Fitzpatrick Brothers Take Over The Open at Royal Liverpool

On a grey Sunday at Brookline last year, the Fitzpatrick family waited as eldest son Matt stepped up to his approach on 18. The ball flew high from the fairway bunker, and landed twenty feet from the pin, setting up a two-putt par and a maiden major.

The parents were proud, and younger brother Alex was ecstatic. Matt Fitzpatrick went from a good player to a great player by winning the U.S. Open in 2022, becoming the first Brit to do so since Justin Rose in 2013 at Merion.

In the following months, we saw more of Alex Fitzpatrick. He would turn pro in the same month his brother became a Major champion.

There was even speculation that he was heading to LIV Golf. The brothers played together as a duo at the Zurich Classic in Louisiana.

Alex made the cut at four tournaments in a row after his debut at the 2022 Irish Open, and the world #561 eventually qualified for The Open, which included a hole-out bunker shot from his knees at West Lancs.

🚨#BROTHERLY LOVE — Matt Fitzpatrick was asked if his parents were splitting loyalties with him and his brother Alex both competing today. @MattFitzLegion

Matt: “No. I told them to go focus on him. That’s more important. This is my, what, ninth, so they’ve seen all nine of… pic.twitter.com/henceuTXI1

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 22, 2023

After the bunker heroics in qualifying, Alex teed it up in his first-ever major championship this week. He was even getting in front of the mic and reiterating the stark differences between the brothers, Matt comes across as fairly straight-laced, mechanical, and calculating, and Alex more free-flowing, fun, and disorganized. However, both have serious game.

Both brothers had made triple-bogey 6 on the par-3 17^th hole, meaning they were over par for the tournament after two rounds. Matt shook off the slow start and shot a 67 around Hoylake on moving day. An hour later, Alex signed for a Saturday 65, two shots better than Matt – and out of nowhere, sits inside the top 10 for the tournament, ahead of Rory McIlroy.

Both brothers are competitive but legitimately want the other to do well, evidenced by Alex’s support for Matt at Brookline. A 65 and a 67 on Saturday, and T9 and T17, respectively. Low Fitz is the new major side bet.

Cover Image via The Seattle Times