Matt Fitzpatrick says betting-related harassment now creates a risk both online and during live golf. One shout during a swing or putt could affect a player and decide a wager.
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Golf needs silence during every key shot. Fitzpatrick believes that gives an angry bettor an easy opportunity to interfere.
“For me, it’s definitely becoming a problem, and the issue is, particularly in golf, it would be very easy to influence a bet, whether it’s you’re shouting on someone’s backswing, shouting on a putting stroke,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s really easy. Obviously, that is really hard to monitor, but it is definitely an issue.”
The 31-year-old Englishman faced hostile crowds at The Players Championship and RBC Heritage, where fans backed American opponents and shouted against him.
Online abuse reaches players even faster. Fitzpatrick said nearly every professional golfer has received gambling-related messages after a poor round.
“You could see it this week. You go and type in a player’s name who maybe isn’t playing well, maybe someone who’s favored to play well, you type the name into Twitter, and you’ll just see their name followed by abuse after abuse after abuse.”
MLB players, tennis professionals and college athletes report similar treatment. Individual player prop bets often turn one missed shot, hit or score into a losing ticket. NCAA president Charlie Baker has asked states to ban college player props due to harassment concerns.
“You just look at all the messages people get – footballers, tennis players, you name it – everyone’s getting messages of, ‘oh, you missed that penalty; you cost me this.’ ‘Oh, you didn’t make a birdie; cost me this,’” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick said gambling is “not really for me,” although he placed £20, around $26, on England to win the World Cup as part of a tradition with a friend.
“If it doesn’t come in, I’m not going to send a message to Harry Kane and be like, ‘Why did you play rubbish?’ There’s obviously individuals that have that problem,” Fitzpatrick said.
FanDuel priced Fitzpatrick at +1,500 for the British Open, level with Tommy Fleetwood. Scottie Scheffler led at +700, followed by Rory McIlroy at +850.