Indian Open winner Alex Fitzpatrick (left) holds up the Zurich Classic of New Orleans trophy with elder brother Matt at TPC Louisiana on Sunday. Image courtesy PGA Tour/X.
By Rahul Banerji
Alex Fitzpatrick continued to climb the ranks of professional golf, sealing PGA Tour status with victory alongside his elder sibling at the Zurich Classic team event in New Orleans on Sunday.
The Hero Indian Open champion combined with Matthew Fitzpatrick to seal a nervy one-shot win at TPC Louisiana ahead of two other pairings with a 72nd hole birdie.
It gave the Englishmen a tournament record total of 31 under par 257 (64-65-57-71), leaving Norwegians Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura (63-67-63-65) and the US combo of Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer (58-70-62-68) tied for second place on 30 under 258.
“To win a team event on the PGA Tour with my brother — I don’t know if it does gets better than that,” said 31-year-old Matthew.
“That’s how special it feels. To get in over the line the way we did and to hang in there on the back nine is incredible.”
The elder Fitzpatrick, US Open champion in 2022 set up the win with a perfect shot out of the green-side bunker on hole 18, leaving Alex a two-foot putt to seal the win with their parents in attendance.
“I couldn’t feel my hands, couldn’t feel my legs. I couldn’t feel anything,” the junior Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a pretty life-changing thing.”
Nervy finish
It capped a nervous back nine for the English duo, who lost a four-shot advantage on the back nine even but bounced back as their closest competitors waited in the clubhouse.
“Winning a couple of weeks ago on the DP World Tour (at the Indian Open) was the first time that I had an exemption for over a year,” Alex said.
“It’s always been a battle to have some form of status somewhere, so it was nice to have some eligibility that I know that I’m going to be okay for a few years. It’s pretty surreal. I don’t think it will set in for a long time.
“To be sat here doing it with him is the craziest thing ever.”
With this one-stroke result, 11 of the last 13 events on the Tour have been decided by one stroke or in a playoff.
According to notes shared by the PGA Tour, the Fitzpatrick brothers won on their fourth appearance as a team (T19/2023, T11/2024, MC/2025 previously), making them the first set of siblings to win the event.
They also are the first team from England to win the Zurich Classic, Lee Westwood (1998) and Justin Rose (2015) achieved their event victories prior to the team event format.
Top form
In all, it was a fifth career PGA Tour victory for Matt in his 186th start after the 2022 U.S. Open, 2023 RBC Heritage, 2026 Valspar Championship, and 2026 RBC Heritage.
It made him the first player to win in back-to-back events since Scottie Scheffler at the 2024 Masters Tournament and 2024 RBC Heritage and he is now the first player from England to win three or more times in a season.
The win gave Alex Fitzpatrick his first Tour victory in his 11th start, making him the first non-member and sponsor exemption to win since Michael Brennan at the 2025 Bank of Utah Championship.
It also earned Alex a PGA Tour card through 2028 and exemptions into the PGA Championship, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday and the 2027 Players Championship.
Further down the order, Zurich golf ambassadors Sahith Theegala and Aaron Rai took a share of 24th place on 22 under 266.
Also read: Breakthrough win at Hero Indian Open for England’s Fitzpatrick
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