he's got his head back. And the Welshman is in for a magnificent try' are words longstanding supporters can recite verbatim. Despite such highlights, French always said his most professional achievement at the BBC was during the second half of a commentary when, stuck high on a gantry, he was so desperate to relieve himself that, while still speaking, he was forced to use a bucket held by his match summariser. Meanwhile, his books – which include My Kind of Rugby: Union and League (1979) and Ray French … and Rugby (2010) – explore the complex socioeconomic and political relationships between the two rugby codes. And despite the longstanding animosity between them, often based on class and misplaced prejudice, he did much to break down barriers he considered absurd. Indeed, French was an advocate of a single rugby code, noting that 'the strength of rugby union is along the M4 corridor from London into Wales, while the strength of rugby league is along the M62 corridor in northern England. If rugby stopped dividing its resources, we'd have a game to challenge football.' Raymond James French was born on 23 December 1939 in St Helens. His father, Richard, worked in the local glass industry and his mother, Ellen, was a homemaker. Although raised in a rugby league-supporting family, in 1955 a scholarship took him from Rivington Road school to Cowley Grammar in nearby Windle where he first encountered rugby union. There his prowess as a robust back-row forward attracted the interest of the St Helens rugby union club. He quickly won Lancashire county honours and the attention of the England selectors. He won four international caps, playing second-row in England's Five Nations matches in 1961. Despite England's disappointing campaign, French prospered amid a mediocre pack and looked set for further call-ups. However, St Helens, his hometown professional rugby league club, had been monitoring his progress and in late 1961 offered him a £5,000 contract which initially he turned down. But the opportunity to play his favoured code eventually proved irresistible. He became part of the club's formidable forward pack, playing an integral role in Saints' double-winning season of 1965-66 as they won the Championship and Challenge Cup. However, although he had become club captain, St Helens sold French to local rivals Widnes in 1967. He wasn't especially pleased, describing it as 'feeling like a piece of meat on a supermarket shelf' but it would be at Widnes where he earned his rugby league international honours, travelling to Australia and New Zealand with Great Britain's 1968 World Cup squad. Unfortunately, the team's lacklustre performances meant many squad members, including French, would not be selected again. Meanwhile, while still playing professionally at St Helens, French studied for a degree in English, Latin and Russian at Leeds university. He graduated in 1962 and applied for teacher training at Loughborough university, only to be turned down because he was a rugby league professional. He eventually qualified back at Leeds and taught English at his alma mater Cowley, where he stayed until retirement. It was during his time at Cowley that French began commentating on rugby league for local radio, eventually progressing to the BBC. He was awarded the MBE in 2011 for services to rugby league. The man-of-the-match award in the 1895 Cup Final for lower-division teams is named after him, reflecting his love of, and involvement in, grassroots rugby. He married Helen (nee Bromilow) in 1963. She survives his, as does son Gary and daughter Susan. Raymond James French, rugby league player, journalist and sports commentator, born 23 December 1939, died 26 July 2025
Telegraph
14 minutes ago
- Telegraph
US Open 2025: When is the draw, how to watch on TV, Raducanu and Alcaraz doubles details
The US Open is fast approaching as players gear up for the hard-court event in Flushing Meadows, New York, later this month. After the Canadian Open concludes this week, the Cincinnati Open follows, which will be the last chance for most players to fine-tune their preparations ahead of a grand slam event, which has some changes this year. Skip to: Draw details How to watch How to buy US Open tickets Prize money When do the US Open finals take place? New to 2025 British players at the US Open Latest odds When does the US Open start? The singles draw will begin on Sunday, August 24. The tournament follows the Australian and French Open in becoming a 15-day competition. It means the men's and women's singles first rounds play out over the opening three days. When is the US Open draw? The singles draw will be announced on Thursday, August 21. How to watch the US Open on TV and streaming in the UK Sky Sports has the broadcasting rights to show the US Open live from Flushing Meadows. Gigi Salmon is presenting the coverage alongside the likes of Tim Henman, Laura Robson, Martina Navratilova, Marion Bartoli, Karthi Gnanasegaram, Feliciano Lopez, Naomi Cavaday and Jonathan Overend. How to watch the US Open on TV in the US ESPN have the broadcasting rights to show the tournament for the 17th consecutive year. ESPN's networks will showcase first-to-last-ball coverage with 170+ hours on TV via ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Where is the US Open held? The home of the US Open is the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. How to buy US Open tickets You can buy tickets here. What is the US Open prize money? The 2025 prize money breakdown is yet to be announced. Last year, the men's and women's singles champions took home £2.8 million and the runners-up earned £1.4 million. At Wimbledon this year, the men's and women's singles champions won £3 million. When do the US Open finals take place? The women's final takes place on Saturday, September 6, and the men's final the following day, Sunday September 7. New for 2025 Mixed Doubles competition Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz have been confirmed as wild card entries in this year's US Open mixed doubles event. The mixed doubles championship will take place before the main tournament on August 19 and 20, where $1m (£750,000) in prize money is at stake for the winners. The event has been revamped, taking place before the main singles draw begins. It will consist of best-of-three-set matches, with short sets of up to four games and no-ad in games that reach a score of deuce (40-all), meaning that the winner of the next point wins the game. If the teams split sets, a 10-point match tie-break will be played instead of a third set. The first team to earn 10 points in the tie-break, with an advantage of two or more points – will win the match. The final will be a best-of-three-set match, with sets maxing out at six games. Raducanu and Alcaraz – who can expect to be given a portmanteau nickname of either 'Alcaranu' or 'Raducaraz' – are one of six teams who have received wild cards so far and two further wild cards are set to be announced at a later date to take the overall number of teams competing to 16. Eight of the total 16 pairs have received direct entry into the draw, including Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner along with Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud. Britain's Jack Draper is also in the main draw, paired with Paula Badosa and US duo Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul will play together in front of their home crowd. British players at the US Open Men's singles Qualified automatically Jack Draper Cameron Norrie Jacob Fearnley Qualifying tournament TBC Women's singles Qualified automatically Emma Raducanu Katie Boulter Sonay Kartal Qualifying tournament TBC Who are the defending champions? Jannik Sinner was too strong for Taylor Fritz as he won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. In the 2024 women's singles final, Aryna Sabalenka kept her nerve to defeat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5.
