Matt Fitzpatrick has revealed how two young thieves who stole his golf ball may have inadvertently saved him a shot during the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship. The incident occurred on the 18th hole at Wentworth, where Fitzpatrick's tee shot strayed into the trees just before a 90-minute weather suspension.
Fitzpatrick's caddie, Dan Parratt, insisted they search for the ball immediately to prevent it from being taken. Onlookers reported seeing two boys 'scurrying off' with the ball. After consulting a referee, Fitzpatrick opted not to play a provisional ball and instead took a penalty drop, resulting in a bogey six and a six-under-par 66.
Reflecting on the incident, Fitzpatrick said: 'When the siren went, Dan said: "What happens if someone goes sniffing around in the bushes and finds your ball and decides to pocket it?" I thought that was a great point. We called over a referee, and a few people said they'd seen two young boys dive into the bushes and come out grinning with a golf ball. So we decided the balance of probability was that it was my ball, and I would take a drop. I made six, but if I'd had to play my provisional ball it could have been worse. So those two little thieves probably saved me a shot, although it would have been better if they had thrown it back on the fairway.'
Fitzpatrick's round continued his strong form, which earned him a Ryder Cup wildcard from captain Luke Donald. He said: 'Hopefully I am trending in the right direction. It certainly feels that way. My game has come along a lot over the last four or five months and I just want to continue that and be in the right shape for New York.'
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick's Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg topped the leaderboard with an opening 64, finishing with three consecutive birdies. Aberg expressed enthusiasm about potentially partnering Fitzpatrick at Bethpage Black, saying: 'Matt, we get along great. He's a great guy. It's very easy to be around him. We can chat about all sorts of things that are not even golf related. Hopefully we can do that in New York in a couple weeks' time, too.'
