HotelPlanner Tour alumni Alex Fitzpatrick continued his memorable 2026 season with a fairytale victory alongside his brother at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA TOUR.
Alex and European Ryder Cup star Matt, who joined forces for the unique team event at TPC Louisiana, finished one stroke clear of Norwegian duo Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura on 31 under par.
In need of a gain on the 72nd hole, Matt’s superb bunker shot set up tap-in birdie for victory and, in turn, earn Alex PGA TOUR status through to 2028.
“Yeah, I'm still lost for words,” said Alex, who sealed his breakthrough DP World Tour victory at last month’s Hero Indian Open.
“Just an overwhelming emotion of happiness. Like Matt said, at the start of the week it was coming here to be a family and spend time with each other, eat Mr. B's, and have a great week. To be sitting here now and done what we did, yeah, I'm pretty speechless.
“I don't even know how to describe it. I thought I was going to miss the putt, stood over it, even though it was so short. I couldn't feel my hands, couldn't feel my legs, couldn't feel anything.
“Yeah, it's just been a whirlwind. I think, yeah, at some point it will set in, but it's a pretty life-changing thing.”
Alex kickstarted his professional career on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2023 and registered his first top ten finish in only his second start, coming at The Challenge presented by KGA. Just a matter of months later, the 27-year-old earned his breakthrough victory at the British Challenge presented by Modest! Golf Management, a result which propelled him to seventh on the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings.
Reflecting on his latest career milestone, the Englishman expressed his pride amid his rapid rise from HotelPlanner Tour winner to PGA TOUR card owner.
“Coming out of school I didn't really know where I was going to end up, whether it was going to be trying to play Korn Ferry, trying to play HotelPlanner Tour,” he added.
“I ended up on HotelPlanner Tour where I was just trying to grind out to get on some form of a main tour.
“Yeah, I think even though it was recent, just kind of not playing my best golf last year and, you know, getting as late as October, and you are worried about losing your card. I feel like I'm just proud of myself for battling the way I did to keep my card and then starting the way I've done this year.”
