GOLF: Matt Fitzpatrick glad to cede spotlight to brother Alex at PGA

For years, Matt Fitzpatrick was the more famous of the golfing brothers from England. He's been more than happy to take a back seat to Alex this year.

"I'm probably known as Alex's brother now, as opposed to him being Matt's brother," the elder Fitzpatrick said Monday ahead of the PGA Championship this week at Aronimink Golf Club.

Alex Fitzpatrick will play in just his second major championship while Matt goes for his second major title this week outside Philadelphia, where they'll embody the idea behind the City of Brotherly Love.

Matt Fitzpatrick won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at Brookline with his younger brother on his bag. Nine years later at the same course, Matt won his first major, the U.S. Open, at the same course.

At the time, Alex Fitzpatrick's own playing career wasn't much; he made five of seven cuts on the DP World Tour. It took Alex four years of grinding before he earned his first professional win at the Hero Indian Open this past March.

Then came the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The Fitzpatrick brothers entered together for the fourth year running, and with each of them playing some of the best golf of their lives, they won the title, gifting Alex PGA Tour status and a spot in this week's championship.

The brothers have not had a chance to stop and relish their wins.

"We've honestly not had much chance to kind of sit down and take it all in," said Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the Valspar Championship and the RBC Heritage this spring before capturing the Zurich.

"I think we are both off next week. So maybe we'll do something next week. But neither of us are drinkers, so we won't be doing anything crazy, I wouldn't have thought."

Alex Fitzpatrick has shown he deserves the PGA Tour card. In consecutive signature events since the Zurich, he tied for ninth at the Cadillac Championship and finished fourth Sunday at the Truist Championship after holding the 54-hole lead.

"Listen, I love talking about my brother," Matt Fitzpatrick said. "It's an amazing position to be in to have that privilege to talk about how well he's doing. I'd so much rather have these questions, conversations, than the opposite of, you know, why is he not playing well and whatnot.

"So it's a fantastic position to be in, and I've said already, it's his career. It's his choice. I'll be there to help him as much as I can, if he wants that. But at the same time, you know, I want him to be able to make his own decisions."

The Fitzpatricks' mother and father had to change their travel plans once the Zurich win happened. They were set to fly back to Europe, but arranged to stay in the U.S. through the PGA Championship to support both their boys.

Not much else changes this week, according to Matt.

"This is the second time we've shared a house at a major, when (Alex) qualified for The Open in ‘23," he said. "It will be the same preparation for me. I'm going about it the same way. He'll ask me when I'm playing and he'll either join me or he'll kind of fit in elsewhere.

"I'm very strict on my routine. I want to do this and I need to see whoever at this time. If he wants to fit that in, that's great, and obviously I always say, we want to play together. But yeah, I kind of, again, want him to be able to do his own thing."

-Field Level Media/Reuters