Matthew Fitzpatrick: Trying To Get His PGA Tour Card

There’s no question about it – Matt Fitzpatrick is a man ready to make a move.

Others on the Arnold Palmer Invitational leaderboard are looking to take home the trophy at the end of the week. For Matt Fitzpatrick, a second or third place finish would come in handy. He’s playing to gain status on the PGA Tour.

Currently, he’s holding down a top ten spot in the tournament. That doesn’t mean he’s not looking to win, just that there is a bigger prize: the PGA Tour card.

According to Fitzpatrick, his leaderboard position was due to his scrambling. After his 2nd round today he explained to media:

"The bad short game shots were to seven or eight feet and the good ones were stiff. So, I think that’s really important. And I managed to hole a few of those seven or eight footers for par and a couple for birdie as well. So, it’s been a good day."

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Fitzpatrick had a chance to get his card last year, but could not pull it off. In the 2016 season, he was able to get into 12 events in the U.S. and made the cut in three of them, coming in 27^th at the Arnold Palmer, 7^th at the Masters and 54^th at the U.S. Open and 49^th at the PGA. He also played in the no-cut WGC events based on world ranking.

He is in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational courtesy of his 30^th place in the World Golf Rankings. His status on the world list allowed him to play The Honda Classic and the WGC Mexico. It is also his ticket to the Dell Match Play, the Masters and The Players. He may be able to pick up a couple additional tournaments in between. If he can top ten several of them, he has a good shot at gaining full status before the end of the season.

A Challenger to Faldo & McIlroy?

The 22-year-old native of Sheffield, England, already has three European Tour victories since turning pro at in 2014. Fitzpatrick became the youngest European player in history to win three events on that tour, besting Nick Faldo and Rory McIlroy. If he’s better at winning than they were, it’s saying something about his skill and his desire to win.

Fitzpatrick is a slight-framed youngster and definitely plays bigger than his size. He was named European Player of the Month last November after he won the DP World Challenge.

Fitzpatrick said, after hearing the news, in an article by Sky Sports.

"It’s fantastic to have three of these awards so early in my career, and getting this recognition again helps to round off a great year for me"

Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Amateur in 2013, becoming the first English winner of that title in more than 100 years. He is also the first amateur since Bobby Jones to hold both the U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur trophies in the same 12-month period, although Fitzpatrick’s victories were in two different seasons.

Given the opportunity to play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and considering his track record, he certainly shouldn’t have any problem going for victory should the others have trouble on the weekend.

Next: Players Remember . . . 'When I first met Arnold Palmer'

Matt Fitzpatrick is definitely a name to watch in upcoming weeks.

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