Matt Fitzpatrick’s career really took off when he won the US Open back in 2022.
Fitzpatrick fended off Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris at The Country Club at Brookline four years ago to win a major championship for the first time.
Just after Fitzpatrick’s win, Gary Player spoke about the Englishman’s hopes of emulating Sir Nick Faldo’s haul of six major championship wins.
When Matt Fitzpatrick won the US Open in 2022 he was just 28 – two years younger than Nick Faldo was when he recorded his first major victory.
Unfortunately for the five-time PGA Tour winner, he has been unable to add to his major tally since then.
Gary Player had words of advice for Fitzpatrick after he won the US Open, and he gave his opinion on the Englishman’s chances of winning six or more majors.
Player was speaking to the PA news agency back in 2022 after Fitzpatrick reigned supreme at The Country Club at Brookline.
The topic of Nick Faldo’s six major victories came up and Player made a comment about Fitzpatrick’s hopes of doing the same.
On whether Fitzpatrick can match Faldo’s haul of six majors, Player said: “Yes, it’s possible but highly unlikely he will match Nick Faldo’s record but you have to have that dream.
“It’s no more difficult to win nowadays than it was many years ago. You think the players are as good as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Raymond Floyd? No I don’t think they are as good.
“No one who plays today is anywhere near as good as Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan or Sam Snead.
“There is no one who is dominating and it’s the first time I can remember you can’t pick three players and say: ‘They are the three best players’.
“You get a guy like DeChambeau coming along and getting people excited winning the US Open and then peters off.
“It’s quite exciting but it shows there is no one who is dominating.”
Fitzpatrick obviously has a long way to go if he is to even get close to matching Faldo’s major haul.
However, judging by the golf he has been playing this season, he will have every chance of doing just that.
Player had some strong words of advice after Fitzpatrick’s first major championship win.
“We are going through a very interesting stage in golf now,” Player told the PA news agency.
“There must be 12 major championship winners that can’t play any more. This never happened in the history of golf.
“The teaching today is the worst it has ever been and yet they have all the technology in the world.