"You can't say anything anymore" - Fans react to Matt Fitzpatrick retracting his 'very poor atmosphere' comment at the 2023 US Open

The defending US Open champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, retracted through Twitter some of his statements regarding the "very poor atmosphere" prevailing in the first three rounds of the ongoing tournament.

His statements were published in a Golf Digest article and, in addition, posted on Twitter with the text: "US Open 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick criticizes LACC and USGA for 'very poor' atmosphere."

Minutes later, Matt Fitzpatrick responded by quoting the tweet with the text, "To clarify not criticising USGA..."

Fitzpatrick's retraction quickly went viral among golf fans. Below are some reactions from Twitter users:

"You can't say anything anymore"

"The only positive about the lack of real fans, is not hearing ‘get in the hole’ on every tee shot."

"Please criticize them Matt, snoozer of an atmosphere!"

"Don’t backdown! You were right. This sucked. Feels like a glorified club championship."

"You were correct. LACC blows and the vibe is like a funeral."

"Haha don’t hold back Matt. The atmosphere has been extremely poor. This tournament is supposed to be the people's Open not a private event for the rich."

"This was a 'bought event' like LIV, frankly. A big ad for billionaires to join LACC so they can become Augusta, but less conservative and more snobby. I am not kidding. Not letting fans in is shouting 'no riff raff here!' to the super rich."

"You and crybaby Brooks. You guys don't play well and you blame the setup. The setup was clearly easy enough for two players to set a tournament record. Don't blame the setup. Look in a mirror for your poor play."

"Unfortunately, in today's world speaking your opinion is 'criticising'. How dare you have your own thoughts!!!! Let alone speak them out loud and in front of cameras. The horror."

"You should be. It’s not fans’ fault we aren’t allowed anywhere near any of your tee shots or half the greens, the USGA made it clear how much they care about 'atmosphere' when they planned this buildout."

What had Matt Fitzpatrick initially said?

Matt Fitzpatrick's words, initially published by Barstool reporter Dan Rapaport, and reproduced by Golf Digest were as follows:

“Very poor. It’s disappointing on the USGA side. They want a great tournament—from what I’ve heard, a lot of [country club] members bought tickets, and that’s why there’s so many less people. Hopefully, it’s not the same for other US Opens going forward.”

According to official reports from the United States Golf Association (USGA), 22,000 daily spectator tickets have been sold at the US Open (18,000 fewer each day than at the last PGA Championship).

Of that number, only 8,000 were for the general public. The other 14,000 tickets were sold in suite, skybox, and other high-end formats. In other words, two-thirds of the tickets were sold at prices prohibitive to most.

Journalist Dan Rapaport has referred to the US Open as the 'Corporate Open' on social media.