Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick won the Zurich Classic by one stroke, marking a significant victory for both brothers. Matt now has three PGA Tour wins this season, while Alex secured a two-and-a-half year exemption.
Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick reigned supreme at the Zurich Classic on Sunday, winning by one stroke from Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura.
The older of the Fitzpatrick brothers, Matt, now has three PGA Tour wins to his name this season while Alex has received a two-and-a-half year exemption after the Englishmen won the Zurich Classic.
Sunday afternoon was a joyous occasion in New Orleans for the Fitzpatrick brothers, and it was clear how much the victory meant to both of them.
Matt Fitzpatrick has won three times over the last six weeks on the PGA Tour and he finished as the runner-up at The Players Championship in March as well.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
He teamed up with his younger brother, Alex Fitzpatrick, last week at the Zurich Classic and they ended up winning the tournament by one stroke after finishing the week on 31-under par.
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PGA Tour urged to make a change after Fitzpatrick brothers win the Zurich Classic
Ryan Lavner and Rex Hoggard discussed the Fitzpatricks’ win in New Orleans when speaking on The Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav.
Lavner suggested that Alex receiving exempt status until the end of the 2028 season may not be well-received by some PGA Tour players.
“Do you think this is going to sit well with the players or do you think this is even more ammunition for Brian Rolapp and the members to look at the Zurich Classic and blow it up?“ he asked.
“Saying we are trying to make the most competitive and cutthroat Tour in the world and now we have a guy qualifying through a team event, hitting half the shots, who is now exempt for two and a half years.“
Then Rex Hoggard offered his take on the situation.
“Blow it up, I guess would be the answer to that,“ he said.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
*“*And not because it’s the Fitzpatricks.
*“*You can’t lean into Alex is an underserving player. I truly believe he was going to earn it anyway, this just made it a much better story and we will follow it for the rest of the season.
*“*Blow it up because it can’t be a tier one event. I don’t think [it should even be a tier two event]. You can’t have a situation where [you want it to] mean every week is so meaningful.
“Every week is do or die, you have to get it done this week or you won’t be able to move on to the next step. And now all of a sudden you have someone hitting twice as many shots.“
Final verdict on the fallout from the Zurich Classic
Lavner delivered his final verdict on the situation, suggesting that the tournament may be removed from the PGA Tour schedule moving forward.
“It pains me to say it because I am an ideas guy. I like things that are different. I like changing things up,“ he admitted.
*“*But I don’t think you can have a two man team competition in the new and improved PGA Tour.
*“*I don’t think it works at the beginning of the season when guys are trying to get reps, I don’t think it works at this time of the season, with everyone trying to jockey for position.
*“*It certainly doesn’t work later with status and owing to every single week being important.
*“*Do you throw it at the end of the year, as a silly season event? I don’t know if it works there.
*“*It pains me because I want to see the matchplay back on the schedule. But that has a different vibe to it.
“Nobody is mistaking the two man team competition at the Zurich Classic for anything resembling those type of tournaments, so that’s why it should be left on the cutting room floor for the PGA Tour.“
