Matt Fitzpatrick plays down his Masters hopes following an injury-hit start to the season

Matt Fitzpatrick joked that ‘making a cut’ would represent success for him at this year’s Masters after revealing that he had been playing through pain following a neck injury.

The Sheffield-born reigning US Open champion enjoyed a stunning 2022 and may well have been one of the favourites at Augusta. 

However, he has failed to repeat that sparkling form this year and went deep into the reasons why.

‘I kind of hurt my neck, literally, just before going to Pebble (Beach) at the end of January,’ the 28-year-old explained. ‘And then I started getting like sensation down my shoulder and into my chest. I went straight to the hospital in L.A. to get an MRI and It was a slight disk bulge.’

Fitzpatrick added that the injury stopped him from training for three weeks and his off-season work ‘became non-existent’ as he played through the pain barrier. ‘Because of my neck, then I’ve not been able to swing it, and then my swing has changed, kind of compensating.’

Matt Fitzpatrick admits his expectations of success in the Masters need to be low

The Yorkshireman has struggled in the last few tournaments after suffering a neck injury

The Yorkshireman had enjoyed a career without major health issues. 

‘It’s difficult,’ he said. ‘I’ve never had an injury like this. Normally if my neck has flared up, I’ve been over it in two or three days and I’m back to normal. Obviously this one has been a lot longer.’

Fitzpatrick did not, however, turn to caddie Billy Foster for support. 

‘Definitely not Billy because Billy was like, “Oh, just get on with it!”,’ he joked. ‘But my coach, Mike Walker, has been fantastic in that. I work with a psychologist as well in the U.K., Robbie Anderson, and he’s been very helpful, too.’

A frank Fitzpatrick was realistic when asked, given the injury from which he is now recovered, about his chances.

‘I feel, certainly over the last two months, I’ve lost a lot of ground and definitely regressed quite a lot. So it’s kind of we’re back to the bottom again and just slowly trying to build it back up. It’s just going to take time.

He added: ‘Making a cut would be a good start probably! I definitely feel better physically. I definitely feel better mentally. I feel like my game is kind of slowly getting there, but at the same time I’m still in an early kind of, effectively, a rebuild phase of getting stronger and swinging it better.’