Matt Fitzpatrick’s sudden withdrawal has given rise to many speculations. The official announcement revealed that the Englishman had ‘pre-existing’ thumb injuries. Fitzpatrick opened his round with a 73 before bouncing back with a 64 in the second round. However, on the moving day, Fitzpatrick carded a hapless 81. 

There were no groans in his voice or grimaces on his face. The former U.S. Open champion made a disastrous double bogey on the 13th. On the 15th, Fitzpatrick’s ball found the water for a quadruple bogey. The tumultuous round might have been the result of the thumb injury.

The English Olympic team took to their official X handle to share the unfortunate news. The caption of the tweet stated, “Matt Fitzpatrick has withdrawn due to a thumb injury following the third round of the men’s Olympic golf competition.” The caption further mentioned the progress of his fellow teammate, Tommy Fleetwood, who will head into the final round on the french greens with a score of under-13.

But netizens are puzzled to no end. On Reddit, some blasted the Englishman for being too fragile. One user wrote, “coward,” as another found it hard to believe. They commented, “Thumb? Come on, man.” The sentiment was prevalent among the users. 

The Internet questioned Fitzpatrick’s commitment to the game. The Englishman said that the Olympic medal would rank underneath majors: “The Gold Medal isn’t at the top of every golfer’s list; the four majors are. There’s no doubt about that.” One user believed, “Jack or Arnold would’ve played through it and it wouldn’t have cost them any time doing it.”

Here is what Jack Nicklaus said in 2017 about withdrawing due to injuries: “Four times in my career playing the Masters I injured myself walking down the 10th hole, and we all know how steep the 10th hole is. Twice it was losing my balance after stepping on a pine cone and injuring my ankle but I did not withdraw. I had it strapped and I played on, and in fact, I think I won one of my Masters one year with a strapped ankle.”

Some, however, blamed his technique, and his over-reliance on techniques. “Sounds like a skill issue,” one user opined. The Englishman uses a cross-handed grip to improve his short game, mostly when chipping from 30 yards.

A section of fans blamed too much tinkering as the root cause of his downfall. Fitzpatrick has fallen from 8th at the start of the season to 22. His fall has been worse than Viktor Hovland, who also has had a wild 2024 thanks to multiple changes to his swing.

One Redditor noted, “It feels like all the years of the over analyzing everything has gotten to him and now he’s got a case of mental yips. Make sense. The first sign of “mental yips” is thumb issues.” Whatever the case, it leaves Tommy Fleetwood without any ‘teammate’ on the greens. 

Fleetwood regrets Matt Fitzpatrick’s ‘horrible’ injury

Without Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood remains Great Britain’s only hope at the Olympic golf. The Englishman, primed for a Gold medal on Sunday, was sympathetic towards Matt Fitzpatrick: “I feel for Fitz, really. The Olympics is something that’s very special and comes around once every four years, and yeah, pulling out for injury is part and parcel for the sport. Horrible time for it to happen. I haven’t spoken to him yet. I just feel for Fitz, really.”

Fleetwood, though, remains focused on the game. Le Golf National has been good to him. He was part of the famous ‘Moliwood’ pairing at the 2018 Ryder Cup. Fleetwood is also a past champion of the Open de France, hosted in the very same course annually. His ball-striking and off-the-tee accuracy are his biggest strengths. 

But the fact remains: his result on Sunday will come sans his compatriot by his side. Interestingly, a gold medal is all that was on the line for Fleetwood and Fitzpatrick. Great Britain doesn’t offer any cash incentives to its podium finishers.