Matt Fitzpatrick frustrated after first round of the Zurich Classic, ‘It’s not good enough’

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Matt Fitzpatrick entered the Zurich Classic with his brother, Alex, as the favorites.

No one has won on the PGA Tour more than Fitzpatrick this season, and he entered New Orleans off the back of a playoff win over Scottie Scheffler at the RBC Heritage.

The Zurich is of great significance for the Fitzpatricks, as a win would give Alex, who currently plays on the DP World Tour, a two-year exemption on the PGA. So Matt, the world number three, desperately wanted to play well.

Their opening round did not go to plan. They are in T30, six strokes behind the leaders. And Matt Fitzpatrick was incredibly frustrated by the way they ended their round.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick frustrated by opening round of the Zurich Classic

Round one of the Zurich Classic was a fourball format, where birdies were essentially pars. A lightning pace was set in the early window, as Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer finished 14-under.

The Fitzpatrick brothers couldn’t match that pace early, going one-under through four, and despite picking up form on the back nine, they inexplicably bogeyed the par five 18th to fall back to eight under.

That wasn’t good enough, according to Matt Fitzpatrick, who shared his thoughts on the round afterward: “I felt like it was a little slow to start with. We didn’t have enough balls on the green, early balls on the front nine to give ourselves chances. I thought we did a bad job on the back.

“I’ve holed two long and lucky putts really on sort of 16, 17 there, which is a nice bonus, but would have been nice to take an advantage on 18 and make a birdie.

“Yeah, really disappointing way to end with two balls in perfect position. It’s not good enough, really.”