Antrim joint-boss rues Saffrons' failure to build on hot start in All-Ireland Junior Final loss to Louth
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BBC News
14 hours ago
- BBC News
'I needed to get myself together' - Fitzpatrick on finding form
Golf is a demanding and successful day job, but football is former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick's sporting passion - to the extent that he wants to work in the may happen one day but for now, digging his way out of the biggest slump of an otherwise glittering golf career has been the 30-year-old's has been a difficult and emotional process, but proof that he is back came with a career-best tie for fourth at last month's Open. He was the leading UK golfer that week on the Antrim coast and it was a fine way to end the men's major more so given where Fitzpatrick's game was when it began at April's Masters. The previous month he had missed the cut at the Players, parting company with caddie Billy Foster - with whom he won the 2022 US miserable early spring confounded expectations, after taking time to reset his career following a disappointing 2024. He felt ready to contend again, but his game remained in disarray."I just didn't have it," Fitzpatrick told BBC Sport. "I'd put in a tonne of work, my coaches had put in so much work and it just didn't happen."There's no stone left unturned for me, but it's hard when you're intending to hit a shot and missing it by quite a lot. I just didn't know what was coming."And that's when confidence hits an all-time low and you feel like you can't progress." By the end of the Masters, where he finished in a share of 40th place, the former world number six was 75th in the was not sure what to do to arrest the decline. And sometimes stuff happens away from the course as vicissitudes contributed to what had been previously unthinkable - splitting with Mike Walker, his coach and confidante since Fitzpatrick's mid 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 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 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 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 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 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.
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Antrim joint-boss rues Saffrons' failure to build on hot start in All-Ireland Junior Final loss to Louth
Antrim joint-manager Chris Scullion lamented his side failing to build on their superb start as they lost to Louth in the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship Final at Croke Park.
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Boss Darren McCann insists Tyrone always felt in total control of title destiny after savouring All-Ireland Intermediate glory
'On the sideline, we felt totally in control. We were creating chances but we just weren't taking them, which was frustrating for us,' said McCann. 'When we play relaxed football, we are a hard team to stop, and we played relaxed football, especially in the second-half. The whole group have serious heart and determination as a collective, and that was a collective performance. 'I was really happy with their performance today, and the key thing was getting on top and staying on top.' Goals in either half from Aoife Horisk and Katie Rose Muldoon proved pivotal as they edged out Laois by six points to deservedly capture the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup at Croke Park. In the process, Tyrone bounced back from their 2024 Final defeat to Leitrim to win the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate title for the first time since their sole previous success in 2018. Tyrone enjoyed a 1-07 to 1-05 interval lead, with Horisk's 27th-minute goal cancelling out an equally superb finish from Laois' Shifra Havill four minutes earlier. There was little to separate the teams throughout a nervy second-half, but the decisive moment arrived in the 54th minute as Muldoon left Laois goalkeeper Eimear Barry helpless with a shot from close range. It was Tyrone who seized the early initiative through points from Sorcha Gormley and Cara McCrossan before Laois struck back to level parity by the fourth minute courtesy of scores from Jane Moore and Emma Lawlor. Lawlor edged Laois in front in the seventh minute, immediately after their corner-back Faye McEvoy had produced a superb goalline clearance at the opposite end, with parity restored soon after through a Niamh O'Neill free. Parity continued as Emily Lacey and Aoife Horisk (free) traded points by the end of the first quarter, with the Ulster county re-establishing their two-point advantage thanks to Sláine McCarroll and the lively Gormley. However, their inaccuracy up front undermined their general control as O'Neill placed her shot too close to Barry in the 22nd minute, and that profligacy was punished in an instant as Lawlor worked well in releasing Havill for an emphatic finish to the roof of Amelia Coyle's net. Frustration continued for Tyrone in the 26th minute as Gormley was denied from the penalty spot following a foul on Horisk, but the latter made no mistake a minute later as she drilled home from 10 yards to edge her side two points clear by half-time. Laois wasted little time in getting back on level terms as Mo Nerney and Fiona Dooley both scored within three minutes of the restart. Crucially, Laois were unable to get in front this time as O'Neill (free) and Horisk responded for Tyrone, with the latter becoming increasingly influential as the contest evolved. The same could be said for Nerney, who added two points in quick succession to bring Laois to within a point by the 43rd minute. However, their momentum stalled 10 minutes from time as Ciara Crowley was yellow-carded, and O'Neill's subsequent free helped double Tyrone's advantage. Tyrone wrapped up the issue when Muldoon followed up well to net after fellow substitute Emer McCanny had been denied, and they pulled away by the final whistle thanks to insurance points from O'Neill, Gormley and captain Aoibhinn McHugh. Scorers, Tyrone: N O'Neill 0-07 (3f); A Horisk 1-03 (0-01f); S Gormley 0-03; K Muldoon 1-00; A McHugh, S McCarroll, C McCrossan 0-01 each. Laois: E Lawlor (3f), M Nerney (3f) 0-05 each; S Havill 1-00; F Dooley, J Moore, E Lacey 0-01 each. Tyrone: A Coyle; J Lyons, G McKenna, E Quinn; C Campbell, M Mallon, C Canavan; A McHugh, S McCarroll; E McNamee, S Gormley, A Horisk; N O'Neill, C McCrossan, M Corrigan. Subs: E McCanny for McCrossan (36), K Muldoon for McNamee (45), A McGahan for Campbell (53), C McCaffrey for O'Neill (58), J Barrett for Horisk (59). Laois: E Barry; S Farrelly, C Dunne, F McEvoy; A Gorman, A Moore, A Moran; F Dooley, J Moore; S Havill, E Galvin, C Crowley; E Lacey, E Lawlor, M Nerney. Subs: L Kearney for Gorman (39), M Cotter for McEvoy (45), K Donoghue for Lacey (47), A Fitzpatrick for Havill (56). Meanwhile, Dublin claimed their seventh All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Championship title with a clinical display against Meath at Croke Park. The Sky Blues prevailed on a 2-16 to 0-10 scoreline, with most of the damage done in a whirlwind first-half. A bumper crowd of 48,089 – the highest Final attendance since the 2019 decider – made it a memorable day at GAA Headquarters. But it was Dublin who settled the quickest and raced into a 12-point lead by the 24th minute. Hannah Tyrrell's two early points were followed by a goal from Nicole Owens in the seventh minute. Kate Sullivan tagged on another point before Meath finally got on the scoreboard with a pointed free from Emma Duggan. Carla Rowe then restored Dublin's six-point advantage before Tyrrell grabbed her third score of the game. Niamh Hetherton notched Dublin's second goal in the 23rd minute as Meath struggled to keep up with a blistering Sky Blues display. Meath rallied but couldn't make inroads into the Dubs' advantage. Sullivan increased Dublin's lead, but Duggan grabbed two more pointed frees to bring her – and Meath's – total to four for the first-half. With the half-time scoreline at 2-09 to 0-04, the Royals needed a big response in the second-half. Duggan was once again on hand to reduce the arrears to 10 points, and she followed that up with Meath's first point from play – a beautiful, curling effort from distance on 41 minutes. Vikki Wall then got in on the act with another point for the Royals, but Rowe restored Dublin's nine-point advantage just after. The Leinster rivals traded points thereafter with Sullivan, Hetherton and Crowley on target for Dublin, while Meath responded with points from Cleary and Duggan, making it 2-14 to 0-10 with 15 minutes left to play.
