There’s everything at stake for Matt Fitzpatrick at Ryder Cup

Matt Fitzpatrick thought he’d crafted a strong case to make Team Europe, but the worry of not securing a spot still flashed through his mind. “Of course it does,” Fitzpatrick said.

His first three Ryder Cups were underwhelming. He went just 1-7-0, the lone win during four-balls in 2023. Europe captain Luke Donald challenged him to play both the British and European Masters tournaments and golf in the final pairing before giving him a spot this year, too. But after a slow start in 2025 and the spark from Donald’s request, Fitzpatrick enters the weekend at Bethpage Black as a captain’s pick with a chance to change his reputation in the international event.

“I wasn’t necessarily thinking I was guaranteed a spot, but I felt like I thoroughly deserved to be in the conversation, given how well I had played to the point of selection,” Fitzpatrick said Thursday. “… Luke has every right to go in whichever direction he wants with a captain’s pick, and it’s always easy when you qualify outright. But I really felt like I had made a really good, strong case for myself to be on the team.”

The heckling has already started for Fitzpatrick at Bethpage, too, as fans chirped at him while he chipped shots Wednesday. His parents, who attended his first three Ryder Cups, won’t be on Long Island, either — partly because they’re playing in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship next week, partly because they had a poor spectator experience at Whistling Straits in 2021. They heard a fan yell, “Slit his throat, Berger” during Fitzpatrick’s singles match against Daniel Berger, he told The Times.

That iteration of the event was the second time Fitzpatrick struggled on the stage. He wasn’t ready and was still too young for his first taste of the Ryder Cup in 2016, he admitted. “Kind of throw that one out the window a little bit,” he said. But in 2021 and 2023, after being snubbed from the 2018 roster, the 2022 U.S. Open champion thought he played well and deserved more.

Then, Fitzpatrick’s struggles seeped into his Tour performances to start 2025 before his recent run. Fitzpatrick finished fifth at the European Masters and in a tie for sixth at the British Masters, trying to balance the packed schedule leading into the Ryder Cup with conserving energy and not burning himself out. The top 10 finishes served as a bonus, Fitzpatrick said, but given his rough patch, it also continued a much-needed rhythm.

Still, Fitzpatrick can only alter his Ryder Cup image with results that are sustained. It’ll take more than one strong match this weekend. But he has the chance to rewrite his legacy. 

“It’s obviously frustrating,” Fitzpatrick said of his record, “but you know, all I can do is keep qualifying for the teams and keep giving myself the opportunity to improve on the record.”