Men’s Golf

Former Northwestern golfer Matthew Fitzpatrick finished 32nd at The Masters, dropping down the leaderboard after shooting a 6-over-par 78 in the second round Friday.

He suffered a brutal finish to his Friday round, bogeying each of the last three holes to tie for the the worst second round of any player who made the cut.

It marred an otherwise strong tournament for Fitzpatrick, who carded a 1-under 71 in the opening round Thursday and closed with a 2-under 70 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 4-over.

The 22-year-old English golfer, who played at NU for one quarter in 2013, briefly led the tournament early in the first round after recording three consecutive birdies in the eighth, ninth and 10th holes.

His round ended poorly, however, with a double bogey on 18 after he was concerned about hitting a spectator leaning onto the narrow fairway.

“I’ve seen photographs of everyone poking their heads out and that suddenly crept up on me,” he told reporters. “I just didn’t want to kill anyone.”

Fitzpatrick’s overall performance was a significant downgrade from last year’s, when he finished tied for seventh after a stellar final round.

In five tournaments for the Wildcats in the fall of 2013, Fitzpatrick won once and finished in the top 10 twice.

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Twitter: @ckpaxton