Matt Fitzpatrick was ‘perturbed’ by Adrien Dumont de Chassart’s ‘glacial’ pace of play during the final round of the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida
17:25 ET, 22 Mar 2026Updated 17:46 ET, 22 Mar 2026
Matt Fitzpatrick complained about Adrien Dumont de Chassart during the final round of the Valspar Championship(Image: Sam Navarro/Getty Images)
Adrien Dumont de Chassart received a warning from PGA Tour officials after Matt Fitzpatrick was livid with the Belgian’s “glacial” pace of play at the Valspar Championship.
Fitzpatrick and Dumont de Chassart were paired in the second-from-last group at the Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Florida, on Sunday, with both men in contention for the $1.6 million title, which Fitzpatrick won after a brilliant birdie at the 72nd hole.
Fitzpatrick, seven days on from a gutting finish as he lost out to Cam Young at The Players, started the final day three shots behind leader Sungjae Im, but the South Korean’s implosion blew the tournament wide open.
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Dumont de Chassart quickly crumbled, too. He made two triple bogeys on par fives, including at the first hole, to fall well off the pace. He was doubtless devastated at blowing his chance to contend, but it was not his waywardness that irked his playing partner.
Instead, Fitzpartrick was bothered by the 26-year-old’s pace of play. John Wood, a veteran caddie working as an on-course reporter for NBC, said: “[Fitzpatrick] is a little perturbed with his playing partner’s pace of play. It is glacial, to be kind.”
Eight-time PGA Tour winner Brad Faxon was in the booth, and he told viewers that Fitzpatrick played his approach shot out of turn on the 11th hole despite being closer to the green than his playing partner.
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Dumont de Chassart’s pace of play was dubbed ‘glacial'(Image: Sam Navarro/Getty Images)
Fitzpatrick then walked to the green and waited three minutes until Dumont de Chassart finally hit his shot. The delay prompted Fitzpatrick to make a complaint to a tournament official.
Orlando Pope, the tour’s rules director and video analyst, told NBC that Dumont de Chassart later received an official warning after Fitzpatrick’s complaint led to the Belgian being unofficially timed.
Fitzpatrick was able to put the frustration aside during a strange final round at Innisbrook Resort. The leading pack was stuck in neutral until the 2022 U.S. Open champion drained a bomb for birdie on the par-three 15th.
The Englishman poured in another birdie at the last to sign for a three-under-par 68, reaching 11 under for the week. David Lipsky, chasing his first PGA Tour win, could not respond in kind, making a par as Fitzpatrick claimed a deserved win.
He went bogey-free for the weekend to claim his third PGA Tour victory, adding to his U.S. Open and RBC Heritage victories.
The 31-year-old is in excellent shape with the Masters less than three weeks away, building on his DP World Tour Championship victory in November.
Dumont de Chassart ended with a three-over-par 74, finishing at three under in a tie for 26th place.
