Matt Fitzpatrick, fresh off recent wins, found himself needing assistance from his younger brother Alex as they navigated the closing holes of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The Fitzpatrick duo had squandered a four-shot advantage on the back nine, marked by a costly double-bogey on the 12th and a bogey on the 14th.
However, Alex Fitzpatrick proved instrumental in keeping their hopes alive with several crucial shots. On the final par-5, the 18th hole, Matt executed a remarkable bunker shot that landed just 14 inches from the pin. Alex then stepped up, overcoming palpable pressure to sink the birdie putt, securing a narrow one-stroke triumph.
“Winning a team event on the PGA Tour with my brother… I don’t know if it gets any better than that,” expressed Matt Fitzpatrick, reflecting on the significance of the victory. “That’s how special it feels. To get over the line the way we did and to hang in there on the back nine is incredible.”
Fitzpatrick Brothers’ Comeback After Losing Lead
The English siblings concluded the alternate-shot format with a final round of 71, resulting in a tournament-record total of 31-under par 257. They edged out the teams of Kristoffer Reitan/Kris Ventura and Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer, who both finished tied for second place.
Matt acknowledged a period of struggle: “I felt like we played great for the first 11 holes. We were really, really, really steady, really solid. Then I hit a terrible tee shot on 12, a terrible second shot on 13, a terrible tee shot on 14. I kind of felt like, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ I felt like I lost my swing. From then on, I felt like I struggled with my game, and I didn’t play well. Alex played fantastic. He really sort of managed to keep us in it.”
Alex, in turn, praised his brother’s resilience: “It wasn’t Matt’s finest tee shot on 12, but at least from my point of view, even though it wasn’t his best three-hole stretch (from 12-14), he’s one of the best players in the world. For me, it was like it’s only a matter of time before he’ll come back. It was just about trying to keep him involved.”
“As long as I could keep us going, I felt like we were going to hit a couple more good shots coming down the stretch and give ourselves a chance,” Alex added.
Following the double-bogey on the 12th, where Matt’s tee shot landed in trees, his approach on the 13th went long. Alex responded with an exceptional chip shot, leaving it two feet from the pin to save par. On the par-3 14th, a bunker shot proved challenging, leading to a bogey. However, Matt sank an 8-foot par putt on the 15th, and on the 16th, Alex saved par after Matt’s precise pitch shot.
Final Hole Heroics
Entering the 18th tee tied for the lead, Matt delivered a perfect drive, leaving Alex with a 260-yard second shot that found a greenside bunker. Matt then produced his masterful bunker shot, positioning the ball close to the hole for an almost stress-free tap-in birdie.
“When I got there, the lie was just absolutely obscenely good. It was literally like it sat on a tee peg,” Matt described. “I knew that it was going to spin, and I knew I had to kind of be aggressive with it. I’d say it’s as good a bunker shot as I’ve ever hit, but that may be lying. But to hit it the way I did and to finish where it did to make it the most stress-free tap-in of all time pretty much for such a big occasion was really, really nice.”
This victory not only secured a significant win but also earned Alex a two-and-a-half-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
“I thought I was going to miss the putt, stood over it, even though it was so short. I couldn’t feel my hands, couldn’t feel my legs, couldn’t feel anything,” Alex confessed. “I’m still lost for words. Just an overwhelming emotion of happiness.”
