What a difference a year makes for Matt Fitzpatrick. Twelve months ago, he arrived at the Masters feeling 'lost.' Now, on the eve of the 2026 tournament, Fitzpatrick is riding a wave of success after a dramatic turnaround.

“Coming here last year, I was pretty lost. I just wasn't playing well. It was basically my lowest point here, really," Fitzpatrick admitted during the pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday.

"I just didn't play well or couldn't figure it out, and whatnot. Obviously, at that point, it's kind of, well, you don't know what kind of golf is going to come next," he said while reflecting on his 2025 results.

At The Players Championship in March 2025, Matt Fitzpatrick missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass, losing strokes across driving, approach, and putting.

The results also affected the Sheffield-born golfer's position in the Official World Golf Ranking, where he dropped to 75th after previously reaching as high as sixth.

During that period, he made changes to his team. He parted ways with his caddie, Billy Foster, and began working with coach Mark Blackburn to address issues in his swing.

That phase carried into the 2025 Masters Tournament, where he made the cut but finished tied for 40th. It was his lowest finish at the event since 2020 and added to the struggles he had described.

Matt Fitzpatrick on Managing Confidence After a Year of Change

"I think it's taking the confidence from that that things have improved so much from where they were last year," added the 3-time PGA Tour winner.

"As well as having those expectations that you can't have the high expectations of okay, I'm playing really well," Matt Fitzpatrick added.

Fitzpatrick is ranked No. 6 in the world and secured his third PGA Tour title at the 2026 Valspar Championship, finishing at 11-under par after a birdie on the final hole.

A week earlier, he finished second at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, ending one shot behind Cameron Young. Across the 2026 season, he has made the cut in all seven starts and recorded five top-25 finishes.

Now the question is, can Matt Fitzpatrick turn his hard-earned reset into a defining Masters run this year?

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Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi