TRUIST CHAMPIONSHIP

May 5, 2026

Matt Fitzpatrick

Quail Hollow Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Matt Fitzpatrick to the interview room here at the 2026 Truist Championship. He's making his fifth start at this event. Coming in off of wins in his last two starts and he has three wins on the season. Matt, an incredible year up to this point. If we can talk a little bit about that as well as the state of your game.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, obviously really great start to the year. Obviously happy to be here this week and I'm playing here again. But, yeah, just only delighted with how the year's gone so far. Hopefully can keep that going.

THE MODERATOR: As I mentioned it's your fifth start at the Truist Championship. Last year not at this tournament but at the PGA Championship you finished T-8 here at Quail Hollow, so that's your most recent start here. Just talk a little bit about this golf course and how it sets up for your game.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I feel like it's obviously different this week compared to the PGA last year. I think with the weather we had last year for the PGA the greens were a little bit softer, the rough was a little bit higher. This week it's actually the opposite. The greens seem to be very, very firm and the rough's a little shorter, which is nice. Yeah, I'm really kind of shocked at how firm the greens are right now and that's definitely going to make it a great test.

THE MODERATOR: We'll go right into questions.

Q. Having had some time off last week, are you the reflective type? Did you sit back and sort of take in what the last couple weeks have been like?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, a little bit. I spent last week at home in Florida with my wife and my parents. We had a little bit of off course stuff to do with the house that I bought and stuff. I think that kind of occupied me for most of the week, which was nice to not have to think about golf for a little bit of the obviously the two weeks I had were incredibly special for different reasons. Yeah, it's just hard to put into words how incredible Zurich was, really. RBC was special. To win it twice was amazing. To do it in the playoff in the style I did was incredible. But just trying to go back to the 18th green at Zurich, post-bunker shot, not before, just to relive that again would be incredible. I don't think at the time I probably appreciated how crazy it all was in that moment to sort of be in that moment that, you know, he's going to tap it in and be a PGA TOUR member, have an exemption, get into Signature Events, and win a PGA tournament together. So, yeah, it's hard to put into words, to be honest.

Q. The PGA last year was only a couple weeks after heritage of the what do you think allowed the changes with Mark Blackburn to take effect so quickly?

MATT FITZPATRICK: What did I think allowed them?

Q. The changes to take effect so quickly with Mark.

MATT FITZPATRICK: I think a lot of it was kind of posture and setup stuff. I've always been one for kind of once I've got a feeling I can kind of ride it out for a, what I feel is awhile of the I think the stuff that we spoke about and did and worked on was exactly that. It's kind of I had a feeling for it. I have certain traits in my swing and in my setup position that I need to be wary of and avoid those. I feel like it's become a game of opposites. I get a little bit too upright, so I know I need to be more over. I get the handle high, I need to make sure it's a little lower. I feel like with that and the feeling of kind of the retraction, they're all quite not simple and quick fixes, but they are simple stuff that you can maintain and stay on top of. It's not like having to move the club into some crazy position that I've never done before. I think that's been the biggest thing is that because it was posture stuff and setup I feel like it's easier to maintain because you kind of, it's easy to kind of focus on that. I think when you're trying to move the club through positions it's a little bit harder to find that consistency sometimes.

Q. You won the U.S. Open, do you feel like a totally different player from what you were then or have you just gotten back to sort of the kind of player you were then? I know you made some technical changes.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, no, my technically my DNA is definitely different. The makes up of my game at that point in time was pretty much great driving of the golf ball, like really, really, really good. I was long and straight at that point. I hit my irons pretty well at that point too. I would say now I feel like I'm driving it probably just as well, maybe not quite as long, but I'm driving it just as straight if not straighter of the my irons are another level above. So I feel like that combination alongside me putting well, which has always been a strength in the past, is obviously, you know, it's a nice mix.

Q. 18th hole great finishing hole. Wondering how you strategize on that hole and what shots you feel like you can attack that hole with?

MATT FITZPATRICK: This week? Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a hole to attack, that's for sure. I think it's a tough finishing hole. The wind tends to be off the left most of the time. You've obviously got the trees down the left off the tee, so to start it left is difficult. Water down the left and you can be blocked out by the trees by hitting it right. So I don't think I hit the fairway one day all week at the PGA, so that's a good confidence boost in to start, but, yeah, played it yesterday and hit the fairway, so I feel like I'm back now.

Q. With Alex, he was close to losing his card last year on the DP World Tour before he went to Mike. What have you seen the biggest change in his game in those few months since he started working with him?

MATT FITZPATRICK: The biggest change is his driving. Driving was probably always a weakness in the past and it's become a strength. It's completely night and day from what it was. I think his swing looks much more compact and in better positions now. I think I was even kind of discussing with Mike, he was first in driving last week, he was first off the tee. I think if you would have said that to me two, three, four years ago, you would just never would believe it. That's how impressive it is the turn around for me that, A, that Mike what he has done with him, as well as, you know, what Alex has done himself by putting in the effort.

Q. Obviously a lot of attention on you two guys. How are you most a like and how are you most different?

MATT FITZPATRICK: (Laughing). That's a good question. I can tell you the differences, that bit's easy. Yeah, we are very different. I kind of made the joke at Zurich a few years ago, he's the happy, bubbly one, I'm the miserable one. Which kind of still stands, I guess. But he's definitely just got such a great attitude. He's always kind of bouncing, always so pleasant to be around. So nice to everyone. Not to say that I'm not, but he really is, he's so polite. I think just when it comes to his golf game and everything he's much more, well he's much less sort of, way less analytical, he's not really analytical at all, compared to myself. I think sort of the organizational side of it, it's kind of, you know, from what I've seen on outside in the past few years, it's kind of like turn up and go. As opposed I know where I'm going to be for every hour basically of the practice day. But then in terms of similarities, I mean it's hard to tell because I do feel like we are very different. I think a lot of people would say there are similarities, but I'm not very good at seeing those.

Q. Do you see yourselves as consistent practice round partners going forward this year. Last year you were continents apart, now you're on the same TOUR.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Definitely. I think it would be wrong of me not to, you know, do that with him and help him out as much as I can. He's been thrown in the deep end straight away and it's all happening very fast. So it's nice to, I feel like I have an obligation to help him too. I've already said to him, if you don't want that, you can tell me to mind my own business and I don't want to feel like I'm getting involved in all these decisions and stuff, that's his thing. I just kind of want to offer my two cents, if you like, and see where it goes. But we're planning on playing today, but we're opposite for the pro-am, so that didn't make sense. But, yeah, we'll definitely play practice rounds together next week and going forward, all being well.

Q. There's obviously always talk about Green Mile at this course, but what are, for you, when you come here, stretches of the course that you find yourself more comfortable in and what are parts that you find yourself working a little harder to navigate?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I'll be honest, I don't really feel like I know this golf course that well. I mean, I played the PGA in 2017, like a complete blur from what the course is now to then. Like I really don't remember much at all. I just remember it being very wet that week.

Then the PGA last year, and I played in what was previously obviously the Wells Fargo here, so these last two times really are the only times that I'm like, okay, it feels fresh and I kind of know my way around really. I think there's a few holes obviously that you kind of have breather holes I feel. 9 is a tough hole, but it's fairly generous off the tee. 8's obviously fairly generous as well. 10's a par-5. 11's not too bad. I feel around there you kind of have a little break in that you're not worried about a hazard or anything like that. Obviously coming down the stretch there, 14 is a drivable 4. And there's water left. So you feel like you got to hit a good shot there and you definitely feel like you have to pick one up. 15, the par-5 is obviously the same. Then you're coming into the stretch down the last few. At the PGA I was in contention chipping in on 14 and you kind of are looking at the home stretch and you go, okay, if I can play these next four in somehow get in the house at 2-under, 3-under from there, then you never know where you end up. Instead I decided to play it in 3-over, so, yeah, it's definitely a tough finish.

Q. In your three wins this year you've either made the winning putt on 18 or you've won it in a playoff. Is there something that you kind of lean on and rely on in those high-pressure situations to where you aren't, you said you're very analytical, to where you don't overanalyze the situation and the shots that lay ahead of you?

MATT FITZPATRICK: No, I wouldn't say there's anything I lean on. I just feel that, I feel the biggest thing is I back myself in those moments. I don't feel overawed by the situation or who I'm playing against. We're all just people at the end of the day. So I certainly don't feel intimidated by that situation. If anything, that's what you practice for. I want to be in those moments and take advantage of those moments. So I feel like I've always done a good job of that in my career. Like if I look at my results and where they have come from an the situations I may have started Sunday in, and gone on to have success, like I feel like I would back myself to go and do that. I don't feel like I shy away from that moment. So I feel like that's the big thing is having that confidence in my own ability in that moment as opposed to having anything in particular to do it. It's kind of just the same routines and doing the same thing as I did on the 18th hole on round four as I do on hole 3 on round one.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Matt. Thank you for your time and best of luck this week.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Thanks.