U.S. Am Champ Fitzpatrick Leaves Northwestern!?
/Shocking news as the 2013 U.S. Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick leaves Northwestern's golf program after a strong fall start to his career, with no apparent plans to turn pro because of upcoming exemptions to the Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship thanks to his win at The Country Club.
Ryan Herrington reports the news, which was revealed in a statement by the university. (Fitzpatrick hasn't Tweeted since January 8th).
"Based on the opportunities I have right now from a golf perspective, I feel it is important to dedicate 100 percent of my time to the game and have decided to withdraw from university in the U.S.," Fitzpatrick said.
Without knowing the cause for his abrupt departure--the weather hasn't exactly been pleasant in Illinois lately--it's worth noting his father's comments from last summer, reported on by Ryan Lavner and noted by Luke Kerr-Dineen on Twitter today:
The Fitzpatrick family has a four-year college plan in place, however, no matter how impressive and mature Matt has seemed this summer in earning low-amateur honors at the British Open and winning the U.S. Amateur, all in a four-week span.
“This might be as good as it ever gets,” Russell Fitzpatrick said. “You just never know. Professional sport is really, really tough. I’ve seen players turn pro, and we never hear from them again. If he decides to play professional golf someday, he has no pressure because he knows he has a fallback option. If he turns pro after one year and it doesn’t work out, and he doesn’t have a degree, if he’s just a flash in the pan, then what’s he go with?”
**Lavner got Northwestern Coach Pat Goss on the phone and he too, was stunned.
The news caught many off-guard, not least his head coach, Pat Goss. Considering by many to be one of the best college coaches in the country – he’s largely responsible for turning Luke Donald into one of the best short-game players in the world – Goss said in a phone interview that he was very surprised by the decision because he had only received positive feedback from Fitzpatrick and his family.
“The surprising part for us was how much his family valued education and how important it was to them during the recruitment at Northwestern,” Goss said. “His family and Matt had nothing but espoused the value of education here.”
Fitzpatrick has already been scrubbed from the team roster, suggesting this is not a freshman year fit but instead a permanent departure.
