2024 Paris Olympics: Matt Fitzpatrick Was an Injury Prone Liability for Tommy Fleetwood and the English Side; Here’s Why

Did the Olympics get a taste of the PGA Tour’s nightmare? The Jay Monahan-led circuit had, throughout the season, witnessed many golfers withdrawing from its events due to various reasons. Regardless, none might have guessed the quadrennial event to experience the same, that too courtesy of the English team including Tommy Fleetwood. But then again, with Matt Fitzpatrick in the squad, it might have just been inevitable.

The athlete had withdrawn from the Paris Games after the third round on Saturday after hitting a 10-over par 81. He did so owing to the worsening of his right thumb strain, which he had already been suffering from ahead of the Olympics. Interestingly, this is not the first time this year that Fitzpatrick has been at the receiving end of such suffering.

It started even before the 2015 Turkish Airlines Open. Consequently, Matt Fitzpatrick suffered a crick in the neck at the event, causing a physiotherapist (Lee Westwood’s personal trainer, Kevin Duffy) to be rushed to the greens in the middle of the rounds. “It’s been a bit of a recurrent problem,” admitted the now-29-year-old back then, “but I can get it sorted.” Although he did express his optimism for the same, the truth was that he would be plagued by another injury come 2023.

Back at the 2023 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the golfer divulged how a neck injury has been preventing him from being at his 100%. Interestingly, it started before the event. And he couldn’t, for the love of God, figure out the sensation he felt, which started back in January. It first came off his shoulder and then into his chest, causing Matt Fitzpatrick to stop his gym activities.

Later on, during the week of the 2023 Genesis Invitational, a visit to a hospital in Los Angeles helped him figure out the reason: a slightly bulged disk. “I wasn’t moving as well as I needed to swing it as well as I needed to,” said the athlete, “and it’s just been kind of compounding of errors, really.” And this difficulty caused him to miss the cut in as many as four events from six starts before the Masters Tournament.

Matt Fitzpatrick’s return at the 2023 Masters

The injury caused him to miss the cut and go home early at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Genesis Invitational, the PLAYERS, and the Valspar Championship. However, when the Masters came, the golfer was able to make a comeback and finish inside the top 10. He followed the same with a win at the 2023 RBC Heritage, all the while jumping to the No. 8 spot on the ranking back then.

Fast forward a year to the Olympics and another injury has now appeared. He scored figures of 73-64-81, all the while dishing out 13 birdies, 9 bogeys, and 3 double bogeys. What’s more, his sporting performance the same two weeks ahead of the FedEx playoffs paints a concerning picture for Matt Fitzpatrick as well. However, with ample rest and proper care, will he be able to make a comeback at the FedEx St. Jude Championship?