{"id":633327,"date":"2026-04-27T04:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T04:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/633327\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T04:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T04:03:12","slug":"matt-fitzpatrick-helps-his-young-brother-alex-get-a-pga-tour-card-with-victory-at-the-zurich-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/633327\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Fitzpatrick helps his young brother Alex get a PGA Tour card with victory at the Zurich Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

World No.3 Matt Fitzpatrick gave his younger brother Alex the best gift of all, hitting an astonishing 35-yard bunker shot to set up a life-changing victory for his sibling at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.<\/p>\n

The Fitzpatrick brothers\u2019 victory in the pair\u2019s event means Alex will gain a two-year PGA Tour exemption as well as starts in the PGA Championship, the Players Championship and all the remaining US$20 million signature events this year.<\/p>\n

\ufeffFOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports, is streaming The 2026 PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s as good as it gets, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to describe. Winning the US Open is as good as that for sure,\u201d Matt added.<\/p>\n

The Englishmen started the final round with a four-shot lead after firing a tournament record 15-under par 57 in the third round, in the best ball format.<\/p>\n

Things were a lot trickier in the alternate shot format on the final day, however, but a one-under par 71 with a birdie at the last was enough at TPC Louisiana. <\/p>\n

They won by a shot in front of Norwegians Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura, and Americans Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer at 31-under par.<\/p>\n

Alex Fitzpatrick (L) of England and partner Matt Fitzpatrick of England pose with the trophy after winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2026.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

In a riveting finish, Matt pumped a long and straight drive off the tee at the par 5 18th to give themselves a look at avoiding a playoff.<\/p>\n

Alex then made things a little more complicated as he nervily dumped the second shot into a bunker in front of the green.<\/p>\n

After a double bogey on 12 and a bogey on 14 brought them back to the pack, it appeared another slip-up may be on the cards.<\/p>\n

But the older brother ensured that would not be the case with some magic from the sand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a struggle. I was doing absolutely zero to help him apart from the putt I made on 15,\u201d Matt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t really providing much support. He was fantastic on that back nine as he was yesterday as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo finish that (was incredible). I said just give us a chance on the last and obviously to hit a bunker shot like that was nice to give him the easy tap-in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/p>\n

\ufeffSuperstar\u2019s major statement with crushing victory as Aussie LPGA hero adjusts to new reality<\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeff\u2018Pure shock\u2019: Inside \u2018crazy\u2019 Aussie rise you might not know… and the epiphany that started it all<\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeff\u2018Ruined by greed?\u2019: Golf world outraged as \u2018ridiculous\u2019 record Ryder Cup ticket prices released<\/a><\/p>\n

The unforgettable triumph also means that Alex may have to change his plans.<\/p>\n

The world No. 141 has been plying his trade on the DP World Tour, including picking up a maiden win at the Indian Open last month.<\/p>\n

But now, he will need to look at navigating his way around the United States rather than heading back to Europe. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, it won\u2019t sink in. I\u2019ve got a flight booked for Turkey tonight,\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to be here with him, (as well as) my mum and dad.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of hard work. I can\u2019t believe we\u2019ve done it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Matt, the victory is his third of the season, having won last week\u2019s signature event the RBC Heritage in a playoff thriller against world No.1 Scottie Scheffler as well as the Valspar Championship last month.<\/p>\n

He leads the FedEx Cup standings as result, having also been runner-up at The Players Championship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"World No.3 Matt Fitzpatrick gave his younger brother Alex the best gift of all, hitting an astonishing 35-yard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":633328,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[5118,2095,1724,64,63,306739,306736,306738,299995,16271,9252,29983,755,306737,306734,13339,70785,306740,3879,2041,2067,306742,51338,31665,85,940,2614,12000,306741,306735],"class_list":["post-633327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-alex","tag-america","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ball-format","tag-brother-life-changing-victory","tag-brothers-embrace","tag-bunker-shot","tag-final-day","tag-four-shot-lead","tag-geoff-ogilvy","tag-golf","tag-kris-ventura","tag-life-changing-victory","tag-louisiana","tag-maiden-win","tag-mud-ampampampamp-gators","tag-new-orleans","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-playoff-thriller","tag-royal-bank-of-canada","tag-signature-events","tag-sports","tag-turkey","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-western-asia","tag-world-no-3-matt-fitzpatrick","tag-young-brother"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/633328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}