‘Worst I’ve ever played’: Major winner’s ‘rubbish’ form has him searching for answers

Matt Fitzpatrick made an eagle and three birdies on his way to a tidy first-round 66 at the RBC Heritage that has him five back of Justin Thomas’ blistering clubhouse lead.   

“I think everything was pretty solid today,” Fitzpatrick said afterward. “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.”

Simple game, right?

Ehh…decidedly not, as Fitzpatrick would remind reporters throughout the remainder of his post-round press conference Thursday.

Four days removed from a 40th-place finish at the Masters, Fitzpatrick was asked about his takeaways from his 2025 season thus far, a query that led to one of the most brutally honest self-assessments you will ever hear from a world-class golfer. Fitzpatrick didn’t just bare his soul, he tore a hole in his polo and ripped it out.

But first, a refresher on the state of Fitzpatrick’s game, at least on paper.

The most recent of his two PGA Tour wins came exactly two years ago, at this very event, the RBC Heritage; Fitzpatrick finished that season with six top-10 finishes and more than $8 million in earnings, good for ninth in the FedEx Cup standings. Last year, his form soured. In what was a winless season, he compiled just three top-10s and finished 40th in the FedEx race.

And this year? The downturn has continued. In eight starts entering this week, Fitzpatrick has missed three cuts and not once finished in the top 20. His world ranking has slipped to 75th (from a high of 6th), and in the wake of missing the cut at the Players, he parted with his highly regarded veteran caddie, Billy Foster. It’s been that kind of year.  

Which brings us to this week at Harbour Town and Fitzpatrick’s searing evaluation of his game.   

“It’s rubbish, simple as that,” he said. “It’s been awful. Yeah, it’s been the worst I’ve ever played, in fact.”

Most concerningly to the 30-year-old Fitzpatrick, his deficiencies have been moving targets.

“A bit of everything,” he said. “Every week seems to throw something at me, putting bad or chipping bad. Mostly it’s been the irons have not been good enough, and then obviously that puts pressure on everything else, as well. I’ve actually driven it okay this year, and that’s probably the only positive, but outside of that, everything else has not been good enough.”

Irons

The stats support the summary. He ranks a lowly 157th in SG: Approach the Green and 154th in SG: Around the Green. His SG: Total rank isn’t much better: 142nd. Fitzpatrick’s U.S. Open win at Brookline in 2022 must feel like it came in 1922.

Fitzpatrick said he felt his game started to decline in the middle of last season. At the end of the year, he had what he called a “reset.” He got married, went on his honeymoon and unplugged from the game. Then he rebooted. “I had like five or six weeks before Sentry and then another three weeks after that to really get sharp,” he said. “I felt like I did that.” After a slow start in Maui, he rallied and finished T24, but the story of his 2025 has been grim ever since.

Fitzpatrick said his woes have extended to the makeup of the supporting cast around him. He referenced “a few things going on off the course” that he preferred not to delve into, adding: “It’s no one’s particular fault, it’s just the certain circumstances. It’s been hard to kind of figure stuff out technically. I’ve been a little bit on my own recently, and again, it’s absolutely no one’s fault.” Fitzpatrick has worked largely with two British swing coaches, Mike Walker and Pete Cowan.

This week in Harbour Town, Fitzpatrick said he “got some extra help” (he didn’t say from whom) that has “given me a little bit more confidence in where I’m going, a bit more of a direction.”

Fitzpatrick has played on three European Ryder Cup teams, most recently in Europe’s winning week in Italy in 2023. Asked about the possibility of making the 2025 squad, which will play the U.S. at Bethpage Black in September, Fitzpatrick’s response was unflinching.

“Miles off it,” he said. “Yeah, I’ve got no interest in that at the minute. That’s not the plan.”

The upside for Fitzpatrick: He’s back at a golf course this week where he has won. There’s comfort in that, he said. Also of some consolation: There is still much proper golf to be played in 2025 and still much time to rediscover his world-beating form.  

“There’s three majors with plenty of points still up for grabs, still plenty of elevated events and golf courses I’ve played well in the past,” he said. “I’ve still got to be a little bit optimistic, but there’s no doubt about it, I need to start playing well and making up some points pretty quickly.”