Why did the golf ball cross the road?
Well, because Matt Fitzpatrick hit it there, of course.
The 2022 U.S. Open champion found himself in a precarious spot on the 12th hole during the second round of U.S. Open action at Shinnecock Hills, when his second shot bounced off the rough and back on Tuckahoe Road – a single lane in each direction road – which runs through the fairway.
The ball rolled into the middle of the road before coming to a full stop just on the edge where the road meets the grass.
Fitzpatrick was given free relief as a result of where the ball ended up and he was able to drop within one club length.
The Englishman started off the hole 1-over par on the day when his drive went 298 yards into a native area right of the fairway, and in the shadow of a fence.
That’s when his second shot bounced off Tuckahoe Road and his third shot, following the relief, ended up on the green a little more than 37 feet to the hole.
Fitzpatrick two-putted on the green to finish with a bogey.
Coming into this week’s tournament, Fitzpatrick was looking for a challenge from the notoriously windy and difficult course, nestled on the east end of Long Island.
“For me personally, I want it to get as dry and firm as possible, as U.S. Opens do, and just see where that takes us,” Fitzpatrick said Monday.
“I think that for me — this golf course, I think when it is really tough like that, I enjoy that challenge because you have to do your homework, and you have to hit good shots, and that’s what I think any good golf tournament should require,” he added later.