Fitzpatrick Furious Following BMW Championship Cracked Driver Rules Call

4 months ago by Comments Off on Fitzpatrick Furious Following BMW Championship Cracked Driver Rules Call

Champion England-born Matt Fitzpatrick was not hiding his fury after suffering a crack in his driver near mid-round on the final day of the BMW Championship on the host Castle Pines course in Denver, Colorado.

After playing his tee-shot at the par-5 eighth hole, Fitzpatrick sought permission to replace his driver that was clearly sportng a crack on the face of the driver.

However the soon-to-be 30-year-old was angered when advised by rules officials that under USGA’s Model Local Rule G-9, a club is not replaceable purely because of a crack.

Fitzpatrick was clearly impressed when heard saying:  “It’s an absolute disgrace. Are you telling me I now have to use a 3-wood for the rest of the round.”

The former US Open winner told a rules official he would “make sure something is done after the round because it’s a joke.” And after a poor drive on the 9th tee, he unscrewed the driver head and went on to play with just 13 clubs for the remainder.

Scheffler also got involved, arguing “You can feel the crack. The damage to the club is making the club not perform. It’s been damaged throughout the course of play. That’s the first shot offline he’s hit all day and it carried about 80 yards shorter.”

But not before another flare-up with the official, with Fitzpatrick saying: “It’s caved in. There’s an obvious crack there that’s causing a defect of ball flight.

Scheffler and Fitzpatrick both had their say. (Image: Getty)

“This is outrageous, it’s an absolute disgrace. I’ve literally just watched a ball do a completely different thing from the whole morning. It couldn’t be more obvious.”

After being reminded of the regulations, Fitzpatrick responded: “I understand the rules. But that’s your opinion of that. The fact is there is literally a crack in the driver that is causing the ball to fly funny. That’s a fact.”

Fitzpatrick admirably still managed to shoot 70 in his final round, but that only took to -1 overall. That left him tied for 29th, missing out on progressing in the FedEX Cup.

And an out of contention Scheffler signed for a no-frills last day 72 and trailing well outside the leading top-30.

WHY FITZPATRICK COULD NOT REPLACE HIS DRIVER ….

PGA TOUR Chief Referee Stephen Cox later explained why Fitzpatrick could not replace his dirver saying:  A “minor crack” was visible on the face of Fitzpatrick’s driver. While a crack can impact the club’s performance, it does not meet the threshold of being “significantly damaged” that would allow it to be replaced under the USGA’s Model Local Rule G-9. The rule provides examples of when a club may be replaced, while also stating that “a club face or clubhead is not ‘broken or significantly damaged’ solely because it is cracked.”



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