After ‘skill’ comments, Matthew Fitzpatrick gets distance advice from Bryson DeChambeau

AUSTIN, Texas – Last fall, Matthew Fitzpatrick was one of the first players to criticize Bryson DeChambeau’s transformation into one of the PGA Tour’s longest hitters.

At the time the Englishman told reporters, “It’s not a skill to hit the ball a long way in my opinion. I could put on 40 pounds. I could go and see a biomechanist, and I could gain 40 yards; that’s actually a fact. I could put another two inches on my driver. I could gain that. But the skill in my opinion is to hit the ball straight.” He added that DeChambeau was “making a mockery” of the game, arguing, “Some of the places he hit it, and he’s cutting corners — when he’s on, there’s no point. … It doesn’t matter if I play my best.”

Fitzpatrick said he and DeChambeau have spoken since his comments last fall, and on Monday he tweeted a picture of the two playing in the same group at the Seminole Pro-Member with the caption, “Getting some tips.”

Asked Tuesday at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play about the photo, Fitzpatrick joked, “We hate each other. It’s a really nasty thing between us.”

Fitzpatrick explained that his comments in October were taken out of context and that he is intrigued by much of what DeChambeau has accomplished, although he stopped short of saying he would add 30-40 pounds to his frame to pick up swing speed.

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“I was just asking him about his clubs and his speed training and stuff, and I’ve been doing something similar and looking into it anyways before my comments that I made last year,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s nothing too new to me, it’s just quite interesting just to hear his thoughts and how he’s going about things to improve his swing speed and get longer. “