Alex Fitzpatrick outshines US Open winning brother on major debut at the Open
The last time Alex Fitzpatrick had a close-up look at the conclusion of a major, he was watching greenside as his brother Matt wrapped up the US Open at Brookline.
Thirteen months on, Fitzpatrick junior, 24, was making his own major debut – and outshining his elder sibling – in the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Sibling rivalry can be powerful motivation, but even still this was a remarkable performance from the younger Fitzpatrick.
After opening with a 74 on Thursday, he gathered himself to shoot 70 on Friday and a brilliant 65 on Saturday before closing with a 73 to finish on two under par and a share of 17th place – four strokes and 24 places above Matt.
It was by far his best result since turning professional a year ago and earned him around £150,000. In 24 outings on second-tier tours, he had made 18 cuts but finished in the top 10 on just three occasions.
All three of those top-10s came in 2023 on the Challenge Tour, however, and he arrived at Hoylake this week buoyed by fourth place at the Italian Challenge Open.
That lifted him from 632 to 559 in the world, and his major debut is set to propel him much further still when the rankings are updated on Monday.
With a four-year age gap, Alex and Matt are different characters: the former is more of an extrovert, the latter more studious and reserved.
Those who watched the Netflix docuseries Full Swing may recall the elder Fitzpatrick has kept handwritten notes of every shot he has taken for the last 14 years.
They have taken different routes to elite golf, with Matt turning pro as a skinny 19-year-old almost a decade ago and Alex going to college in the US.
Last summer he completed four years at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where he met his girlfriend, Rachel Kuehn, one of the leading American amateurs.
While both siblings enjoyed success before joining the professional ranks, Matt grabbed more headlines with his Boys Amateur Championship and US Amateur victories.
Just as his brother had, Alex also represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup and Jacques Leglise Trophy.
“He’s been very successful for a long time. This isn’t new. I’m very used to being the little brother of Matt,” he said last year.
“When I was younger it definitely frustrated me more than it does now. Now that I’ve matured a bit I see it more as a positive.”
Nothing motivated him quite like witnessing Matt return to the scene of his US Amateur win and claim the US Open, though.
“The biggest thing was seeing all the hard work that he’s put in finally pay off. I felt like he was due one, and all the hard work was bound to pay off eventually,” he added.
“Getting your name on those trophies is the reason you play. Seeing him do that was very special and I hope I can do the same.” After the Open, that seems a good deal more plausible.