[Photo: Sam Narvarro]
Matt Fitzpatrick made birdie on the 18th hole to win the Valspar Championship by one shot over David Lipsky. It was his third PGA Tour victory. That’s the only thing that matters to the 31-year-old Englishman.
But there was a time midway through the final round at Innisbrook Resort when Fitzpatrick felt he was getting out of his rhythm because of the slow pace of play from his playing partner, Adrien Dumont de Chassart.
NBC Sports’ John Wood reported during the telecast that Fitzpatrick hit his approach shot to the 11th green first even though he was closer. He then walked up to the green and waited for Dumont de Chassart, a 26-year-old from Belgium.
“It is glacial, to be kind,” Wood said.
PGA Tour rules official Orlando Pope told NBC Sports that Fitzpatrick told officials he was not pleased with the pace and Dumont de Chassart was issued an official warning after he was timed a short time later.
Matt Fitzpatrick was fed up with the pace of play during Sunday’s final round.
He even complained to a rules official about his playing partner.
“That was really frustrating. It was slow today. I felt like there was a lot of stop/start. Yeah, just, you know, just not ready.… pic.twitter.com/Ofe0k4MUPx
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) March 22, 2026
“Yeah, that was really frustrating. It was slow today. I felt like there was a lot of stop/start,” Fitzpatrick said. “Yeah, just, you know, just not ready. When you’re not ready to play a golf shot it gets frustrating after a while. Particularly when you’re playing well yourself or you’re in contention or whatever it is. There’s definitely, you know, it definitely knocks you out of your rhythm. Because you hit, you walk to it, you kind of think about it, you hit again, and you go.
“It definitely knocked me out of rhythm I felt like for the next two, three holes. I was kind of chasing my tail, because I’m trying to speed up and trying to keep us or get back in position, and at the same time you’re obviously trying to win a golf tournament. So it’s like at that point in the week it’s kind of a hard balance.”
Fitzpatrick gathered himself enough to make birdie on the 15th from 30 feet and on the 18th from 14 feet to seal the victory, his first since the 2023 RBC Heritage. Dumont de Chassart shot a three-over 74 and tied for 26th place.