Veteran caddie Billy Foster has expressed his disappointment over the end of his partnership with European Ryder Cup star Matt Fitzpatrick. The pair, who had been working together for six years, confirmed their split via a social media post on Saturday.
This followed another challenging week for Fitzpatrick, who missed his second cut of the season at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass last week. Fitzpatrick, who clinched the US Open in 2022 with Foster’s assistance, has been struggling with his form recently and is currently ranked 69th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), a concerning slide as the Ryder Cup approaches.
It seems that this dip in form contributed to Fitzpatrick’s decision to part ways with Foster. The caddie revealed that Fitzpatrick felt the need to “freshen things up”.
Speaking to Mirror US, Foster said: “Obviously it’s very disappointing when a good partnership comes to an end. Matt has struggled with his game over the last few months and as a golfer, it is unbelievably frustrating. Ultimately it’s a results business and when it gets to the stage that you’re not enjoying it out there it’s always time to freshen things up.
“Hopefully it will be good for both of us and I will always respect Matt as a player but more importantly as a person… I wish him the best.”
Fitzpatrick and Foster had a successful six-year stint together, securing two victories on the PGA Tour and four on the DP World Tour, including the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in 2020.
Their most significant victory was at Brookline in 2022 when Fitzpatrick clinched the US Open title. Despite having worked with some of golf’s biggest names, such as Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood, and Darren Clarke, this was Foster’s first major success.
Unsurprisingly, this was his favourite moment with the 30-year-old. “We have had some great times winning on several occasions,” the caddie remarked.
“Ultimately winning the U.S. Open was the pinnacle.”
In December, Foster revealed that he would be going part-time with Fitzpatrick in 2025, sharing the responsibility with fellow caddie Dan Parratt.
However, this part-time arrangement has now abruptly ended, and it is unclear whether Parratt will take on the role full time. As for Foster, there is no doubt he will receive plenty of offers to get back on the bag, but currently, he has no concrete plans.
“Who knows where my next chapter lies but look forward to a new challenge,” Foster declared. “No plans at this stage, I will just see what happens over the coming months.”
