Matt Fitzpatrick left shaken after a call with his ex-girlfriend who was born in Ukraine

When the Russians began their invasion of Ukraine, Matt Fitzpatrick got in touch with his ex-girlfriend who was born there and whose family still live in Lviv. The subsequent harrowing phone call left the Englishman shaken and with a new perspective as the golf season heats up today at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

‘She was telling me about her gran who had a couple of strokes recently and can hardly walk, so she can’t go anywhere,’ he began. ‘Then she told me about her uncle who had just packed his bags and was off to fight tomorrow. 

‘I was sitting there in Florida ready to practise and it hit me, the contrast between the fact he might never come back and what I do.

Matt Fitzpatrick was shaken after a phone call with his ex-girlfriend who was born in Ukraine

He no longer wants to be so hard on himself as he looks to shine at this year’s majors

‘I’d already decided to be a little easier on myself this year and appreciate all that I have but that phone call just emphasised I don’t want to be miserable for the rest of my life worrying about winning golf tournaments. Sure, I want to win but there has to be a balance.’

Fitzpatrick has always come across as one of the most grounded of pros but there is clearly work to do concerning his approach at the four majors where he has underperformed. ‘I think 100 per cent I’ve got too worked up about them in the past,’ said the 27-year-old. 

‘The people around me say that I’m different in a major week and while I can’t see it myself it’s something that I need to work on. I feel that I’m a different player now to 2015-18, so hopefully I can relax in the majors and it will start to show.’

Armed with a new technique for his iron play, Fitzpatrick has made an impressive start to the season with top 10 finishes at the Phoenix Open and the Pebble Beach pro-am, before an untimely bout of flu forced him to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational. 

Fitzpatrick id already tipping Bryson DeChambeau to win the Open due to his driving ability

Now recovered, the world No 25 is taking aim at a Bay Hill event where he has finished second, ninth and 10th in the last three years, as he seeks an elusive first win in America.

As for the majors, Fitzpatrick freely admits he is not a big fan of St Andrews. ‘Bryson DeChambeau will probably win the Open driving every green,’ was his pithy verdict. But he believes his improved iron play will help him at the Masters next month and complement his straight driving and exemplary putting. 

Then in June there is the US Open at Brookline, the venue where, in 2013, he became the first Englishman in more than a century to win the US Amateur.

‘I’m staying with the same family who I’ve remained friends with, so there will be that familiarity with the course and my surroundings that has to help,’ he said.