Matt Fitzpatrick offered to answer the question, then paused a few months, exhaled and said, “Yeah, pass.”
It was one of the several burning questions almost every PGA Tour player who takes the podium ahead of this week’s U.S. Open will be asked. Does Fitzpatrick feel as though he should be compensated for staying loyal to the tour in the wake of the planned merger between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund?
Fitzpatrick is in a peculiar position as the reigning champion of the first major tournament following the June 6 announcement. While he’s trying to focus on becoming the first player to successfully defend a U.S. Open title since Brooks Koepka in 2018, the buzz around the Los Angeles Country Club this week is clearly focused on the great many unknowns of the framework agreement.
“The whole thing is just confusing, yeah,” Fitzpatrick acknowledged Monday when asked what is most confusing about the current state of the professional game. “I think that I just don’t know what’s going on. I don’t think anyone knows what’s going on.
“Are we signing with the PIF? Are we not signing with the PIF? I’ve no idea. Even though I guess it is confusing, it’s pretty clear that no one knows what’s going on apart from about four people in the world.”
Fitzpatrick said he learned about the proposed merger the same time that everyone else did and doesn’t know anything more than he did last week.
Asked about what the conversations have been like amongst his peers since the announcement, the moderator shut down further questions about the merger and turned the session back to the U.S. Open.
Fitzpatrick returned the silver U.S. Open trophy, which he said took a few day trips while on a boat trip around Italy. Other than the great unknown regarding the future makeup of men’s professional golf, Fitzpatrick’s focus is on trying to reclaim that trophy this week.
“I can’t believe it’s been a year already. It’s just gone so fast,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t feel like I spent enough time with it.”
–Field Level Media