Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick do some of their best work as a pair.
When Alex was 13 years old, he caddied for his brother, Matthew, 17, at the time, at the 2013 U.S. Amateur. Alex still remembers the prize that he received for big bro winning the Havemeyer Trophy.
“My goal for the week was winning an iPhone off my dad, who promised me, if we won the tournament,” Alex recalled. “Obviously he never expected (us) to.”
He got a much better one for teaming with his brother to win the Zurich Classic at New Orleans on Sunday, a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
The Fitzpatricks made birdie in the foursome format at 18 to shoot 1-under 71 at TPC Louisiana in the Crescent City suburb of Avondale to edge Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer and Kristoffer Reitan and Kristoffer Ventura by one stroke and become the first brothers and family members to win the title. Matt, who won for the third time in his last five starts, became the first player in over two years to win in back-to-back events.
Matt splashed out of the front greenside bunker at 18 and spun it to a foot and younger brother Alex tapped in the birdie putt to secure the win with a 72-hole total of 31-under 257.
GOLF SHOT!Matt Fitzpatrick plays it beautifully to set up for birdie and the win @Zurich_Classic. pic.twitter.com/FAnaC08xEE
It looked as if the brother Fitzpatrick would coast to victory in the Big Easy but closing on Sundays on the PGA Tour is rarely a walk in the park. They made three birdies in the first 11 holes but it began unraveling when Matt drove right and behind a tree. Alex’s punch shot ricocheted off a tree and it cost them dearly – their first double bogey of the week. They escaped with par at 13 after Alex hit a world-class lob shot to tap-in range but they weren’t so lucky at the par-3 14th and their lead was gone.
“You wonder who is feeling more nervous now,” said Daniel Chopra, an analyst on PGA Tour Radio. “Is it Matt playing for his brother or Alex trying to get his first win on the PGA Tour?
Smalley and Springer, 29, bogeyed the first and sixth but sprinkled six birdies on the card through the first 16 holes. At 18, Reitan drilled a fairway wood from 232 yards that rolled to 7 feet and Ventura buried it to close out a 7-under 65. It was their third eagle of the day and offset by two back-nine bogeys but they were the first to post 30-under 258.
Moments later, Springer gunned his 44-foot birdie putt 10 feet past the hole at 17 and Smalley missed the comebacker. But they carded a birdie at the last to finish off a 4-under 68.
Other brothers of recent vintage who have played in the pro ranks include Brooks and Chase Koepka, Nick and Curtis Thompson, whose sister Lexi has been the most successful of the bunch, and British Open winner Francesco Molinari and brother Eduardo, who were Ryder Cup teammates. The LPGA is flush with some prominent sister duos: Nelly Korda, who won on Sunday, and sister Jessica and major winner Ariya and Moriya Jutanagarn
Brother-sister tandems included Australians Min Woo and Min Jee Lee and American’s Danielle and Alex Kang.
This marked the ninth year the Zurich Classic of New Orleans will be played in a two-man team format, which was introduced in 2017 (canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19). Teams play Four-Ball in the first and third rounds, and Foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and final rounds.
Alex secured his first win on the DP World Tour at the Hero Indian Open just one week after Matt’s victory at the Valspar Championship last month. Now they are both PGA Tour winners, and for Alex it means exemptions into the 2026 PGA Championship, 2026 Cadillac Championship, 2026 Truist Championship, 2026 Memorial Tournament, 2026 Travelers Championship and 2027 Players Championship.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Fitzpatrick brothers win Zurich Classic, make history