U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

June 17, 2021

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Torrey Pines Golf Course

Quick Quotes

Q. Talk a little bit about your round today.

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it was good, it was a bit hit and miss. Just disappointed that I made a few mistakes, really, and just the few bogeys I made were pretty simple and didn't need to be made, really. So that was disappointing. But it's a good start nonetheless.

Q. How does a 90-minute delay like that have an impact on your preparation?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: It's annoying, I would have liked more time in bed, to be honest. But, yeah, you're just sitting around doing nothing anyway, so it's no big deal, just rewarm-up a couple times and that was it. Didn't really bother me too much.

Q. What does the rest of today and tomorrow before your afternoon round tomorrow look like?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Just a bit of practice, really, and trying to figure out the greens and where I'm hitting it and the holes we're playing, really. So, yeah, just a bit of everything, just to try and keep it sharp.

Q. I looked and I don't think you've ever played the Buick here, have you?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Buick?

Q. Or the Farmers.

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, no, never, no.

Q. So this is your first time that you played at Torrey Pines?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah.

Q. So how, what did you think going in, because obviously Billy's caddied here for Lee or --

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I think he caddied -- no, he caddied for Sergio here.

Q. But he's been here.

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, yeah, not much, but...

Q. Right. So what did you think about when you were coming in here, how much harder is it to prepare for a place you've never been to?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: I think it's easier, to be honest. Just because you don't get that sort of lax affect where you just turn up and you're here and I need to write that down and I need to write that down and kind of more on it and trying to figure out where is the best places to miss, what's good, what's bad, putts and stuff. So I prefer going to seeing a course that's brand new because it's -- take last week, for example -- about three players in the field probably played it. So it's nice to have to do some homework at least. And obviously here guys have played it, but still there's still quite a few first-timers, so...

Q. So I'm looking in, obviously U.S. Amateur winner, you're one of the guys that people talk about that finds fairway, controls the golf ball very well, but you never had a top-10 in a U.S. Open which is where you would think that you would have had a better finish. Any idea why that is?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: I've had two 12ths, I just never -- Shinnecock I played really well, to be fair and 12th was almost as good as I could do -- not -- I could have finished top-10 there. But Pebble was, I should have breezed my way into a top-10 and just struggled on the greens on Sunday. I hit a lot of good shots and the putter, I just couldn't hole any putts. So that was the big thing. But on the whole, I mean, the one, the other ones I played, obviously I played Pinehurst as an Am. Erin Hills, the big thing I remember about Erin Hills is that I hit 85 percent of fairways that week and I was like minus four strokes gained driving because I wasn't long enough to carry the slopes that Brooks or everyone else was carrying that shot it another 20, 30 yards. So -- and then -- but I like U.S. Open set-ups, but I think the more, particularly last year made me realize that maybe it's not my perfect setup. It's certainly a help, but I think the fact that Bryson winning and the analytics that I've looked at, is it just suggests it's perfect for guys who hit it miles and then get after it basically.

Q. You heard Rory talk about the fact that when he saw what Bryson did he kind of chased length a little bit. You know Luke enough that you know Luke tried to chase length a little, you realize that chasing length is not the be-all and end-all.

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: No, I mean it is and it isn't. Like it is very important, still, statistically it's very important. And I've done it, but you got to go about it the right way. Bryson's chased length and he's got it and it's worked out and, you know, he's driving it, he's gaining more than everyone else, than anyone. So I think it is still very important, but you got to do it the right way. You got to put a plan in place and you got to figure out the best way to do it, rather than just going at it a bit faster.

Q. And you're working with Pete, right?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: I work with Mike Walker.