Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick have won the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at 31 under, with the elder brother executing one of the most demanding short-game shots in golf to set up the youngest tap-in of Alex's career and his first PGA Tour victory.
Standing in a long greenside bunker on the 72nd hole at TPC Louisiana, Matt Fitzpatrick faced a shot with roughly three yards of green to land on between a ridge and the flagstick. CBS analyst Trevor Immelman, watching from the booth, said the elder Fitzpatrick took the harder route and made it look routine.
"He took the tougher option for sure," Immelman said. "He could have easily gone with less loft and hit some sort of chunk and run and got it in there within 10 feet or so. But he went ahead and went for the hero shot and flew it up on top of the ridge. He had about three yards to work with between the ridge and the flagstick with a ton of spin."
The ball settled a foot from the cup. Alex tapped it in to clinch the team event and, with it, full PGA Tour membership.
It is the third win in roughly five months for Matt Fitzpatrick, who beat Rory McIlroy in a DP World Tour playoff in November, defeated Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the RBC Heritage last week, and now adds the Zurich alongside his brother. The 2022 U.S. Open champion has climbed to world No. 3.
Immelman framed the win as confirmation of one of the strongest stretches in any player's career.
"You think about the ways that he's closed out the last two weeks," he said. "Last week it was the four iron into the teeth of the wind to about eight feet, and then buried the putt against Scottie Scheffler. And then this week with one of the toughest shots in golf, it's what everybody always says, the long bunker shot, and he gets it in there to about a foot away and allows his little brother the glory of tapping it in for his first win on the PGA Tour. That's about as good of a finish as you can get right there."
For 27-year-old Alex Fitzpatrick, the implications are larger than a single trophy. The win delivers a two-year PGA Tour exemption, automatic entry into all signature events for the rest of the season, a place in next month's PGA Championship at Aronimink, and roughly $1.3 million in prize money. Alex had already won for the first time on the DP World Tour 28 days earlier; the Zurich title makes it back-to-back wins on either side of the Atlantic.
CBS Sports analyst Patrick McDonald argued the brothers' familiarity was decisive in alternate shot, where unfamiliar pairings can quickly turn awkward when shots go astray.
Immelman agreed they walked the course on their own terms. "Alex is a little bit more outgoing. He notices a bit more of what's going on. Matt is one that very much crawls into his own bubble and wants to stay focused on his own game, and Alex allowed him that," he said. "He would spend some time with him, and then as he got about 20 yards from the ball he would peel off and allow Matt to get into his rhythm and flow."
Analyst Shane Bacon, who had publicly criticised the depth of the Zurich field earlier in the week, conceded the event had delivered. "The Zurich Classic has kind of lost whatever luster it may have ever had," he said. "But it has produced a lot of good winners and a lot of good events down the stretch."
The Fitzpatricks said before the tournament they would dine four nights at New Orleans institution Mr. B's Bistro. With the trophy in hand, McDonald suggested a fifth visit might be in order.
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*Originally published on [Golf News Global](https://golfnews.global/article/fitzpatrick-brothers-zurich-classic-2026-win). Visit for full coverage.*
