It’s been a strange, soggy, and slightly chaotic 36 holes for Matt Fitzpatrick at the BMW PGA Championship.
The week has already included a self-proclaimed penalty, a ball that moved mid-setup, and even a bizarre moment involving alleged “little thieves” on the 18th green.
On Friday, the drama continued — this time on Wentworth’s par-5 4th, widely considered the easiest hole on the course. After drilling his tee shot down the right side of the fairway, Fitzpatrick appeared primed to attack. With preferred lies in place due to heavy rainfall, he marked and moved his ball within the six-inch allowance granted to players this week.
Fitzpatrick Penalizes Himself After Ball Moves
As Fitzpatrick went to play his second shot, he stopped cold — his ball had moved slightly as he addressed it. Cameras captured the moment he summoned a rules official, and after a quick discussion, Fitzpatrick took the high road.
He called the one-stroke penalty on himself.
“Matt placed his club behind the ball, which then moved,” a DP World Tour spokesperson confirmed. “He called the penalty on himself.”
It was an unusual and costly situation, and it clearly rattled the 31-year-old. He pushed his next shot wide into the rough but managed to scramble for par.
Ironically, the exact same thing happened to Jon Rahm on the 13th fairway during the first round — another case of rain-softened turf creating unexpected headaches for the world’s best.
A Birdie Bounces Back, But Fitzpatrick Still Fades
To Fitzpatrick’s credit, he bounced right back on the par-3 5th, sticking a mid-iron to inside a foot for a tap-in birdie to erase the mistake. But as the afternoon winds picked up and the greens began drying out, his round took another dip.
By day’s end, Fitzpatrick had drifted back into the chasing pack, still searching for consistency after a rollercoaster two days.
Day One Drama: A Stolen Golf Ball?
Just when you think it couldn’t get stranger, there was Thursday.
Following his opening round, Fitzpatrick revealed a curious incident on the 18th hole: his ball was stolen by a pair of mischievous kids.
“Two little thieves,” Fitzpatrick joked to reporters. Oddly enough, he said the chaos may have actually helped him — allowing for a free drop that might’ve saved him a shot.
Eyes on Wentworth and Bethpage
Fitzpatrick, one of Luke Donald’s six captain’s picks for the upcoming Ryder Cup, is chasing his first-ever win at his national open, and you get the feeling he’s going to need to shake off the drama if he wants to lift the BMW PGA trophy on Sunday.
The good news? He’s still in the mix. The bad news? The golf gods aren’t exactly making it easy.
And with Bethpage just two weeks away, Fitzpatrick could do with a little less chaos — and maybe a few more birdies — between now and New York.
