By Mathieu Wood
As Matt Fitzpatrick targets his third Omega European Masters title this week, he does so with a caddie who knows the tournament and its venue better than most.
A week on from being recognised for amassing over 40 years of service on the DP World Tour, Billy Foster is the man on the bag looking to help Fitzpatrick become just the fourth player – after Seve Ballesteros, Harold Henning and Dai Rees – to win the historic event on three occasions.
Foster worked with Ballesteros, but only after the last of the Spaniard’s three victories in the Alps in 1989, and he has been a regular return visitor alongside other players over the years to Crans-Montana.
Fitzpatrick, a two-time winner in the Alps in 2017 and 2018, teamed up with Foster in 2019 and the pair have since enjoyed great success together, most notably winning the U.S. Open in 2022. Among their other highs together are the 2023 Ryder Cup, the PGA TOUR success at RBC Heritage last year, and winning the DP World Tour Championship in 2020.
"Ever since he came on the bag in 2019, he has been brilliant for me," said Fitzpatrick of Foster, with the duo making their third appearance as a partnership at this event, having finished tied third together last year.
"His experience, particularly at a time when I needed it, is second to none. He has probably been out here as long as anyone, had as much success as anyone out here and the award is a testament to his hard work over the years.
"He has been going 42, 43 years and he is still walking every inch of the golf course and trying to find every little bit of detail to help us have a good result.
"He is a fantastic caddie."
This will be Fitzpatrick’s eighth appearance at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, having made his debut in 2014, and he has recorded an impressive three top tens alongside his two victories.
As a result of that, but also having recovered well from the thumb injury that resulted in his withdrawal from the Olympic men’s golf competition at Le Golf National last month, the 30-year-old is looking forward to trying to create more fond memories.
“I love coming here, obviously,” the World Number 27 said. “Had some really nice results here as well. As you know, just being here in general, it's always a great week.
“I won them (his titles) both in play-offs which was pretty cool.
“Just winning this tournament in general, being in the town, the golf course, the views [are what makes] it a special place and obviously to win twice, I'd really like to get the third.”
Fitzpatrick comes into the week on the back of a two-week break after finishing 40th on the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup Standings as he missed out on qualifying for the Tour Championship.
And it's a family affair as he is again joined by his brother, Alex, who finished tied fifth on his debut here last year. So, is the DP World Tour rookie seeking out any tips this week from his Major-winning brother about the challenges of playing at altitude?
“Not really,” Matt replied. “Obviously if he does have any questions, then I am more than happy to share with him but on the whole, he does his own thing.”
He added: “It plays [distance wise] about 10% further here. For us, that is what we look at. It varies on the temperature, and a few other things [like] time of day.
“It’s a golf course that you have got to get your head around. You have got to do your homework. They have changed it a fair bit over the last few years. All of them have led to an improvement on the golf course so you have to keep an eye on that.”
