Matt Fitzpatrick wasn’t thrilled with the pace of his playing competitor Sunday at the Valspar Championship.
In contention for his first PGA Tour win in nearly three years, Fitzpatrick was in the third-to-last twosome alongside Adrien Dumont de Chassart, whom Fitzpatrick took issue with regarding Chassart’s deliberate play.
“That was really frustrating,” said Fitzpatrick, who ended up winning by a shot. “It was slow today. I felt like there was a lot of stop-start – yeah, just, you know, just not ready. When you’re not ready to play a golf shot, it gets frustrating after a while, particularly when you’re playing well yourself or you’re in contention or whatever it is.”
Fitzpatrick’s frustrations reached a head on the par-5 11th hole, where Dumont de Chassart drove his tee ball into the left trees, could only advance his second shot 6 feet and still had 176 yards left with his fifth shot. He eventually carded a triple-bogey 8, while Fitzpatrick hit up early and later, after a lengthy wait, failed to get up and down from the sand, missing a 7-footer for birdie in the process.
“He is a little perturbed with his playing partner’s pace of play,” NBC on-course reporter John Wood said on the telecast. “It is glacial, to be kind.”
Wood added that Fitzpatrick talked to a rules official, and Dumont de Chassart was later given an official warning.
“There in particular that hole, then you’re around a stretch there that can get a little bit quirky with different shots and stuff, so you have to be on it,” Fitzpatrick continued. “It definitely knocked me out of rhythm I felt like for the next two, three holes. I was kind of chasing my tail, because I’m trying to speed up and trying to keep us or get back in position, and at the same time you’re obviously trying to win a golf tournament.”
Fitzpatrick birdied two of his last four holes to get the job done while Dumont de Chassart slipped to T-26 with a 74.