'I Always Played As Tiger Woods' - Matt Fitzpatrick On 'Pretty Special' Video Game Inclusion
England's number one Matt Fitzpatrick on what it's like featuring in the PGA Tour 2K23 video game
Matt Fitzpatrick has shot to global fame after winning his maiden Major title at the 2022 US Open before starring in Netflix's Full Swing docuseries about life on the PGA Tour.
The Englishman is his country's top ranked player, currently at a career-best 7th in the world, and is flying high after recently making his third Ryder Cup appearance in Rome, where Luke Donald's Team Europe wrestled the cup back from the Americans.
Fitzpatrick has two PGA Tour victories to his name, including the US Open, as well as a further eight regular DP World Tour wins, with his most recent one coming at the Home of Golf in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews earlier this month.
The World No.7 is one of the star playable names on the PGA Tour 2K23 game as well as the likes of Tiger Woods, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson and many others.
Speaking to Golf Monthly at 2K's London headquarters, Fitzpatrick described being in a video game as "pretty special".
"It’s awesome, yeah growing up playing video games and to be in one myself is pretty special really. I think he'd [12-year-old Matt] be amazed. It’d be very bizarre but yeah I think growing up I always remember playing video games and thinking ‘It’d be amazing if you could be on the game’. You’d always create yourself yeah so to be on there is pretty cool."
The 29-year-old says he "always played as Tiger Woods" growing up and says his favorite course on the new game is one of Tiger Woods' own designs - Payne Valley - which he describes as "pretty wild". His best score so far is eight-under.
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"It’s crazy the detail that goes into them and how it’s all formed. It’s very, very impressive," he said on the in-game courses.
And on video game golf vs real life golf, Fitzpatrick still thinks that the sport is tougher in real life.
"It’s great, playing good in real life is a bit better than in video games. It’s just a lot nicer. I don’t know about that [whether real life golf is easier]. I think if I get hot in the game I could probably regularly shoot under 64 so I can’t do that in real life."
Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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