U.S. Amateur Champ Admits School Was Getting In The Way

Matthew Fitzpatrick will be playing 36-a-day for three days to prepare for his upcoming Masters appearance and opening pairing with Adam Scott.

Playing this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Ryan Lavner files a report explaining why the Northwestern dropout explained how attending school was getting in his way.

“It was taking a lot of time away from my golf,” he said Thursday after opening with 1-under 71 at Bay Hill. “School was part of the reason why I went there, but I really enjoyed my time.

“Fortunately and unfortunately, I had a good year last year, it opened up a lot of doors, and going to (college) would not have let me play in some of the events.”

Fitzpatrick opened with a 1-under-par 71.