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August 20, 2025

Matt Fitzpatrick

The Belfry Hotel & Resort

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the interview room with Matt Fitzpatrick. And I think we'll start with something that you were just telling us here, former winner of the Betfred British Masters 10 years ago, but you've never played The Belfry before.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Never.

THE MODERATOR: How can that be?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I don't know. I guess not really any amateur events around here, I guess. It’s only an hour and a half from where I grew up. Yeah, so it's weird, but never been here before and this is my first time.

THE MODERATOR: We wish you the best of luck this week. As I just mentioned, you're a former winner of this event, your first professional win ten years ago. Give us insight how this event changed your career.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, definitely, I obviously remember it pretty well, and first professional wins are also special. And to do it at the British Masters and in my own country obviously made it even better.

So, yeah, to be back the first time in a long time is nice to experience that again.

THE MODERATOR: We'll open up for questions.

Q. When you committed to this event, you were still trying to find your form. Obviously coming here now, it's in a much better place.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, a lot better than I was. It was always -- this is always a kind of a week with eyes on the Ryder Cup and trying to get in those automatic qualifying spots as well as showing something for Luke.

So obviously to come here this week, playing how I have been playing, it's obviously much nicer than trying to sort of scramble, whereas obviously I know I can't qualify automatically now, and so coming here and showing something should be -- show some good signs of form to take into the next few weeks.

Q. Looking at next week, that's another place that you have happy memories as well.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, definitely. I think it's a tough one for me, having played how I have done in the summer -- actually it's going to be five in a row for me. So schedule-wise you don't always put that down at the start of the year to play five in a row.

So, but these two weeks are obviously -- have special meaning for me. Obviously, the previous winner here, playing in my own country, it's a really nice bonus. And then next week is obviously I don’t feel like I need to say too much, I love the place. And two wins and two good results as well, it's always good to go back.

Q. As we look at the position just now, we do you think there's maybe one spot perhaps in the team, do you think as a player, from your perspective, do you look at it that way?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I think it's hard to decide. Obviously there's a lot guys playing well, I'm sure. Luke is probably delighted and stressed at the same time. There is obviously a lot of guys playing well.

And it's going to be -- it is going to be a tough one. It's going to be a tough one. I feel like I've put my case forward with a great summer and then a great few weeks previously, and obviously two weeks in a row here won’t do my chances any harm, so, yeah, we'll just have to see.

Q. Everybody has their say about Keegan being player captain. Where would you stand on that?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Being brutally honest, it’s not something I have been following or are interested in. I mean, I know Keegan, I would say, as well as any of the other competitors -- the Americans that I know, Keegan is probably the one that I know the best. We play at the same club in Florida and I've spent some time with him on flights and stuff.

And he wants to win badly. No doubt about it. He's so competitive. I love that about him. So I think he's going to do whatever he thinks is best for the team. He's been playing some great golf recently. There's no reason why he can't add himself to that team.

Q. Your record in the Ryder Cup as a whole, obviously the last was a big one for you. How do you want to improve that?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. I think obviously I thought about it a lot over the years. Be brutally honest, I don't really count the first one. Obviously everyone else does, but I was 21. Again, probably wasn't ready for that. If I look at where I was then compared to where I am now or even three, four, five years ago.

Yeah, I probably wasn't good enough to be on that team. And then I think that probably showed, like, I think I qualified by just playing in Europe, and no other PGA Tour events, and that probably wasn't right at that stage.

So kind of write 2016 off. And then '21 I felt like I actually played pretty well. I think me and Daniel Berger were 7-, 8-under in our singles match, and it went down to the last. And obviously one poor shot has cost me a point, half a point.

And then played well in Rome, and again unlucky not to get something in the second four-ball, and again my singles match up to 18. I think when you add a little context to the way my Ryder Cup experience has been, I think it's probably easier to understand and go, okay, well, actually arguably could have been better than it was.

And then that's obviously the beauty of match play is you can -- two matches could be 10-over par and one guy wins, and another match could be 10-under par and the guy loses.

So I think it's important to have that context. And I know -- obviously I'm close with Eduardo, and I know that he'll be able to apply that to any conversations as well, probably be a little bit more helpful for me than just, really, the one point.

Q. About Luke and how much he's involved in the process, how much support he's given to you, how much he's spoken to you through the summer?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, Luke probably got in touch with me earlier in the year, probably when I wasn't playing too well, just to check in, make sure everything is okay.

I wouldn't say I spoke to him recently. I think his stance is probably like, well, things are going well, I'm just going to leave him to it, I don't need to add anything more to that.

But we've always said the communication has been very good. And I would agree with that. I called him up on Saturday to discuss a few things on my schedule. Like I say, played the last three in America, and end of the season kind of playoff push is obviously a lot.

So it's something that I was thinking about in terms of how my schedule looks towards the end of this year and what his advice was, really. And that's the only other conversation that we've really had about that. I just wanted to let him know what my situation was and just pick his brain on anything I might want to share. And that's kind of the only communication.

Q. So he was supportive of you playing this week and next week as well?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, he was. And I made it clear to him that this isn't me calling and being like, listen, I'm not playing, like I know I've got -- a pick, do you know what I mean? I made that clear. And he understood that too. It's more of a -- it's more of a precaution in terms of, listen, I played quite a few already, like I don't want to burn out and I need to be careful, but like what -- is there a preference what you want me to do? And we had that conversation.

Just we all agree that, me and my team, this was the right thing to do, play in the next two. And I made the decision myself that I'll play the next two.

Q. Luke just told us he's planning a two-day trip to Bethpage Black a couple days after the BMWPGA. I'm not sure if you knew about this and how you think that's a good idea and how it could work for the team.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, yeah, I don't know what the ins and outs of what that trip looks like. I know there's a plan to have a trip there. Obviously I would like to be on that trip and kind of just planning the week around that as well, what are the things I want to do if I do make the team in order to be better prepared for that. So my management company found out any details we might need to know so I can arrange the rest of the week.

Q. In general terms, how it could help the team, going over there, playing just like a week or so before the event?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I don't think it hurts. It doesn't hurt at all I think. I would say that's the nice thing is you go over, you see the course, you might have a day and a half of practising, making any notes that you want to do.

And then once you get there the following week, you can confirm that and there's less pressure to play. The week as a whole is super busy, so you really have to manage your time well. That's something I've gotten over the last couple. If you get more time on those two days that you get to practise over the week, that's beneficial to kind of take a little bit more.

Q. Do you feel that you're going to be judged on what you've already done this year, or do you feel this is make or break for Matt and you need to show something extra?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I think it's always a combination. I don't think it hurts. There's obviously a lot of scenarios at play for various different people and their form and their results. Obviously, I feel like if we come out and win this week, then I feel like it would be hard not to get selected.

At the same time, you know, it's a case of having a good week just to also cement my place. Obviously, I don't know where Luke is at in his thoughts and who's close to getting selected. But I know there's a lot of possibilities.

And I think that's the thing is it's better for me to be here and put my hand up and say, listen, I'm playing well, or whatever it may be, than to take two, three weeks off and hope for the best.

Q. Bethpage, and the struggle to win away. What is it? Is it a hostile crowd that makes it hard, and how do you deal with that?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I think there's a bit of that. Yeah, for sure. There's so much support for the home team, it's crazy. You miss a putt away, and you really feel it. It really hurts a little bit more I would say.

I'd probably say the course setup as well. The course setup is -- if I'm honest, I'll probably argue it's almost a bit out of hand that you're playing two different styles of course in the past, and I've only played one at home, the previous obviously in France as well as Rome.

And just the way the course is set up is a little bit more helpful to the home team, and then obviously the away is the same deal, when I played at Hazeltine, I didn't really hit it out of the shadow at that point, and that's a disaster at that place.

So I do think course setup probably plays a big part as well, and the fans, yeah.

Q. When you say it's got out of hand, what do you do to rein it in?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I think you need to find a balance of some sort of because you want to -- you want an even playing field, even competition.

I'm all for making the course as hard as -- right now, as things stand, I'm all for both teams setting up how they want. I don't have an issue with that.

But obviously if you look at the -- like Rory said, the hardest thing to do is winning away, and I get that because you look at the results, it's just like win at home, win at home, win at home, win at home.

So I think that's more what I'm getting at, it's a more consistent theme that seems to be emerging, and hopefully we can change that this time.

Q. You said you don’t count Hazeltine, but when you look at the strength of that team compared to the possibility of one with 11 players from Rome, how would you assess that, and even just maybe compare Whistling Straits?

MATT FITZPATRICK: The team --

Q. Yeah, from 2016 to Whistling Straits to the one that could be --

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I mean, listen, you can never predict the future. It's impossible. But I think if you look at '23 and you look at there's potential for -- I don't know how many times it's ever been done in history to have the same team in the next Ryder Cup -- never been done. Never.

So I think that probably tells you something in itself to have potentially 12 out of 12 guys the exact same is pretty amazing two years later from the last one.

Which obviously 2016, the team is very, very different. The players that were in 2016 obviously I would say the majority weren't in 2018. 2018 was kind of a fresh team. And '21 was similar, a little fresher as well.

So, yeah, I think that's probably a very good sign that it's the same 12 have got potential to be there again, yeah.