Ryder Cup Europe trio in disagreement at The Open after Shane Lowry complaints
The Open Championship has thrown up a number of complaints this week, with Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton among the players to bemoan the course set-up.
Matthew Fitzpatrick has brushed aside complaints by his Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton about the Open Championship course set-up, describing it as 'fair'.
As the tournament unfolded on Scotland's tempestuous west coast at Royal Troon, enduring rounds in swirling wind and colliding rain showers sent scores skyward. None felt the bite of the challenging conditions more than midway leader Shane Lowry.
Lowry's aspirations were dampened significantly following a tumultuous six-over-par 77 on moving day, which saw him slide from a two-shot lead to languishing behind the leaders at one-under.
Post-round, Lowry took aim at the set-up, especially bristling over tee box placements amid fierce back-nine gusts that compelled players to battle not just opponents but the wuthering Scottish gales.
The Irish golfer's trials and tribulations were epitomised at the 17th, requiring nothing short of a driver off the tee at the par-three in his struggle to find the green.
Lowry, visibly spent after Saturday's windy warfare, said: "Look, I don't really know what to say. It was a grind. It wasn't much fun. Driver, driver into 15. 16 playing ridiculously long. Driver into 17.
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"Then you're standing on the 18th tee wondering if you can actually hit the fairway, if you can reach the fairway, and it's 230 yards to the fairway. Bear in mind my driver pitched about 220 yards on the 17th hole.
"So, yeah, it's not much fun out there. It's obviously very difficult. But you'd have to question why there wasn't a couple of tees put forward today, to be honest. I think 15 and 17 - like 15 is 500-yards playing into that wind."
His Ryder Cup team-mate Hatton, who missed the cut after 36 holes following a disappointing second round, echoed this sentiment earlier in the week.
However, Fitzpatrick had no complaints and even expressed sympathy for the RandA as he concluded his week on Sunday.
"I think this has been a fantastically fair test this week," he said. "I don't know whether to feel sorry for the RandA about yesterday afternoon or whether they did get it wrong, I genuinely don't know.
"I think I was sat in my chair in my living room in the warmth thinking I hit eight-iron on 13 and these boys are hitting three-wood. So it was quite a difference. Aside from that, I think it's been a really good test."
Fitzpatrick found the Scottish course challenging, finishing the event at nine-over-par after a one-over 72 in the final round.
He will now shift his focus to the Olympic Games in Paris, where he will represent Great Britain alongside Tommy Fleetwood at Le Golf National in August.
