Matt Fitzpatrick Switches 4-Iron

TULSA, Okla. – Mid-tournament gear changes are rare, especially at a major championship. Matt Fitzpatrick made one before the third round of the PGA Championship, and it paid off in a Saturday 67 that will put him in the final group at Southern Hills. He will start the final round alone in a tie for second with Will Zalatoris at 6-under 204, three shots behind leader Mito Pereira.

Fitzpatrick isn’t afraid to make changes in his pursuit of improvement, and it showed Saturday as he switched to a Ping i210 4-iron, a slightly more forgiving model that produces more height, spin and distance than the company’s s55 model that Fitzpatrick began the week using for his 4- through 9-irons.

“My 4-iron was worn out today. I hit so many shots. I actually changed it before the round,” Fitzpatrick told Sky Sports after his third round at Southern Hills. “I changed the model. I hit so many great shots with it today.”

Fitzpatrick takes a unique approach to his game. He chips crosshanded, utilizes the stats program designed by DP World Tour winner Edoardo Molinari to analyze his game and has recently started working out to add swing speed.

“He leaves no stone unturned,” said Molinari.

Fitzpatrick, 27, is a former world No. 1 amateur and seven-time winner on the DP World Tour but is seeking his first professional title on American soil (he did win the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club at Brookline (Mass.), the host of next month’s U.S. Open).

Fitzpatrick has just one top-10 in majors, a T7 at the 2016 Masters. He sits in the bottom half of the TOUR in driving distance but offseason workouts have helped him gain approximately 5-10 mph.

He ranks 10th in driving distance this week (304.5 yards) and 18th in average distance on all drives (297.2 yards), which is helping him contend at a course that didn’t seem to fit his skill set.

“My dad called me and he was asking how is the course looking, and no offense to the PGA here, but I was like, ‘It's a typical PGA, it's long and tough and just not really my cup of tea,’” he said. “I'll be honest, this year I've got a lot longer, and it showed a lot the first two days, the guys that I played with, the clubs that I've been hitting into holes. I don't know, hopefully it's a sign of things are changing a little bit for me and open a few more doors on other golf courses.”