Matt Fitzpatrick believes course setup has got "a bit out of hand" ahead of Bethpage clash

Matt Fitzpatrick believes not only a hostile crowd but also course setup have been the two biggest reasons why it's so much tougher to win an away Ryder Cup match. 

Fitzpatrick made his feelings be known about the Ryder Cup ahead of competing in the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry this week.

The British Masters marks the final qualifying event for automatic selection on the European Ryder Cup team.

Fitzpatrick currently ranks in 12th position on the standings, and even a win this week still won't see him make the team automatically.

But after some resurgent form from the start of the summer, Fitzpatrick is fully expected by many to receive one of Luke Donald's six captain picks.

The same can't be said for Sergio Garcia. 

Fitzpatrick, who is making his first ever start at The Belfry this week, is looking to compete on a fourth European Ryder Cup team.

The 2025 Ryder Cup takes place at Bethpage Black in New York from 26-28 September.

The two-time US Open venue is going to play long and the rough is expected to be down in order to favour the Americans, which has typically been the case for recent American editions of the Ryder Cup. 

Fitzpatrick, who has certainly increased his distance off the tee in recent seasons, thinks course setup is a big reason why an away team hasn't won a Ryder Cup in 13 years (2012 Medinah). 

The Englishman goes even further by saying "it's almost got a bit out of hand."

"I think there's a bit of that, yeah, for sure," replied Fitzpatrick when asked if a hostile crowd is the toughest aspect of an away Ryder Cup.

"There's so much support for the home team, it's crazy. You miss a putt away, and you really feel it. It really hurts a little bit more I would say.

"But I'd probably say the course setup as well. 

"The course setup is -- if I'm honest, I'll probably argue it's almost a bit out of hand that you're playing two different styles of course in the past, and I've only played one at home. 

"I'd say just the way the course is set up is a little bit more helpful to the home team, and then obviously the away is the same deal, when I played at Hazeltine, I didn't really hit it out of the shadow at that point, and that's a disaster at that place.

"So I do think course setup probably plays a big part as well, and the fans, yeah."

When pressed further on his "out of hand" comments, Fitzpatrick replied: "I think you need to find a balance of some sort of because you want to -- you want an even playing field, even competition.

"I'm all for making the course as hard as -- right now, as things stand, I'm all for both teams setting up how they want. I don't have an issue with that.

"But obviously if you look at the -- like Rory said, the hardest thing to do is winning away, and I get that because you look at the results, it's just like win at home, win at home, win at home, win at home.

"So I think that's more what I'm getting at, it's a more consistent theme that seems to be emerging, and hopefully we can change that this time."