PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 19, 2022

Matt Fitzpatrick

Southern Hills Country Club

Flash Quotes

JOHN DEVER: Good afternoon, welcome back to the 2022 PGA Championship here at Southern Hills Golf Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma. We are with Matthew Fitzpatrick. Matt posted a first-round 2-under par 68.

Matthew, pretty good way to put yourself in a decent little position in some adverse conditions today. Do you feel pretty good about what you were able to accomplish the last few hours?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, definitely I played really well today. Everything was good. Just a couple of loose ones coming in, but that's bound to happen over 18 holes.

But yeah, really pleased with the way I hit the ball tee to green, and hope for more of the same tomorrow.

Q. A tough test we can count on you. What's the great fit with you and a really tough golf test?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: I've got no idea. I don't know. I really like it. I hate -- I played last week, for example. I didn't play last week but I played the golf course the year before, and I just couldn't think of anything worse for me and my game, you know, 26-under winning. That's just not my game really.

Rounds like today is kind of about sticking in, just hitting consistently good shots. You don't have to knock every flag out. You just give yourself chances, and if they drop, they drop. If they don't, par is a good score.

I enjoy that challenge. I think you've just got to grind and you've got to dig in, and that's what I enjoy about it.

Q. Was there anything at any point maybe even in your back nine that the conditions went from tough to tougher, where it became really problematic out there?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: No, if I'm honest, I think from teeing off. I thought maybe the back nine the greens were a little bit firmer but nothing really to speak of different to the front. I think just the way the wind is quite strong over here, obviously it's getting firmer as the week goes on.

The fairways are certainly firmer, and as it's drying out this rough is becoming more flier like rough. Yeah, it's going to be an interesting week if it stays like this, but I think it's supposed to get a bit colder, so who knows what that will do to the course.

Q. As far as the cross-handed chipping, is there a rule for when you do it and when you don't, or is it just a feel thing?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Kind of a bit of both. I've been practicing at home up to like 30 yards, 30 yards like as a landing spot, so I could have a 40- or 45-yard shot, but hitting it 30 yards to land it is fine.

But kind of working on it to get it a bit more comfortable to get it up to even 40, 45, 50 yards, just purely for the consistency of the strike and the flight and the spin. It's just very, very consistent compared to when I was chipping normal handed.

Q. I know you didn't hit it in a bunker today, but I'm curious in practice, a lot of guys noticed it was super pebbly, hard to spin it. What was your impression?

MATTHEW FITZPATRICK: Yeah, certainly in practice I felt the same way. I didn't feel like there was a lot of sand in the bunkers. Obviously you miss a green, there's not really any rough to speak of. It's more all fairways.

I changed wedges this week and put in much lower bounce, and I figured with the way the sand was, that kind of also helps because it's pretty firm. Yes, it's kind of worked so far.