U.S. Open: Matthew Fitzpatrick just as confused about PGA Tour-LIV Golf move as everyone else

LOS ANGELES — Matthew Fitzpatrick arrived in Southern California very early Monday morning on a chartered flight in from Toronto.

But before he could even take a good look at Los Angeles Country Club, the defending U.S. Open champion was hit with a question about the biggest story in the sport.

Fitzpatrick, ahead of the third major championship of the season, was asked repeatedly about the PGA Tour’s proposed new partnership with LIV Golf and the DP World Tour on Monday afternoon — a sign of what’s to come this week as the latest episode of the saga overshadows tournaments yet again.

“Well, I think I just don't know what's going on,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don't think anyone knows what's going on. Are we signing with the PIF, are we not signing with the PIF? I have no idea. Even though I guess it is confusing, it's pretty clear that nobody knows what's going on apart from about four people in the world.”

He’s not alone in his confusion. Most of the golf world learned of the merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour as Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced it last Tuesday on CNBC.

The plan is to form a new golf entity including the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and LIV Golf that is funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Naturally, after how hard Monahan pushed against LIV Golf initially and seeing how he once invoked the 9/11 terrorist attacks as a reason to avoid the Saudi Arabian backed league, that’s drawn plenty of criticism. A United States Senate committee even launched an investigation into the deal Monday morning.

“I found out when everyone else found out,” Fitzpatrick said. “Yeah, honestly, I know literally nothing.”

Several big names in the sport, including Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, all reportedly received signing bonuses in excess of $100 million for joining LIV Golf. Tiger Woods reportedly received an offer that was close to $1 billion. Monahan has said that he wants to find a way to reward Tour loyalists somehow, and Tour policy board member Jimmy Dunne floated the idea of offering equity in the new entity last week.

Fitzpatrick was asked whether he felt he should be compensated for sticking with the PGA Tour over LIV Golf on Monday. After a very, very long pause and an uncomfortable laugh, he offered a two-word answer.

“Yeah, pass.”

Cam Smith, on the flip side of it, stands by his move to LIV Golf regardless of the merger. He reportedly received more than $140 million in a signing bonus to leave for LIV Golf.

Though he didn’t commit to returning to the PGA Tour should LIV Golf fold next year — that, he said, was just a hypothetical he couldn’t answer — Smith didn’t have any regrets.

“I think I've made the right decision anyway,” Smith said Monday. “I'm very happy with where I'm at. I obviously made that decision for a few different reasons. It's too early to say, I think, with what's going to go on here.

“Like I said, I know as much as everyone else, and it's going to be interesting to see how the next few months, maybe even year, kind of plays out.”

Fitzpatrick has won twice on the PGA Tour, including earlier this season at the RBC Heritage. His inaugural win came at last year’s U.S. Open, where he edged out Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The 28-year-old missed the cut at the PGA Championship last month, but finished T10 at the Masters in April. He went T20 in Toronto last week, and will enter the U.S. Open ranked No. 8 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Smith won six times on Tour before he left for LIV Golf. His last win came at last year’s British Open, which marked his third victory of the season. He’s ranked No. 9 in the OWGR, and is fresh off a T9 finish at the PGA Championship last month.

Though the LIV Golf-PGA Tour drama is sure to dominate over the next few days, Fitzpatrick isn’t worried about that spilling over into the weekend. By the time he steps up to the first tee Thursday afternoon alongside Smith and Sam Bennett, that chatter will have died down.

Or at least, he's not going to be focused on it.

“I think it's overrated,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think you're not going to be stood on the first tee thinking, ‘Oh what's going on in the golf world?’ You're thinking, ‘It's a par-4. Where do I need to hit it? Where is the wind?’

“That's all you're thinking about.”