What a Thriller! Fitzpatrick Brothers Triumph After Heart-Stopping Zurich Classic Final
Folks, brace yourselves! What a finish Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick delivered at the 2026 PGA Tour Zurich Classic in New Orleans! The English brothers briefly saw a comfortable four-shot lead vanish on Sunday but ultimately secured a dramatic victory with a birdie on the final hole. Pure exhilaration on the green!
The duo carded a 1-under 71 in the challenging alternate-shot format final round. For Matt, the World No. 3, this marks his second PGA Tour title in just a few weeks, having recently won the RBC Heritage. Simply incredible how he's sweeping everything right now!
For Alex, who primarily plays on the DP World Tour, this triumph means nothing less than PGA Tour status through 2028! And the best part: He's also directly qualified for the upcoming PGA Championship, the second men's major of the year. What a statement!
The decisive putt? That came from Alex Fitzpatrick, just 27 years old. Earlier, Matt had blasted the ball from the bunker to a mere two feet from the hole – a true masterclass under pressure. In the end, an incredible 31-under par for the tournament was on their scorecard. "I'm still shaking," Alex said after the craziness. "That was absolutely insane!"
Tied for second place were Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer, as well as the Norwegian team of Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura. Both teams also delivered a stellar performance, finishing at a strong 30-under par. Reitan and Ventura had even briefly snatched the lead with an eagle on the 18th hole after Reitan's brilliant tee shot to the green left Ventura with only a roughly two-meter putt. Smalley and Springer were also tied for the lead at one point but took a bogey on the 17th before securing a birdie on the 18th.
The Fitzpatricks had actually started the day with a comfortable four-shot advantage and were still three strokes under par after eleven holes. But then came the shock: a double-bogey on the 12th and a bogey on the 14th simply melted away their lead. "We played the first eleven holes really well," Matt Fitzpatrick summarized. "We were totally, totally, totally steady, really solid, and didn't make a single mistake. But that one hole on the 12th, that hits hard, and suddenly you're scrambling." He added: "After that, I felt like I was struggling with my game and wasn't playing well. Alex, on the other hand, was fantastic! He really managed to keep us in the hunt."
And that's exactly what they did! What a finale, golfers!
