"Keep him in check": PGA Tour pro dad turned an ordinary police escort into a funny U.S. Open moment
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A routine police escort isn't usually where the laughs come from at the U.S. Open. But PGA Tour pro Matt Fitzpatrick's father made sure Saturday wasn't routine at all.
Fitzpatrick arrived at Shinnecock Hills for his third round and was greeted by a police officer assigned to shadow him for the rest of the tournament. Fitzpatrick introduced the officer to his father, Russell, on the property.
What followed was caught by Sky Sports Golf and shared on X. Russell Fitzpatrick had a request for the officer: "Keep him in check." When the officer asked for clarification, Russell explained himself. "Don't let him do anything he shouldn't be doing," he said.
The line landed as a classic dad joke. It also came at a key moment in Fitzpatrick's tournament, with him tied for second entering Round 3, four shots behind Wyndham Clark.
Fitzpatrick has been playing some of the best golf of his career this year, winning three PGA Tour titles and climbing to world No. 4.
The challenge will only get tougher, with the USGA planning to speed up the greens and warm, windy conditions forecast for the final two rounds.
Fitzpatrick addressed his moving-day approach directly. "You've always got one eye on where you are on the leaderboard," he said. "I do, anyway. So, for me, I want to figure out where I'm at and whether things need to change."
He explained that heavily sloped U.S. Open greens often force officials to place pins near the center, giving players better opportunities to attack certain holes.
PGA Tour pro Matt Fitzpatrick's U.S. Open track record backs up his confidence
Fitzpatrick's willingness to keep tabs on the leaderboard is backed by plenty of U.S. Open experience.
He has missed just one cut at the championship and claimed his only major title at the 2022 U.S. Open, beating Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by a shot.
His 2022 victory remains his only U.S. Open top-10, but he has rarely been far from the mix, adding four top-20 finishes between 2018 and 2023, including a tie for 12th at Shinnecock Hills in 2018.
Those results help explain why Fitzpatrick remains comfortable in the hunt as he tries to make up ground on Clark on Sunday.
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Written by
Sneha Abraham
Edited by
Pulkit Prabhav