After an indifferent start to the 2025 season, Matt Fitzpatrick made the call to part company with his long-term caddie Billy Foster.
It was a shock and a ‘disappointing’ decision for the legendary caddie, who has previously worked with golfing greats Seve Ballesteros, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.
But Foster insisted there was no ill feeling between the pair.
The 59-year-old and Fitzpatrick had been together for six years prior to their split last month. In that time, Fitzpatrick would win the US Open in 2022 before going on to win the RBC Heritage, Alfred Dunhill Links and the Ryder Cup with Team Europe in 2023.
But with the biennial tournament fast approaching again, questions have been raised over the South Yorkshireman’s position on the European side for their trip to Bethpage in September considering his struggles on the tour.
Over the past 12 months, the 30-year-old has slumped from 11th in the OWGR rankings to 69th.
Matt Fitzpatrick (left) and his caddie Billy Foster (right) made the decision to part ways earlier this month
Foster has been working as Fitzpatrick’s caddie for six years and in that time the pair have achieved great success, notably winning the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Ryder Cup
Foster said there was no ill feeling between the pair, adding that Fitzpatrick and his family were all ‘very humble’ (pictured Matt’s dad Russell Fitzpatrick, left, his fiance Katherine Gaal, second left, and his mother susan, right)
After Fitzpatrick missed the cut at the Players Championship, carding 78 for his opening round, which he followed with a 72 to finish six-over-par, it was then that the pair had agreed the time had come to part ways.
‘I finished with Fitz last week,’ Foster said, speaking to Prime Casino.
‘It was a bit disappointing but he’s been playing poorly.
‘You know when things aren’t going well and you’re not enjoying it out there sometimes it’s just nice to have a break and just get a bit of freshness and have a different eye on the ball,’ he said.
‘That’s the caddying game. It’s always been the same. It’ll never be any different.
‘It’s a results-driven business and if things aren’t going well it’s always nice to have a bit of a change. That normally starts with the coach and the caddy or the manager or the psychologist or the wife. That’s the way players work and you just have to accept it for what it is.’
Fitzpatrick has not placed inside the top 10 of a PGA Tour event since June 2024 and in 2025, he is yet to finish inside the top 20.
His woes were compounded after he missed the cut at the Players Championship – his second missed cut in 2025 – where the South Yorkshireman carded 78 for his opening round which he followed with a 72 to finish six-over-par.
Foster also thanked Fitzpatrick for the journey they had been on but offered his take on the golfer’s recent struggles
Foster said that Fitzpatrick can turn around his indifferent recent form if he can find some confidence in his swing
‘Obviously, it’s very disappointing because we’ve had so many good times together and so many great victories. Matt struggled. It’s out there in the results. He hasn’t played well for six to eight months, [he] feels the time to change is right, freshness is everything and that’s fine, you just gotta accept the way it is.
‘Ultimately, it’s the player’s goal. As a caddie, you can always feel the body language on the golf course and you can feel things are a little bit strained.
‘It’s disappointing but you can feel it when the atmosphere is just not the same as it was. I accept that and that’s fine. You move on.
‘I’m man enough to take it out on the chin and say, you know what, you’re probably right, mate. It might do us both good. We’ll see. You move on. But I have no regrets.’
Foster, 59, added that he was grateful to the Englishman for what they achieved on the golf course.
‘I have nothing but good things to say about him and I’ll move on and the next time I see him, I’ll give him a hug and say, listen, it’s no problem. I totally understand. I’ll give him a hug next time I see him. It’s been a great journey and I’m very thankful for everything that he provided for me and my family. So, that’s it.
‘I’ll always admire Matt as a golfer but more importantly as a person. His family are very grounded, very humble and I’ve got a lot to thank Matt for.
‘Like I said, we’ve had six great years and we’ve done very well together, and he’s a major champion, which I’ll always be truly grateful for. That he provided that. Because it was very frustrating when you’d had a great career and never won a major with anybody. Matt delivered that.’
Fitzpatrick has dropped to 69th in the OWGR rankings over the past year but has a good record at the Masters
One player who has recently overcome a bad patch of form is Fitzpatrick’s Ryder Cup team-mate, Viktor Hovland, who won his first PGA Tour event since winning the Tour Championship in 2023. The Norwegian came into last weekend’s tournament off the back of three straight missed cuts amid what’s been a very unusual start to the season.
‘Golf is a weird game and it’s all mental and confidence,’ Foster said. ‘It can be as simple as having one good round under your belt and you feel comfortable.’
Foster, though, believes Fitzpatrick can, like Hovland, turn things around quickly ahead of the Masters if he can address one aspect of his game.
‘He’s just not felt comfortable with his swing of late and he’s been struggling,’ Foster said.
‘Matt’s record at Augusta is decent. He’s finished 22nd, 10th and 14th, whatever it is in the last three years. If he finds any thought of swing and feels a lot more confident, that can change very quickly. That’s the way golf is.
‘You go through peaks and troughs. You can be hot for three or four months and you think to yourself, I can never see myself playing badly again then all of a sudden you play badly for three or four months and you think you’re never going to play good again. It’s all very mental. Confidence is a massive thing. But it can change very quickly overnight.’
Fitzpatrick is well known for being one of the most meticulous players on the professional tours, notably tracking each and every shot he has ever hit on the golf course.
‘He’s always been the same. He’s been that way since he was 14 years old. It’s made him what he is,’ Foster added.
Foster, meanwhile, would like to return to caddying this year, but added that stepping away from the pro circuit for a while would give him time to refresh his knowledge of the game
‘It’s made him a US Open champion doing what he does. So why change it? Everybody’s different. All players are different and that’s the way Matt’s mentality is towards the game. It’s made him the player that he’s become.’
Foster, a legend in the caddie ranks, had made it clear at the beginning of 2025 that he would be dialling down his caddying commitments in 2025. He had also revealed that he’d be splitting caddying duties on Fitzpatrick’s bag with Daniel Parratt.
Now 59, this is Foster’s 43rd year working in professional golf and would ‘ideally’ like to continue caddying but he could also opt to take up an entirely new venture.
‘I’ve done this since I was 16 years old. I’m a bit of a nomad. I’ve always been on the road. If somebody said they got to live 50 weeks a year in Bingley, West Yorkshire I need to be out there doing something on tour,’ he added.
‘I don’t know what’s next at this stage. I might come back caddying. I might come back on course, commentating. I might come back doing something completely different. I don’t know.
‘Ideally, I’d still like to caddy. I’m 59 so I think I’ve got two or three years left in me. If it means going back to caddying full-time it depends on what gets offered. I don’t rule anything out at this stage.’
