BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

September 16, 2026

Matt Fitzpatrick

Wentworth Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: I am pleased to welcome 2022 U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick to the Media Centre here. How excited are you to be back at this tournament and how special is this tournament for you?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it's always great to be back at this tournament. I think it's just really nice to play in front of your home crowd and the atmosphere is always great from get-go on Thursday. So, yeah, it's great to be back.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned the home crowd there. How special would it be to lift this trophy in front of those?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it would be amazing. Obviously the highlight of the year for the DP World Tour. I think it's arguably the best event on the Tour, and to sort of each your name in history with some of the winners of this event would be an amazing feeling.

Q. Talk about having Alex at the Ryder Cup get together.

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it's a lot of fun and really cool to have him there, as well.

Yeah, I think it's obviously a weird one. It's a year away. A lot of things can happen between now and then, and be nice if he was in the team and I was in the team come a year from now. But it was just cool to kind of get everyone together, I think, and kind of -- certainly stokes the fire that you want to be there, amongst the players that were there as well as the captains and stuff like that. It was pretty cool.

Q. Ryder Cups you've played in on this side of the Atlantic have been played on venues where tournaments have been played. How much of a challenge is that going to be for the European players as well?

MATT FITZPATRICK: It's going to be interesting. I'm sure Luke and his team have got ideas of where they want the golf course to go and the shape, I guess. That's going to be talked about a lot and how that fits into strategy.

I know obviously the golf course gets handed over at a person point in time, but obviously for now, I'm sure there's going to be a few notes taken and some advice along the way, I guess.

Q. I'm writing about Aaron Rai. Is there another more popular player on The European Tour, other than you, of course, excluding yourself? And secondly, what is it about him and his play that strikes you?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, Aaron is such a lovely kid. He's just a really nice guy, and obviously known him for a while whilst he's been on tour. I think he's disciplined, is the biggest thing I admire about him. You know, doesn't give a toss about other people's viewpoints, and he plays the game his way. I admire that. Takes a lot of self-belief and I think that's a really incredible talent to have.

I think the way he goes about his game, as well, he likes to hit different shots and he likes to move the ball both ways. He's a talented player, and I was delighted for him when he won the PGA this year.

Q. Did you and Alex team up at Adare the other day?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I thought this was going to be a dog question. We did.

Q. Did you take the money?

MATT FITZPATRICK: We did take the money.

Q. Who did you pay?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Bob and Sepp.

Q. Do you think you two would be pretty --

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yes. We're on a good run at the minute.

Q. Obviously you won the purse, but would that be -- Frankie and Edoardo do it?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I would love it, yeah. I don't think necessarily foursomes would be as good. I think four-ball give us that freedom to play our own game, and we have I would say kind of different games, I guess.

For me, it would be -- I feel like I've been lucky enough to achieve a lot in the game. That I think would be kind of the icing on the cake, I guess. I don't think it would get better than that.

Q. He picks you at four-balls, does he?

MATT FITZPATRICK: We've had a couple games.

Q. Obviously the season is due to finish in the Middle East and Dubai was good for you. Do you feel comfortable going back to that part of the world this year?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Being completely honest as things stand right now, I would say I'm not that comfortable. No, I wouldn't be that comfortable. A few things have obviously changed for me, perspective and stuff. I've had a child in August, and that obviously kind of changes things, I guess, a bit more.

I think just in case -- in the case of what you read on news, I know the news, where you get your news isn't always -- can be very one-sided, particularly in the U.S.

But I think for me, as things right now, it would feel a little bit weird, given what I'm reading elsewhere. Things can change overnight, I'm sure. I think it seems to be going down that path of things are getting better. I've sort of looked on the U.K. website, I know they he changed from essential travel only to one step better than that.

Obviously I know the Tour has been on this for a long time. It's obviously frustrating that the decision hasn't been made so you can plan what's going on. But I understand there's obviously a lot of moving parts to that, and it's obviously difficult to make these decisions.

I think if the tour do go, I'm sure they have had the best advice possible on what that looks like. As things stand right now, I wouldn't necessarily be too keen on going.

I know there's been discussions on what formula 1 is doing. I don't know the rumours that side but I've heard they might not be going there, so begs the question, would we, I guess.

Q. Do you feel like your perspective as a player would be listened to?

MATT FITZPATRICK: No, I don't think so. Not me personally.

Q. Is that a frustration?

MATT FITZPATRICK: No, it's not my -- it's not for me to, it's not for me to make these decisions. I'm not paid to do that.

But yeah, I just don't feel like my opinion would hold that much weight. I know I've been asked on my opinion, but I don't necessarily think it's like a heavy weight that's going to give -- I smoke to a couple of the guys and some of them have said they are uncomfortable. Some have said it's fine. I guess we'll see.

Q. Can you talk about what Alex is doing differently from a year ago?

MATT FITZPATRICK: What time is Alex -- he's working with Mike Walker. He's done a really good job. Alex's weakness was always his driving and that's just turned into a strength. From technical aspect, that's been his biggest change, and I think that's -- I think that's really why he's kind of kicked on so much. He was always a decent iron play and a fantastic short game. I think just his ability to hit the ball straight and pretty far now, has just -- you know, he's gone from, I'm guessing, losing certainly at least a quarter of a stroke a round off the tee to beginning half a stroke around on average or even a quarter stroke which over the course of a tournament is a big deal when you can put yourself in the fairway a lot more regularly.

Q. One other thing to follow up, have you been in constant contact with The European Tour about this issue?

MATT FITZPATRICK: No. Like I say, I spoke to Guy last week about it because I have some decisions to make on my own minimums that I need to play and whatnot.

For me, I know people close to me would -- my agent and a few other people on tour, it was like, yeah, we are going to make a decision by June, they were told in April.

Obviously in the region, there's a lot going on. So it's easier -- it's easy to say that and not make a decision because of the instability, I guess.

So I think it is -- it's a difficult subject. But I know -- I'm sure the Middle East, particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai, want the DP World Tour to go there badly because it's great for -- it's a great event for two weeks. It's great for the tourism and all that sort of stuff with it but I wouldn't say that I have had regular contact. I feel like it's been very vague the whole time and they have not necessarily kind of had open communication, I would say.

And that's not like having a go. I just think it is a difficult topic for them to obviously make a decision on.

Q. Just on your schedule, have you decided what that's going to look like, Middle East or not?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, Dunhill, definitely playing Dunhill. Outside of that, looking at France next week. And yeah, kind of depends. I don't know when -- if there's a decision made this week, obviously have a little bit more confirmation of what I might need to decide on of the outside of that, it's up in the air, I guess.

Q. With the changes coming up on the PGA TOUR, in an ideal world, where would you see The European Tour in five years?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Good question. I think it's difficult. Yeah, that's a really difficult question to answer. I think the way the world of golf is now, if you want to, the Top-50 players, top 70 players on the PGA TOUR, your priority has to be playing the PGA TOUR.

And certainly if you're an American, it's very easy because you can finish in August and you could have three months off or whatever until start the of season. If you're a European, it's difficult because you don't want to miss -- this is such a great event. Irish Open last week is a great event. I love playing Switzerland normally, that's a great event, Dunhill, Playoffs. Before you know it, you've played 25 a year already and before you know it, you add another five or six in the fall, it can become quite a lot, depending on your priorities.

How that's going to play into what guys want to do, it's a tough one to say. I'm sure that if the DP World Tour was playing for PGA TOUR been every week, there might be a few different faces on the PGA TOUR, is my guess.

But I think -- yeah, it's a really difficult one to answer. It really is.

I think my concern would be to move the big events into this period, and all of a sudden you start getting guys from the PGA TOUR come in that have never had any commitment; seems like a nice week to come over and play in Europe. I don't like that personally. So I hope that wouldn't happen.