Matthew
Fitzpatrick
Matthew Fitzpatrick was never going to escape the limelight once
he had conquered the amateur golfing scene. With wins at the US
Amateur Open and the silver medal at The Open the young man
from Sheffield topped the rankings and was set for stardom.
Fitzpatrick gained his tour card through the European Q School
and his rookie year has been nothing short of sensational, midway through the season Matthew had already accrued a number
of high ranking finishes, notably his second place behind Danny
Willett at the Omega European Masters. As the season progressed
Fitzpatrick claimed his first Tour win at the age of 21 when Ian
Poulter handed him the trophy at the British Masters at Woburn.
The win pushed him inside the OWGR top 50, that and the other
9 top ten finishes in 2015 have seen Fitzpatrick earn in excess of
€1,700,000 in prize money and become a favourite to claim a spot
in next year’s European Ryder Cup team.
We caught up with Matthew after the final Race to Dubai series to
find out his thoughts on his rookie season and what he thinks the
future holds for him.
2015 been a whirlwind year for you, did you really expect this
much success in your rookie year?
“You hope for it and I believed I could get to this position but, if
I’m honest, I was really only concentrating on getting my card again
as soon as possible and just moving up the world rankings so it’s
been a really great few months.”
At what point in your early playing years did you know that you
would be accomplished enough to earn a living from golf, and
at what point were all your efforts focussed at becoming a tour
player?
“There’s no real point when I look back and think ‘that was the
time’. You go through different stages and all of a sudden there
you are!”
You conquered the amateur world winning numerous high profile
events, do you feel those wins prepared you better for when you
turned pro or was there even more pressure on you to perform
well in your first season on tour?
“My amateur career was great preparation but it gradually steps up
in terms of pressure. It’s a different feeling when you’re in the mix
on a Sunday but I’ve built towards it and I love being in contention.”
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