'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Matt Fitzpatrick recently accused the PGA Tour and DP World Tour of not listening to players about the merger and claimed he was past the point of caring about 'bringing the game together.' The 30-year-old is gearing up for the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The DP World Tour event will be held from Thursday, October 3 to 6 at Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland, Carnoustie and Kingsbarn Links.
Fitzpatrick won the 2023 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by three strokes. He'll look to become the second English player to win the tournament in consecutive years since Tyrrell Hatton, who won it in 2016 and 2017.
In the pre-tournament press conference, Matt Fitzpatrick was asked if there was a sense of 'coming together for golf' this week as 14 LIV players will be competing at Old Course. He replied (as quoted by ASAP Sports):
"I think in terms of bringing the game together this week, I'm passed the point of caring. I just don't care. Me saying things to the PGA TOUR board, me saying things to the DP World Tour board, it's not going to change, so why am I going to waste my time talking about it," Fitzpatrick said.
After the start of LIV Golf in 2022, the game of golf has seen a monumental change. Several PGA Tour players have left for LIV Golf, which has reportedly affected the PGA Tour's finances. A merger was announced last year to bridge the rift, however, not much progress has been made so far.
Matt Fitzpatrick was further asked if the 'bad blood' from before was starting to clear up now. He said:
"Not necessarily. I think there's probably some players in the States, their feelings, I don't think they would be very happy. If I'm probably brutally honest, at the start, I probably was pretty against, and it was not of any interest to me to go and play LIV. But I've always said that I understood why people went. I've got no issues with that. No issues at all," he added.
He further said that his initial issue was with players going to LIV and then trying to return. However, the 30-year-old disclosed that his stance on it has changed now, and he would prefer focusing on his game to play the 'best golf' he can.
The winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will win $850,000 of the total prize purse of $5 million. The runner-up will take home $550,000.
Matt Fitzpatrick opens up on what he thinks would be the 'best thing for golf'
Matt Fitzpatrick will be making his 184th start on the DP World Tour this week at the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. In the same pre-tournament press conference, Matt Fitzpatrick was asked about what, according to him, would be an ideal outcome regarding the PGA Tour and LIV Golf merger.
In response, the English golfer proposed a soccer-like format for golf and said:
"I had a few conversations with Billy Foster about it, my caddie. We spoke. Personally my idea would be you have basically like a Premier League, championship league, of golf, whether LIV is the Premiere League or PGA TOUR is the Premiere League, whatever it is, and then you can bring everyone together. And there's more of a relegation promotion, there's a few more stories there, you can work your way up. If everyone was together, I feel like that would be more beneficial, anyway," he said.
Fitzpatrick mentioned that while he wasn't aware of the viewing figures for LIV or PGA TOUR, he appreciated the team aspect of LIV Golf and highlighted the appeal of events like the Ryder Cup.
The PGA Tour player highlighted the smaller number of storylines in LIV Golf and cautioned that the PGA Tour is moving forward in a similar direction. He concluded his response by expressing happiness over Andy Cohen and SSG's involvement on the PGA Tour.
Matt Fitzpatrick is paired with his mother Sue at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He will tee off at 6:23 am EST with Tyrrell Hatton and Jeff Hatton at Carnoustie Golf Club in Carnoustie, Scotland.
