Garcia and Fitzpatrick Struggle To Get To Royal St George's Due To Open Traffic
Traffic chaos caused inconvenience for players ahead of round one at The Open


Golf tips and expert instruction, golf club reviews and the latest golf equipment.
Thank you for signing up to Golf Monthly. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Traffic chaos caused inconvenience for players ahead of round one at The Open
Garcia and Fitzpatrick Struggle To Get To Royal St George's Due To Open Traffic
Open traffic was causing headaches for players ahead of the 149th Open at Royal St George's.
The gridlock meant that Matt Fitzpatrick was forced to walk to the course and Sergio Garcia was delayed and needed help from the police to arrive on time.
"Obviously very happy with the finish. Even happier after how the morning started, where because of terrible traffic coming in," Sergio Garcia said of the traffic after his opening 68.
"Even though I left the house with plenty of time, I needed a little bit of help from a couple very nice English policemen on the bikes to get me here with only about 35, 40 minutes to tee off, when usually I like to be here around an hour and a half, hour and 25.
"It just, I don't know, we just got stuck. We couldn't move, and thankfully they helped us a little bit and got us here in time.
"I was able to do a very quick practice, very quick warmup, but it worked out okay because I played nicely."
Related: "The driver sucks" - Bryson DeChambeau rages on equipment
Twitter user @Lin2911 wrote that she had to abandon the park and ride bus and walk to the course after spending an hour on the bus in traffic:
Royal St George's in Kent hosts its 15th Open this week and first in 10 years after Darren Clarke's triumph in 2011.
Elliott Heath is our Senior Staff Writer and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016. He graduated in Sports Journalism in 2016 and currently manages the Golf Monthly news, courses and travel sections as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Elliott has interviewed some huge names in the golf world including Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, Bernd Wiesberger and Scotty Cameron as well as a number of professionals on the DP World and PGA Tours. He has also covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as three Open Championships including at Carnoustie in 2018 when he was inside the ropes with Tiger Woods. He has played 31 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Old Head and Alwoodley. He currently plays at West Byfleet Golf Club in Surrey, where his handicap index floats anywhere between 4-6. His golfing highlight is making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, and he has made one hole-in-one.
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Honma TR20
3 wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max
2 iron: Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi
Irons: Mizuno MP5 4-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
-
-
How Many Courses Are There At St Andrews?
The Old Course is by far the most famous at the Home of Golf, but it's one of several courses at St Andrews
By Mike Hall • Published
-
What Is The Swilcan Bridge?
The Old Course bridge is one of the most iconic sights in the game, but what’s its background?
By Mike Hall • Published
-
What Is Tiger Woods' Net Worth?
Tiger Woods became the first billion dollar athlete in 2009
By Elliott Heath • Published
-
The Masters Live Stream: How To Watch The Major
Here are all the details on how you can watch the Major wherever you are in the world.
By Sam Tremlett • Published
-
12 Things You Didn't Know About Gary Woodland
We get to know US Open Champion Gary Woodland a little better
By Sam Tremlett • Published
-
Five Outsiders Who Could Win The Masters
We consider five players who might surprise the favourites and claim victory at Augusta
By Fergus Bisset • Published
-
What Is Rory McIlroy's Net Worth?
The four-time Major winner's earnings are only behind Tiger Woods
By Elliott Heath • Published
-
Who Coaches Tiger Woods?
Here we take a look at who coaches Tiger Woods
By Sam Tremlett • Published
-
Who Is Justin Thomas’ Girlfriend?
Get to know Justin Thomas' girlfriend, Jillian Wisniewski, here.
By Matt Cradock • Published
-
Who Is Tiger Woods’ Girlfriend?
Find out more about Tiger Woods' girlfriend, Erica Herman, here.
By Matt Cradock • Published