Matt Fitzpatrick back to his proper fighting weight after solving driver issue

Dunhill Links champion ‘almost had heart attack’ when he discovered what had been causing an issue

It’s not so much having weight lifted off his shoulders. It’s actually been taken off Matthew Fitzpatrick’s driver and, all of a sudden, the Englishman is back in the kind of form that made him a major winner as he landed the US Open title in 2022.

After following an opening-day 66 with a 69 in the second round of The Players Championship, Fitzpatrick is heading into the weekend handily-placed in the 50th anniversary edition of the PGA Tour’s flagship event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

After 36 holes on the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course at the Florida venue, the Yorkshireman found himself trailing Wyndham Clark, the man who succeeded him as US Open champion by five shots following his brace of 65s, but Fitzpatrick is feeling good about his game again and is a dangerous man when that’s the case. It’s all down to him getting to the bottom of why he had a left miss he was struggling to figure out.

Matt Fitzpatrick pictured during the second round of The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images.

“We did some testing in February last year, and never took it out,” said the world No 11. “I put weight in the grip of my irons, and it was successful for three, four weeks, and we thought, OK, well, let’s match it up with the driver because I felt there was a bit of an indifference there. So we did, and then for whatever reason just forgot that it was ever in there. We took it out the week of Phoenix (last month), and yeah, the driver has felt completely different.”

The weight in question was only four grams, but it’s small margins in elite-level sport. “I got it regripped at home and the guy that did it, he put a little bit too much tape on, so I took it to Titleist,” added Fitzpatrick. “They regripped it for me and they’re like, ‘Oh, you know there’s a weight in there,’ and I almost had a heart attack.”

While Fitzpatrick still managed to win the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour last year with the unknown weight on board, his form this season had been iffy - but not any more. “As soon as I came out and hit the next day, it felt night and day,” he said of getting to the root of the problem. “I could hit it as hard as I wanted and it wouldn’t go left. Previously, I felt like I hit it hard and it would just go straight left.”

At the time he finished the second circuit, Fitzpatrick was sitting second in terms of driving distance this week with an average of 313.10 yards. “Yeah, Paul McGinley (in his television role) yesterday mentioned that I can't carry the corners like Scottie [Scheffler] and Rory [McIlroy] and he's definitely right,” he said, smiling. “I'm hitting low runners out there, but they're going the same distance, so, yeah, I think this golf course, I like it for that reason. I feel like you can kind of get things chasing.”

Wyndham Clark lines up a putt on the 12th green during the second round of The Players Championship. Picture: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

Only two British and Irish players have landed this title, Sandy Lyle becoming the first non-American to land it in 1987 and McIlroy achieving the feat in 2019. “I think particularly when the tournament was in May, it's probably not something that British players are used to, with it being Bermuda, firm, fast, 95 degrees,” opined Fitzpatrick. “I think that's probably one thing to do with it. I guess once it's in March it's probably a little bit better with there's not really much grain out here that's affecting anything. It probably feels a little bit more like home, I guess, with the grass. It's a tough golf course; there's no two ways about it.”

Clark made six birdies, including four in a row, in eight holes around the turn as he produced a polished performance for the second day running. In fact, the American created history as the first player to shoot 65 or lower in each of the first two rounds in an event that is carrying a $25 million prize pot this week. “That’s pretty cool,” he admitted. Referring to the fact he shot a 60 to win the weather-reduced AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month, he added: “I guess I've been breaking some records recently, which is pretty neat. More than anything I'm just super excited that kind of had a ho-hum front nine and then turned and really just got into a nice zone and felt really good on the greens and shot an awesome number (coming home in 30 on the front nine).”

One of Clark’s closest challengers is compatriot Xander Schauffele after the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open champion carded a 69 that included an eagle and three birdies but also a double-bogey 7. “Wyndham put a big number up and my goal was to try and close the gap,” said Schauffele, who was seven behind before starting out and seven behind again with seven holes to play but is now just four adrift, as is Canadian Nick Taylor (68)

Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1 and defending champion, required on-course treatment on a couple of occasions as he added a 69 to an opening 67 to be handily-placed yet again heading into a weekend on the US circuit. “Yeah, I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck, and then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12, and that's when I could barely get the club back,” he reported afterwards. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me. I did what I could to kind of stay in the tournament today, and hopefully it'll loosen up and then I'll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.”

After starting the day sharing the lead with both Clark and Schauffele, 2019 winner McIlroy is now eight shots back after a messy 73 that was a stark contrast to his record-equalling ten-birdie opening salvo. It seems the world No 2 still has work to do as he prepares for his latest attempt to join golf’s career grand slam club in next month’s Masters. Indeed, he headed straight to the driving range afterwards.

Getting his round completed just before play was suspended due to darkness, Martin Laird finished birdie–par-par to make it through to the weekend as he added a 73 to his opening 70 to sit on one-under. “I’m glad we got it done as I didn’t want to sleep on making a 4 at the 18th,” said the Milngavie man, who finished tied for second in this event in 2012. “The 18th was also playing very short as I only hit a 5-wood and 9-iron and I’m very happy to finish the way I did.”

But Laird won’t be joined in the final two rounds by compatriot Bob MacIntyre. Finishing just after Laird but playing the course the opposite way, the Oban man signed for a 76, which, coupled with an opening 74, meant he missed the cut on six-over.