“I’m always going to play with my brother”: Matt Fitzpatrick on teeing up with Alex at Zurich Classic of New Orleans
It's not every day that Matt Fitzpatrick gets the chance to play with his brother Alex, and that is likely to be one of the main attractions of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In fact, during the pre-event press conference, Matt Fitzpatrick assured that he'll only play he will never play at Avondale with anyone else but his brother. He sees it as an opportunity to advise Alex on the ins and outs of the PGA Tour, a stage Alex has not yet reached.
This was part of what Matt Fitzpatrick had to say about it:
"I'm not going to play with anyone else, I'm always going to play with my brother regardless of the state of his game or my game, you know, I think, for me, it's kind of a combination of... you know, I've been out here for a few years now, so I understand how PGA tournaments are set up, how the the greens tend to run, you know, I've got more of a feel for it than him so I feel like some of it is guiding him round as well and just helping him with where to aim, where we're going to play."
Matt Fitzpatrick (29) is five years older than his brother Alex. Matt has 10 professional victories, including the 2022 US Open, while Alex (professional since 2022) has won once on the Challenge Tour (2023 British Challenge).
Matt Fitzpatrick: “He's currently living at my house”
Matt Fitzpatrick and his brother Alex touched on several topics during the press conference, mainly related to the strategy to face the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
However, they also answered questions about their relationship as brothers and golfers. One of the journalists asked how often they see each other during the year and this is what Matt Fitzpatrick answered:
"We don't see each other a lot. He's currently living at my house, but he's never really there. I mean, we'll play together in the summer in Switzerland, the Dunhill, Wentworth, you know, hopefully The Open, hopefully The Scottish Open, hopefully the US Open, all that stuff."
"So there's a bunch of times we'll see each other there on the road, but then, in terms of off weeks, we actually look to the schedule at the start of the year. They just don't coordinate at all. When I'm off, he's playing, when he's off, I'm playing, so, for whatever reason it's just worked out like that."
Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick will tee off at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this Thursday, April 24, at 2:10 pm (Eastern Time). They will play grouped with another pair of brothers, Denmark's Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard.