The spotlight has shifted between two English golfing siblings, and the older brother couldn’t be happier about the change.
Matt Fitzpatrick, speaking Monday before this week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, acknowledged that the dynamics have changed significantly this year.
“I’m probably known as Alex’s brother now, as opposed to him being Matt’s brother,” the older Fitzpatrick explained.
This week near Philadelphia, Alex will compete in only his second major championship, while Matt pursues his second major victory in a setting that perfectly captures the spirit of the City of Brotherly Love.
The brothers’ journey together includes a memorable chapter from 2013, when Matt captured the U.S. Amateur at Brookline with Alex serving as his caddie. Nearly a decade later, Matt claimed his first major title at that same Massachusetts course, winning the 2022 U.S. Open.
During that earlier period, Alex’s professional career was still developing. He managed to make the cut in five of seven DP World Tour events, but it would take four years of persistent effort before he secured his breakthrough victory at the Hero Indian Open this past March.
The turning point came at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Competing as a team for the fourth consecutive year, both brothers performed at peak level and captured the championship, earning Alex his PGA Tour membership and qualification for this week’s major.
The rapid succession of victories has left little time for celebration, according to Matt, who also won the Valspar Championship and RBC Heritage this spring before the Zurich triumph.
“We’ve honestly not had much chance to kind of sit down and take it all in,” Matt said. “I think we are both off next week. So maybe we’ll do something next week. But neither of us are drinkers, so we won’t be doing anything crazy, I wouldn’t have thought.”
Alex has proven his PGA Tour credentials since the Zurich victory, finishing tied for ninth at the Cadillac Championship and placing fourth at Sunday’s Truist Championship after leading through three rounds.
Matt expressed genuine enthusiasm about discussing his brother’s success.
“Listen, I love talking about my brother,” Matt said. “It’s an amazing position to be in to have that privilege to talk about how well he’s doing. I’d so much rather have these questions, conversations, than the opposite of, you know, why is he not playing well and whatnot.”
“So it’s a fantastic position to be in, and I’ve said already, it’s his career. It’s his choice. I’ll be there to help him as much as I can, if he wants that. But at the same time, you know, I want him to be able to make his own decisions.”
The brothers’ parents had to adjust their travel arrangements following the Zurich victory. Originally planning to return to Europe, they decided to extend their U.S. stay through the PGA Championship to support both sons.
Matt indicated that his preparation routine will remain unchanged despite his brother’s presence.
“This is the second time we’ve shared a house at a major, when (Alex) qualified for The Open in ’23,” he explained. “It will be the same preparation for me. I’m going about it the same way. He’ll ask me when I’m playing and he’ll either join me or he’ll kind of fit in elsewhere.”
“I’m very strict on my routine. I want to do this and I need to see whoever at this time. If he wants to fit that in, that’s great, and obviously I always say, we want to play together. But yeah, I kind of, again, want him to be able to do his own thing.”
