Brotherly boost: A dramatic Zurich Classic win by the Fitzpatricks puts Alex on the PGA Tour

They recovered when Matt Fitzpatrick, the third-ranked player in the world, stuck a bunker shot on the par-5 18th a foot from the hole. Alex Fitzpatrick, a 27-year-old European tour regular, smiled and put his hand on his head as he went to mark the ball, knowing that all he had to do to earn a two-year exemption on PGA Tour was sink a virtual gimme.

As his putt dropped, he crouched and put one hand over his face, and then rose to embrace his approaching older brother.

“I couldn’t feel my hands. I couldn’t feel my legs. I couldn’t feel anything,” Alex Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a pretty life-changing thing.”

Watching from the clubhouse tied at 30 under were the teams of Americans Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer and Norwegians Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura. All four players’ bids for a first PGA Tour victory had come up just short.

Matt Fitzpatrick arrived in New Orleans as arguably the hottest player in golf with two previous wins since March, including last weekend at Harbour Town.

Now he’s won three of the last four PGA Tour events he’s entered, starting with the Valspar.

Having shot a tournament record 57 in better ball play Saturday, the Fitzpatricks began the final round with a four-shot lead which stood on the back nine until a near collapse, starting with a double-bogey on No. 12 that ended a 47-hole streak of bogey-free play.

Just after making am 11 1/2-foot bidie putt on the par-5 11th, Matt Fitzpatrick sliced his tee shot on 12 into a cluster cypress trees. Alex tried to punch out from a awkward lie, but hit another tree, and the ball came to rest on the edge of the cart path, still 209 yards away. They double-bogeyed from there, shrinking their lead to a single stroke.

Matt made another error when his short approach shot from the 13th fairway went off the back of the green. Alex’s flop from next to a television camera tower helped them save par.

Matt pulled his tee shot on the par-3 14th into a greenside bunker, and after Alex’s shot skipped 24 feet past the hole, Matt missed the par putt, and they lost the lead.

A week after facing down World No. 1 and crowd favorite Scottie Scheffler in a playoff hole on Hilton Head Island, Matt Fitzpatrick experienced a new kind of pressure, understanding how consequential it would be for his brother if they failed to capitalize on their final-round lead.

“Certainly today I didn’t expect to be as nervous as I was,” Matt Fitzpatrick said about his back-nine stumbles. “I kind of felt like, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ I felt like I lost my swing.”

But as he made his way up the 15th fairway, Matt caught sight of his father, Russell, walking along the ropes and gesturing at him.

“That was a really nice moment for me personally,” Matt said. “It was, like, ‘Yeah, come on, mate. Let’s keep going here.’”

Moments later, Matt stepped up to an 8-footer to save par and keep the Fitzpatricks at 30 under — where they remained as they walked to the 18th tee — tied with two teams in the clubhouse.

It’s rare for brothers to win in tandem on the PGA Tour. There haven’t historically been many team events, but brothers Danny and David Edwards did it at the Walt Disney World Team Championship in 1980.

“Amazing to have them win together. It’s been brilliant,” mother Sue Fitzpatrick said as she walked from a post-tournament concert toward the clubhouse. “What a great finish.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Brett Martel, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Brotherly boost: A dramatic Zurich Classic win by the Fitzpatricks puts Alex on the PGA Tour

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