Matthew Fitzpatrick wishes US Open had been tougher
Matthew Fitzpatrick told the media he wished the US Open at Pebble Beach had played a harder challenge than it proved to be on Sunday.
There was a lot of pressure on the USGA last week to get this year's US Open right. Over the last few years, the US Open has caused a lot of controversy, with many believing that the USGA were making the courses far too difficult, so this year simply had to be perfect.
When the US Open took place at Chambers Bay in 2015, it was criticised for being altered to cause far too many problems. Erin Hills in 2017 was too wide and last year at Shinnecock the greens were made ridiculously fast. So with the US Open surrounded with controversy over the last few years, USGA officials admitted that this year they had to get it right.
Most of the field praised the USGA for the setup at Pebble Beach this year, including Phil Mickelso, who last year was involved in the most talked about incident of the US Open, when he chased his missed putt and knocked it back towards the hole while it was still moving.
In the final round on Sunday, many players were enjoying life under par, but one player is disappointed that Pebble Beach didn't cause more problems.
“I’m just one of those psychos, I wish it’d been set up a little harder,” said Fitzpatrick after his final round on Sunday, shooting a 68 to finish the tournament four under par.
“I’m 3-under. I think I got 3-under after 11 for the day. I’m looking at all the scores, and you got like 3-under through 5, 4-under, 5-under. I just think, unfortunately I’d rather see it the other way. A real good 3-under moves you up. Jim Furyk shot even par at the U.S. Open and lost ground. So, yeah, I just wish it was maybe a lot tougher today.”
