Smylie Kaufman believes that Matt Fitzpatrick is likely to be the main threat to Wyndham Clark over the weekend at the US Open.
Clark is the man everyone is trying to catch at Shinnecock Hills. The 2023 US Open champion sits four shots clear of the chasing pack at the halfway stage.
Who do you think can catch Wyndham Clark? 🤔
Clark will not be relaxing, however.
Matt Fitzpatrick backed to be Wyndham Clark’s biggest rival at the US Open
Many fans are hoping that Shinnecock will be at its brutal best over Saturday and Sunday. And there are a number of impressive names inside the top 12, including Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Scottie Scheffler.
But speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman backed Matt Fitzpatrick to close the gap – despite the Englishman being one of the worst performers off the tee.
“He’s had some stupid short game shots this week. Well, he’s been first for the year around the green. So Fitzsy’s not going away, dude,” he said.
“He’s a player that’s going to hit a bunch of fairways this weekend. I’m not worried about his off the tee game, although you said he’s way up there. He’s going to figure that out. It’s been a strength of his. And I think the conditions suit him.
“Being able to hit it low is a huge asset because of all these elevated tee boxes out here. It’s hard to find fairways on these holes. And I think Fitzy, he’s going to have a big weekend. He’s probably the one guy I really like outside of, of course, Wyndham with the four shot lead.”
The strange US Open record of Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick is one of the players tied for second, four shots behind Clark with 36 holes to play.
Like Fitzpatrick, Clark definitely rode his luck with some of the tee shots on Friday. There were a handful of occasions where the American missed the fairway but ended up getting incredibly fortunate with his lie.
However, it was remarkable just how many times Clark’s putts went agonisingly close to dropping. On another day, his score could have been drastically different.
What have you made of Scottie Scheffler's behavior both on and off the course?
Scheffler was seen arguing with his coach after his first round at Shinnecock…
Interestingly, Fitzpatrick’s record at the US Open is not that impressive, particularly if you remove his victory at Brookline from the equation.
In fact, his win at the US Open remains his only top 10 at the event throughout his career. Fitzpatrick actually has more missed cuts in the four biggest events of the year than top 10 finishes.
It would be truly incredible if Fitzpatrick’s US Open record included two victories and no other top 10s after this week in New York.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
