Matt Fitzpatrick sees gambling as a reason why fans at tournaments have become rowdier, both on and off the golf course.
Key Takeaways
- The veteran pro golfer says it’s easy for fans to “influence a bet” at tournaments.
- Fitzpatrick says social media abuse is also a problem on tour.
- He doesn’t “condone” gambling, but he has a small wager on England to win the World Cup.
The PGA Tour golfer said during Monday’s press conference for this week’s British Open at Royal Birkdale that harassment is being fueled by angry bettors.
“For me, it's definitely becoming a problem, and the issue is, particularly in golf, it would be very easy to influence a bet, whether it's you're shouting on someone's backswing, shouting on a putting stroke,” Fitzpatrick said. “It's really easy. Obviously, that is really hard to monitor, but it is definitely an issue.”
Matt Fitzpatrick thinks gambling is “definitely an issue” that’s affecting how fans behave at golf tournaments:
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) July 13, 2026
“Yeah, it's a great question because you just look at all the messages people get -- footballers, tennis players, you name it, everyone's getting messages of, oh, you… https://t.co/8dQoBeLCDH pic.twitter.com/atav8VF3Xm
This created a recent storyline for the 31-year-old Englishman. Fitzpatrick experienced fans yelling at him and rooting against him at The Players Championship in March and the RBC Heritage, as the crowd supported other American golfers he was playing against.
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Online abuse
Fitzpatrick said the abuse is also a major issue on social media.
“I've had my fair share,” he said. “I would say every golfer that's played a professional tournament has had a message of abuse from someone that is related to gambling.
“You could see it this week. You go and type in a player's name who maybe isn't playing well, maybe someone who's favored to play well, you type the name into Twitter, and you'll just see their name followed by abuse after abuse after abuse.”
Golfers aren’t the only athletes to bring social media and in-person harassment up as an issue. MLB players, tennis pros, and college athletes have all talked about dealing with angry fans when they underperform, especially from bettors who wager on player props.
It’s the reason NCAA president Charlie Baker has been asking state lawmakers and regulators to ban college player props due to harassment.
“You just look at all the messages people get – footballers, tennis players, you name it – everyone's getting messages of, ‘oh, you missed that penalty; you cost me this.’ ‘Oh, you didn't make a birdie; cost me this,’” Fitzpatrick said.
World Cup bettor
The veteran golfer is listed third on FanDuel’s Open Championship odds market at +1,500, behind only Scottie Scheffler (+700) and Rory McIlroy (+850), and tied with Tommy Fleetwood.
Fitzpatrick says he doesn’t “condone gambling in the slightest,” and “it’s not really for me.” But he did say that he put 20 quid (around $26) on England to win the World Cup.
“It's a thing that me and my mate do every World Cup and Euros, that's it,” Fitzpatrick said.
He noted that if his home country doesn’t get past Argentina on Wednesday in the semifinal or bring home the World Cup trophy, he won’t be harassing any players on the team.
“If it doesn't come in, I'm not going to send a message to Harry Kane and be like, ‘Why did you play rubbish?’ There’s obviously individuals that have that problem,” Fitzpatrick said.
