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THE IRISH OPEN


June 22, 2014


Matthew Fitzpatrick


FOTA ISLAND, IRELAND

Q.  What's your verdict on your first professional event?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, delighted.  I'm really happy to finish 5‑under for the tournament.  I played pretty solid today, and I played pretty well all week.  Just not holed too many putts.  I think the last round, I've holed a few and my score's gone I'd say up, but that's probably not the right word, I've gone down.

Q.  Was it as you expected?  Anything surprise you?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  A little bit.  I felt quite busy this week.  I don't know whether it's just the first week I turned pro.  Yeah, I'd just say it's been busier than I expected but I've really enjoyed it, and the place, everyone's been great to me.

Q.  I saw as you walked out of the scorer's hut, you had the prize money in your hand, how much have you won and what are you going to do with it?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  I didn't get a chance to check and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.  Knowing my dad, he'll probably say, you can't spend any of it.  Even though it's mine, he still probably won't let me spend any of it.

Q.  What do you do with your first paycheck?  Nice to receive, isn't it?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, absolutely.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with it at the minute.  I think I'll sit down once I realize how much it is, I'll probably set some aside for something.  Yeah, it's a nice feeling to have to receive my first paycheck.

Q.  So there's not a car earmarked or something like that?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  No, not at all.  Nothing at the minute that I've got my eyes on.

Q.  Not bad as a young man to suddenly see those kind of figures in front of you?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, it is, it's a little bit strange for it to be my money, as well, that I've actually earned for, it's quite nice.

Q.  How has the week been?  Have you noticed some differences playing on The European Tour like this?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, absolutely.  I've enjoyed it the whole week.  I played really nicely and sort of not got too down myself.  I know how good everyone else is, and just giving it my all really.  Seems to have gone okay.

Q.  I know we said at the start of the week, there's no better place to start when you have crowds appreciating what a big tournament it is?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Absolutely.  I can't thank the crowds enough.  We've had a big all week and they have been really supportive of me and it's really nice to have that for my first professional event.

Q.  What's next?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Probably a week off.  Got some nice tickets to Wimbledon next week, so I'll be going there to much with a that, and then yeah, continue at the French hopefully.

Q.  Are you physically or mentally more tired?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  I don't feel too bad to be honest.  Might catch up with me tomorrow but now I feel okay to be fair.  I don't feel too tired and I don't feel like I was swinging it any slower.  I feel okay.

Q.  What's your dad's name?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Dad's name is Russell.

Q.  When did you play Mt. Juliet?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  It was with Mum and Dad.

Q.  When was that?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  09 maybe.

Q.  And that's the only other occasion‑‑
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  I played Portmarnock‑‑

Q.  So you did play competitively here.
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, I forgot about that.

Q.  Could I ask you, was there any comparison with the Walker Cup, for instance, and the support you were getting?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  It was hard to play sort of over in the States, it was really different.  I wouldn't really know to be fair.  In comparison to what I've had at Bay Hill and Harbour Town, I would say it's pretty similar.  They draw big crowds, attract some very big crowds.

Q.  We spoke to you Tuesday or Wednesday ahead of your professional debut in golf, how is it finishing up The Irish Open?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  It's been good.  I've really enjoyed my week and it's gone quite well and I'm really pleased.

Q.  Did you feel pressure at all during the week?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  I guess a little bit.  My aim was to make the cut and sort of when my first round put me out of the cut, I had to do something good the second round and there was a bit of pressure to keep it going, especially I started well quickly in the second round and I had to sort of push on, but I probably did try to defend it, which probably wasn't the right thing to do.  But no, I've enjoyed it, and yeah, I'm feeling a lot more relaxed now.

Q.  Just how different did it feel as a professional, or did it at all?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  No different.  No different in playing.  Off the course, it's a lot different.  You've got managers around you and doing autographs and pictures and more press.  I think that's really probably the only difference.

Q.  A paycheck you look forward to spending?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, I don't know what on yet but yeah, hopefully.

Q.  What's next for you?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Just a week off and I got an invitation to the French Open, so that will be my next event.

Q.  How would you say to the people of Cork, how was it taking part in The Irish Open?
MATTHEW FITZPATRICK:  Yeah, it was fantastic.  Couldn't happen without their support of the tournament.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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