It was one of the biggest days in the Fitzpatrick family. Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick started Sunday with a four-stroke lead against the field in the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. At the end of it, they only needed a 1-under 71 in the round to claim the title. With that, the younger Fitzpatrick has joined his elder sibling on the PGA Tour roster. And that got Alex a little emotional.
Amanda Balionis drew out the emotions when she asked Alex Fitzpatrick if he officially accepts the PGA Tour membership. “I do, I do. Yeah,” replied the younger of the two brothers before trying to hold back his tears on a remarkable achievement.
It was Alex’s putt on the 18th hole that helped the brothers score a birdie and get a clean win in the tournament. Up till that point, they were tied on the leaderboard with Alex Smalley & Hayden Springer, and Kristoffer Reitan & Kris Ventura. Had he missed the putt, then it would have been a three-way playoff between them.
Not that Matt Fitzpatrick would have been too nervous about that. He came off a remarkable playoff win against Scottie Scheffler in the 2026 RBC Heritage last week to silence the haters. He had also beaten Rory McIlroy in the same manner in the 2025 DP World Tour Championship last year. The one-time major winner was accustomed to such pressure situations.
But we can’t say the same for his brother, Alex. He had won the Hero Indian Open earlier this year, the first DP World Tour title of his career. However, the younger brother was still relatively inexperienced in such situations.
But the five-time PGA Tour champion had faith in his younger sibling’s abilities. In fact, he had also expressed that 24 hours ago.
After his outstanding approach shot, Matt Fitzpatrick had dropped the ball 14 inches from the cup at TPC Louisiana. The final putt wasn’t in his control, but he knew his brother would drop the ball. The 31-year-old had shown faith in Alex Fitzpatrick this time yesterday.
Fitzpatrick told the reporters, “He was brilliant today. He was faultless, truly. He played fantastic, and he played fantastic yesterday as well. He played brilliant golf both last two days. His game has really turned a corner these last few months, and I believe in him to continue that trend. He’s doing all the right things, and obviously it was nice for him to have such a big impact there on the back nine to continue what the front nine brought.”
Alex had scored seven birdies in the third round of the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. They were vital for their team’s 15-under-57 performance in the penultimate round. After such a strong round, the 14-inch putt on the 72nd hole of the event must have been a piece of cake. Even if the pressure of achieving his PGA Tour dream rested on Alex’s shoulders.
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