Tour insider shares “real reason” Matt Fitzpatrick wasn’t allowed to change driver

Aside from Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley’s dramatic victory, the biggest story to come out of the final day of the BMW Championship undoubtedly concerned Matt Fitzpatrick and his driver.

The former US Open champion was left outraged by a rules official’s decision not to let him replace his clubhead after he spotted a crack on the face of his driver as he approached the turn at Castle Pines.

Fitzpatrick, 29, was told that the defect did not meet the threshold of being “significantly damaged”, despite playing partner Scottie Scheffler passionately fighting his corner.

“You can feel the crack,” said the world No.1. “The damage to the club is making the club not perform. It’s been damaged throughout the course of play. That’s the first shot offline he’s hit all day, and it carried about 80 yards shorter.”

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Fitzpatrick added: “I will make sure something is done after the round because it’s a joke. It’s the most obvious crack I’ve ever seen.”

Afterwards, the PGA Tour’s chief referee Stephen Cox explained that there had to be “separation in the metals” for Fitzpatrick to get his way.

However, a tour insider has since come forward with what he believes is the real explanation.

John Wood, a former caddie turned TV analyst, who is also the US Ryder Cup team manager for next year’s match at Bethpage, shared his perspective on proceedings with multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter).

“The rule is written this way to counteract the “spring effect” or “characteristic time” rule measuring ball speed with a driver, or basically how thin a driver face can be,” said Wood.

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“A driver must be “significantly damaged” to be replaceable, which basically means cracked all the way through or caved in/collapsed completely.

“If pros were allowed to replace a driver with any sort of a crack, manufacturers would build the faces as thin as legally possible. It is a roundabout way of controlling distance.

“Written this way, manufacturers have to build their drivers with a bit of a “buffer zone” so they don’t crack more often. The thinner the face, the faster the ball comes off, the more often they would crack and be replaced with another one also pushed right up against the limit.”

Wood added that he believed the situation Fitzpatrick found himself in yesterday was “ridiculous”.

“Matt’s driver was obviously unusable after he found the crack,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good rule either, but that’s the reason.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor