When it comes to player-caddie relationships, there aren't many which are as successful as Matt Fitzpatrick and Billy Foster, with the duo securing the US Open in a thrilling conclusion back in June 2022.
During that round, it was later revealed that Netflix camera crews were following Fitzpatrick, with episode 5 of the 'Full Swing' docuseries dedicated to his victory at Brookline. It was called 'American Dreams' and, after the win, there is a superb scene with Fitzpatrick, Foster and multiple others celebrating in the locker room, including a humorous moment when Foster compares Fitzpatrick's putting to Edward Scissorhands.
Now, at the PGA Championship, Fitzpatrick has responded to the comments made by his bagman, with the 28-year-old jokingly stating: "It was a bit harsh, yeah. Sunday there was a few ropey putts, but the one on 13 and the one on 15 I think were just fine. I think he'll be okay with those."
The pair joined forces in 2018 and, since then, have gone on to forge some superb wins. One of the reasons is down to the blunt honesty that the experienced caddie gives to his boss, something which was on show at the 2022 Masters when Foster told Fitzpatrick to "get on with it" after the Englishman was double-guessing his shot.
Along with the on-course conversations, Fitzpatrick also spoke about a recent talking-to that Foster had given him, but that was nothing compared to his previous argument: "We've literally had -- I think we had one discussion this year about, he just mentioned a thing -- a couple of things in my game and the way I go about things. Literally, that was it. Last time he was tearing me a new one, but this time it was much more -- yeah, it was fine."
Another big factor of Fitzpatrick's success has been his increase in distance which, combined with his addition of Foster, has seen him rise up the World Rankings since the turn of the decade: "I think that was a huge addition for me. His experience, you know, it gives me a lot of confidence. He tells me better than probably what I think I am, and also brings me back down to earth if I'm getting ahead of myself. I think Billy's addition was huge.
"I think also the way I went about my practice. I just feel like I came -- became even more professional from then on in everything I did. Then, like you said, the addition of the length. Didn't really get longer until end of 2020 really, but I still felt like 2019, I didn't win that year, but I had a great, great season, played really well. So, yeah, there's a huge difference in where my game is now compared to where it was then. I think a lot of it is just growth kind of physically and mentally and understanding what you have to do well out here to compete."
