After teeing off on the par-5 8th hole, Matt Fitzpatrick noticed a slight crack in his driver, which clearly affected his ball flight.
He called over a PGA Tour rules official, who inspected the small crevice that scarred the middle of the face. The referee then used his nail to coarse the crack, examining it intently to see if Fitzpatrick could replace his driver head midway through his round. The 2022 U.S. Open champion said he had a couple of spare driver heads in his locker and would make the switch at the turn if allowed.
However, the official, citing a United States Golf Association’s (USGA) model local rule, deemed that the club was not replaceable due to the crack’s lack of severity. Therefore, Fitzpatrick could not replace the head due to a lack of significant damage.
The Englishman called the verdict “outrageous,” adding that he would have to hit 3-wood off the tee for the rest of the day.
Matt Fitzpatrick, 36th in the FedExCup entering the week, called for a ruling for a driver crack.
Under the USGA’s Model Local Rule G-9, a club is not replaceable solely because of a crack, and he was not permitted to replace it at the time due to lack of significant damage. pic.twitter.com/X5kEPkee1q
— PGA TOUR LIVE (@PGATOURLIVE) August 25, 2024
“There was a minor crack in the actual center part of the face, of which you could not only see, but there was some degree of feel attached to that. This is where the committee has to make a decision as to whether that club is significantly damaged. As opposed to the normal rules of golf that apply to everyone else, he would be able to replace that damaged club because it didn’t happen in cases of abuse, for example,” explained Stephen Cox, the chief referee for the BMW Championship this week.
“But we on the PGA Tour, very similar to other major golf tours around the world, have a slightly stricter guideline regarding when a player is permitted to take a damaged club out of play, and that club needs to be significantly damaged. In our assessment, not only with the first official but also a couple of others, including myself, that threshold of being significantly damaged hadn’t been significantly met. Although there was a small crack in the face, there was no separation in the metals, and on that basis, that threshold wasn’t met, so his only choice in that case was to continue using that club.”
Cox added that if Fitzpatrick damaged it further, the tour would reexamine it and then reassess its decision. As such, Fitzpatrick tried to use his cracked driver on the difficult par-4 10th. But he hit a snap hook off the tee. He wound up making double, further fueling his frustration.
Despite that, Fitzpatrick did bounce back somewhat, making four birdies and two bogies over his final six holes. He posted a 2-under 70 for his final round, which put him in a tie for 26th. But his late rally down the stretch was not enough. Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick did not qualify for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, as the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings make it to East Lake. Fitzpatrick is projected to finish 36th, thus missing the Tour Championship for the first time since 2021.
So not only does Fitzpatrick leave Colorado with a cracked driver, but he also finishes his PGA Tour season with a sour taste.
At least he finished among the top 50, thus guaranteeing him a spot in every Signature Event next season. Hopefully, he will have a more suitable driver by then.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
