If Matt Fitzpatrick was intimidated by the challenge that will be Shinnecock Hills this week, then the Englishman hid it pretty well.
In fact, he sounded like he was almost challenging the course playing host to this year’s U.S. Open.
Fitzpatrick, along with most of this year’s U.S. Open field, was treated to a windy, humid day on Eastern Long Island on Monday as he took part in his first practice round at Shinnecock.
But if it was up to him, he’d have the course as firm and dry as possible, and “just see where that takes us.”
Fitzpatrick sounded disappointed when he talked about seeing the grounds crew watering the course, but after his recent run of form, it’s clear he’s looking for a challenge.
The 31-year-old is entering this week’s major on quite a roll over his past nine tournaments.
Fitzpatrick has three wins on the PGA Tour under his belt in 2026, including a victory over Scottie Scheffler in the RBC Heritage on the first playoff hole, and he finished second at the Players Championship in March and the RBC Canadian Open last weekend.
It’s more than enough to have the 2022 U.S. Open champion feeling good arriving on Long Island.
“It’s obviously always nice to be coming in here with some sort of form. It’s been a great season so far,” he said after his practice round.
“My iron swing is very different to what it was in the past, and that’s been the biggest change, I think, from this year compared to previous years,” Fitzpatrick later said. “With that, that’s obviously given me more opportunities, and I know when I putt well, I can putt well and I think take advantage of those opportunities. That’s been the biggest thing.
“I think looking at the stats this season, it’s a case of hitting the ball closer, and particularly the wins, just taking advantage of that, versus previous years where I’ve not necessarily had that and having to rely on the other aspects of my game.”
Even without the course being as dry as he’d like, Shinnecock will provide plenty of challenges when Fitzpatrick tees off Thursday on Day 1.
The wind will play a factor during this year’s U.S. Open, with the course situated on a high point on the South Fork of Long Island, giving the already windy course some extra gusto.
The winds were so prevalent Monday that the tethers used for the tent where players conducted their media availability were clanking and the banner behind Fitzpatrick shook.
“The wind is always a challenge here, and that’s kind of what everyone talks about,” said Wyndham Clark, the 2023 U.S. Open winner, while noting that he did not hold a practice round Monday. “These greens with wind, it’s going to be a real challenge, and I think whoever is patient — you’re going to miss some putts that maybe you normally would make, but you also might make some. You’re just going to have to handle the punches that Shinnecock’s going to give you and stay really patient out here.”
Fitzpatrick echoed the sentiment about the need for patience, and to him, what makes playing a course at its most difficult so appealing is what it brings out in a player’s game.
He joked that he wasn’t a fan of “birdie-fests” and that Shinnecock, at its most challenging, forces you to really be prepared.
“If you miss the greens in the right spots and do your homework, you have opportunities to get up-and-down still,” he explained. “I feel like that is a patience thing. That is a skill in course managing, in hitting good shots that are on the green in those tough times.
“I think that for me — this golf course, I think when it is really tough like that, I enjoy that challenge because you have to do your homework, and you have to hit good shots, and that’s what I think any good golf tournament should require.”
