How Alex Fitzpatrick's first PGA Tour victory changed his life

What makes this even more of bombshell for a player whose status on the DP World Tour was in jeopardy just last fall ... he did not know he was playing for PGA Tour status until after the third round at Zurich.

Alex Fitzpatrick and Matt Fitzpatrick pose with the trophy after winning the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana.

That's when the questions came about what was on the line in the final round.

"The week was really about playing with my brother, spending time with my brother, and enjoying time as a family," Alex said.

Once he did his research, everything changed.

"Saturday night, my brother told me he slept like a log and I was like, 'I don't know how,' " Alex said. "I was up until probably 3 a.m. thinking, well, what happens if we play well tomorrow."

They played just well enough. It wasn't until Matt's clutch shot out of the bunker on No. 18 led to an Alex tap in, securing a one-shot victory over the team of West Palm Beach's Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura.

Alex Fitzpatrick win at Zurich life-altering: 'Doesn't feel real'

Alex is not easing into his newfound membership. He dropped into the busiest stretch of the year when it comes to majors and Signature Events.

His first three starts as member of the PGA Tour are two signature events — Cadillac, Truist Championship — and the PGA Championship.

Which is why when asked how he is preparing for Cadillac, Alex said, "I have no idea, to be honest with you. Just hopefully I'll hit the first fairway and then I'll go from there.

"I don't have a clue what's going on, I'm not going to lie to you," he admitted. "Playing against the best players of the world all of a sudden and even like the purses are obviously much bigger and … I'm just excited to be here and hopefully play some good golf."

That 'aha moment' will come at 1:20 p.m. ET on Thursday when Fitzpatrick is announced and then tees off paired with Nico Echavarria, the winner of the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.

Fitzpatrick will be making his 12th start in a PGA Tour event. He has played in 87 DP World Tour events, winning once, in India in March.

The Fitzpatrick brothers each earned just more than $1.37 million at Zurich. For Matt, someone who has made more than $40 million in PGA Tour prize money alone, it's pocket change.

For Alex, it's about one-third of his career earnings on the PGA and DP World Tours combined.

That number can increase significantly with any kind of success at three events with purses at, or just shy of, $20 million.

"I sat down with my caddie Monday morning, we had breakfast together, and we looked at some of the events and it was like .. wow, this is crazy, this doesn't feel real," Alex said.

"And even walking on to the range (Monday) afternoon, was like … it feels weird to be here. This is something I'm not used to. So, yeah, going to try and hopefully make it feel more like home and hopefully play some good golf."

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Alex Fitzpatrick's win at Zurich Classic changed his life on PGA Tour