Matt Fitzpatrick defies his wife at The Open as he sets the record straight

Matt Fitzpatrick has refused to use the golf balls that his wife marked for him ahead of The Open. The 30-year-old found himself second on the leaderboard on nine-under-par, one shot behind leader Scottie Scheffler,at the halfway point of the tournament.

The English golfer is targeting his second major title after winning the US Open in 2022. Fitzpatrick carded four under on Thursday before improving with a five under on day two, putting him in firm contention for The Open title.

While his focus will be on overtaking Scheffler, the attention during his post-round press conference was diverted to a video Fitzpatrick’s wife Katherine had posted on social media. When asked by reporters, he quickly denied that he had used balls marked up by his wife for the major.

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In a TikTok clip, Fitzpatrick’s wife showed herself writing personalised messages on golf balls for her husband. He shut down the suggestion that his partner regularly marked balls for him.

“She does not mark my golf balls,” Fitzpatrick replied. “She does not, no, and I would not let her, no.” When asked if he had used the balls shown in his wife’s video during The Open, Fitzpatrick replied: “I have not, no.”

Katherine had filmed herself opening a pack of balls ahead of The Open and scribbling messages for her other half. “I always mark my husband’s golf ball up for every tournament he plays. It’s just like a special way for me to get involved,” she said, seemingly tongue-in-cheek as she gave a look off camera and smirked.

Displaying the golf balls to camera, her messages included ‘MF is cute’ and ‘I love you’. She added: “Most of the time I do hearts and stars. Sometimes, if it’s more of a serious tournament, I’ll do fish.”

However, Fitzpatrick’s father Russell interrupted his daughter-in-law’s story. “What are you on about,” he quipped as he questioned Katherine’s claims.

“No, I know you don’t do that because I get all the second-hand balls and none of them look like that,” he laughed. “All the golfers also know he don’t mark them like that.”

An undeterred Katherine continued: “Well, anyway, I’m still going to give you a pack of special golf balls, Matt. You don’t have to use them, but they’re packed and sealed with love.”

Matt and Katherine Fitzpatrick were first known to be dating in January 2023. The couple tied the knot in October 2024.

Following another impressive round at Royal Portrush on Friday, Fitzpatrick suggested there was less pressure on him than Scheffler. The American is world No.1 and chasing his fourth major victory, having triumphed at the PGA Championship earlier this year.

“He's going to have the expectation to go out and dominate. I wouldn't say I necessarily feel as much pressure,” Fitzpatrick said. “He's an exceptional player. He’s world number one and we’re seeing Tiger-like stuff.

“I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament. For me, I hope I'm going to have some more home support than him, but it's an exciting position for me to be in given where I was earlier this year.”