Matt Fitzpatrick Found His Game on Thursday at Harbour Town
Professional golf is a finicky thing.
Some days you're on and some days you're off.
And then sometimes it's weeks of playing mediocre golf with no end in sight.
Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick has been experiencing the latter for most of the 2025 season.
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The 2022 U.S. Open Champion has played in eight events this season without a top-10 finish and with three missed cuts. He has dropped from 43rd in the World Rankings at the beginning of the year to his current position of 75th.
Matt Fitzpatrick hits his second shot on eight during the first round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament. Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Looking for answers, Fitzpatrick fired his longtime caddie, Billy Foster, after missing the cut at The Players Championship in hopes that a new voice would make the difference.
'Not a lot, it's rubbish, simple as that. It's been awful,' Fitzpatrick said when asked about his season. 'Yeah, it's been the worst I've ever played, in fact. So yeah, was plenty of room for improvement. Hopefully this is a good week to make a start. I feel like I've done some things this week that hopefully get me back on track and go from there.'
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Fitzpatrick is playing this week in the RBC Heritage, an event he has liked since he was a kid. At times he has made the most of his trip to the Low Country with a win in 2023 and a T4 in 2021.
Even last year, when he finished T28, he shot four rounds under par.
Of all the tour courses, Fitzpatrick feels the most comfortable at Harbour Town Golf Links.
So after a 5-under 66 on Thursday, his lowest round since The Sentry in Maui at the beginning of the year, the 30-year-old from Sheffield must be pleased.
'I think everything was pretty solid today. I wouldn't say anything crazily stood out,' Fitzpatrick said about the bogey-free performance. 'I felt like I putted really well, chipped it really well, hit my irons where I needed to, and hit the fairways where I needed to.'
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Sitting five shots back of Justin Thomas, who shot a 10-under 61, Fitzpatrick will need to continue to plod along in hopes of a consistent three more days and Thomas coming come back to the pack.
'I think there's definitely a lot to be said for that when you go somewhere that you're so comfortable,' Fitzpatrick said of Harbour Town. 'I was looking forward to this week. Even not playing well last week, I was just looking forward to being here, taking it all in and doing the usual stuff that we do here. So, it definitely helps.'
Related: Legendary Caddie Billy Foster Is Going to Take It Easy in 2025
Related: Caddie For Hire!
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