THE 153RD OPEN

July 20, 2025

Matt Fitzpatrick

Mixed Zone

Q. How much pride do you take in that?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Obviously it's a really good week, it's a really good finish. Yeah, good week.

Q. How much do you take from the experience of being here and playing here?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, first time being in contention for The Open. It's a big step forward. I've been in contention for two of the four majors this year, which is really nice. Last time I did that was 2022. A lot of good stuff to build on, knowing that my game is there to give it a go. Just got to do a few more things to get it over the line again.

Q. You said you were focusing on this major quite rightly, but obviously people will be talking about the Ryder Cup. What do you think your chances are for that?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, hopefully my form so far is good enough to get me in the mix. I feel like there's obviously still a few more weeks to go, and obviously I want to play well in those as well. Still a couple months off and still got to keep up the good form, and hopefully it's enough.

Q. What will you be playing in now?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Unsure. Yeah, unsure what my next step is. We'll see.

Q. Did you instruct Rory to mark on 18 there?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I didn't, no. He said he was going to. I'm pretty sure he was probably pretty intent on marking, although he didn't get as much applause as I thought he would. I thought they were a little low on that at the end there.

Q. What was the environment like out there today?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it was good. I've heard enough "Rorys" to last me a lifetime. I love playing with Rory. He's fantastic. He's such a great guy, and in an environment like that where he's obviously trying arguably more than everyone else to win, to just have the class that he has is awesome.

Q. You've played obviously late in a few big major groups. I'm wondering what was unique about just the general environment this week.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it's good. It's just good to be in that. It's all well and good practising at time, but you just can't feel the same as these tests and these moments, and that's the biggest thing. Sort of the real things come out in your game, and you kind of can look back and dive into those as more of a weakness and clean things up.

Yeah, I definitely think it's obviously been a great experience, particularly from where I've come, to be in contention at two majors this year is obviously a huge step forward. Been a good experience.

Q. Is there anything you did this week that you were pleasantly surprised by?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, competing in an Open, that was good, considering my best place finish is 20th and I'm from England. But yeah, it's been a great week, like I say. I was obviously hard on myself today out on the golf course, and Dan did a great job of reframing me for the last three, and obviously two birdies in the last three around here is always a nice bonus. Yeah, particularly from where I've come, it's been much better than where I was.

Q. How close do you feel to where you want to be?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I feel like -- my irons have been as good as I've ever hit them. My driving has probably suffered a little bit because of that. But I've shown for certainly three days that my approach play was good enough this week to give me a chance. I putted really poorly for me this week. I've holed a couple of good ones today. But not felt comfortable with how I know I can putt.

I think Scottie Scheffler is a different class, obviously. He's literally a full shot probably better than the next best player in the world, let alone myself, who's not the second best player in the world.

Yeah, it's definitely closer than where it was, and I definitely feel like there's room to improve and can move forward.

Q. Putting used to be his weakness.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it was his weakness. He's brilliant. Can't knock his putting. He just looks good with the putter all of a sudden. Well, not all of a sudden. That's very unfair. He obviously put in a ton of work for it, and I know Phil has obviously worked really hard with him as well.

Even before he worked with Phil, I found it hilarious that he was winning tournaments -- not only just, but one, two, it was a bit close, missed a few putts, let a few guys in, and now you fix his putting, it's like, every week how many do you want me to win by this week. But yeah, fair play to him.