Belek — Despite a crick in the neck that was serious enough to require intervention by a physio in the middle of the round, there was no stopping young Matthew Fitzpatrick as he roared back into contention with the day’s best round of nine-under par 63 yesterday.
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At the Turkish Airlines Open, the sublime round helped the 22-year-old Englishman, a ‘golf in DUBAi’ ambassador, climb 51 places to tied 11th at eight-under par 136.
Disappointed with his putting after the opening round 73, in which he hit 15 greens in regulation and then followed it up with 34 putts, Fitzpatrick found a similar number of greens yesterday, but completed the round in 26 putts.
However, there was a scare for the British Masters champion, when he seemed to be in agony on the fourth hole – serious enough for Lee Westwood’s personal trainer Kevin Duffy to be rushed to the course. The treatment worked wonders, and Fitzpatrick not only made a birdie on that hole, but in seven more holes after that.
Fitzpatrick downplayed the injury, saying it has been a recurrent one and that he has been dealing with it for some time now.
“It hurts, obviously, but it is fine. I am able to play with it. It’s been a bit of a recurrent problem, but I can get it sorted,” said Fitzpatrick.
“Kevin just did a few retractions and a few exercise to get it moving a bit better. I hit a shot on the fourth and something happened which I felt wasn’t right. The movement towards the left was restricted. I could still swing it, so it wasn’t an issue, but he made it better. It hurts with each shot though. But I will have to fight through it.”
On the difference between his rounds on Thursday and yesterday, Fitzpatrick said: “I just holed putts today. I putted really nicely. Gave myself a lot of chances yesterday, but holed nothing.”
Well that’s a bit of a change from the first day haha. Amazing what holing a few putts does! @T_A_Golf #checkintogolf
— Matt Fitzpatrick (@MattFitz94) October 30, 2015
Considering his last two starts have been a win (British Masters) and a tie for third (Hong Kong Open), the 73 on Thursday was a surprise for many, including Fitzpatrick, given the scoring conditions.
“I think I was more frustrated than anything. I didn’t feel like I was playing well but when I look back at it, I do give myself a lot of chances,” he said.
“I did actually play well tee-to-green. It was just on the greens that I didn’t hole anything. Obviously that’s the scoring part, so that’s where it all counts.”
