WM Phoenix Open star Matt Fitzpatrick was asked about a remark made by his wife
Kasra Moradi Senior Sports Journalist and Jake Bayliss
08:38, 07 Feb 2026Updated 08:38, 07 Feb 2026
Matt Fitzpatrick was forced to deny a claim made by his wife(Image: Karwai Tang, WireImagevia Getty Images)
Matthew Fitzpatrick previously dismissed his wife’s suggestion that she routinely writes affectionate notes on his golf balls. The 31-year-old is competing at this weekend’s WM Phoenix Open.
During his first round, Fitzpatrick registered birdies on seven of his opening eight holes at the PGA Tour tournament in Arizona, carding a remarkable 29 on the front nine and picking up another birdie at the 12th. The English golfer subsequently carded one-under-par on Friday to leave himself four shots behind leader Ryo Hisatsune at the halfway stage.
As he aims for his third PGA victory, Fitzpatrick will be supported by his wife Katherine Gaal. However, during last year’s battle for the Open Championship trophy, he refuted Gaal’s claims about how she helps her husband.
The 2022 US Open winner had put himself in strong contention for another major, sitting just one shot behind leader Scottie Scheffler, when Gaal’s social media presence shifted focus from his performance. Gaal, hailing from New Jersey, recorded herself in a TikTok clip penning personalised romantic messages on her husband’s golf balls ahead of the championship.
Wielding a coloured pen, she asked: “Let’s mark my husband’s golf balls for The Open. How many balls do you need?”, prompting Fitzpatrick to respond with a chuckle: “Hopefully not many.”
She was then filmed using a red marker to write “MF IS CUTE” and “I LOVE YOU” on two of the balls. The third featured “XO”, surrounded by numerous small love hearts.
Discussing her enjoyment of customising the balls, she said: “It’s a special way for me to get involved. Most of the time I do hearts and stars, sometimes if it’s more of a serious tournament then I’ll do fish.”
Katherine drew sweet messages on the balls(Image: Katherine Fitzpatrick)
Fitzpatrick’s father, Russ, who was seated beside her during the marking session, then replied: “What are you on about?
“No, I know you don’t do that because I get all the second-hand balls and none of them look like that,” he laughed. “All the golfers also know he doesn’t mark them like that.”
Undeterred, Gaal went on: “Well, anyway, I’m still going to give you a pack of special golf balls, Matt. You don’t have to use them but they’re packed and sealed with love.”
Fitzpatrick will be supported by his wife Katherine Gaal during the WM Phoenix Open(Image: Getty)
When asked the golfer about the viral clip, he quickly dismissed suggestions that she routinely prepares his balls for him. He said: “She does not mark my golf balls. She does not, no, and I would not let her, no.”
Asked further about whether he had used the balls shown in his wife’s video during The Open, Fitzpatrick once more replied: “I have not, no.”
The pair tied the knot in New Jersey in October 2024, after making their relationship public in January 2023. Gaal, a former beauty queen and runner-up in the Miss New Jersey USA pageant in 2014, also has a double major degree in broadcast journalism and finance from Penn State University.
She spent two and a half years as a tennis professional at the Bay Head Yacht Club in Bay Head, New Jersey, before moving into marketing. Her sporting pedigree is further enhanced by her grandfather Dean Cetrulo, who clinched a bronze medal in fencing at the 1948 London summer Olympics.