The 'Little Brother' in This British Open Enjoys a Saturday to Remember
HOYLAKE, England — What it’s like to be 24 again?
Coming to the British Open, the biggest stage of his professional life so far, and when asked about a Saturday 6-under 65, one of the best rounds of his young career, Alex Fitzpatrick said: "Nice to put up a good score, and I'll go to bed a happy man.”
Alex Fitzpatrick, better known as the younger brother of Matt, a former U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur champion, got all the attention in the Fitzpatrick family Saturday after a round that propelled him from second-round obscurity to a third-round contender. His seven-birdie performance reached a crescendo with a birdie-birdie finish on the last two holes, which have given most of the field fits.
Sitting at 4 under and firmly cemented on the leaderboard as the third round unfolds around his name, Fitzpatrick seems almost oblivious to what he did and what it may mean to a career that is currently struggling to get off the Challenge Tour and on to the DP World Tour.
“It would be nice to finish high up, it would be nice to do well, more of a confidence thing, but I've got a job to do for the rest of the year, which is try and get off the Challenge Tour,” Fitzpatrick said. “To play well this week would be great, and if it didn't work out, then it's still O.K. There's a lot worse things in life than missing a cut or hitting bad golf shots.”
After getting through final qualifying at West Lancashire, Fitzpatrick came to Royal Liverpool Golf Club with a specific plan: hit the fairways, hit the greens, avoid bunkers and make some birdies.
That's a simple strategy, but it’s one that has worked so far for Fitzpatrick, whose previous biggest events were two Walker Cup appearances in 2019 and 2021.
“I've gained I would say a lot of knowledge obviously through my brother for the past couple years, and I feel like that seeps into my game slowly—maybe a little too slow at times,” Fitzpatrick said. “Just trusting my game and being comfortable in pressured situations, and hopefully that shows at certain parts.”
One of the biggest struggles the younger Fitzpatrick has is with the flat stick—the opposite of his brother, who wields the putter like a magic wand and has won nine times on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.
When asked, Alex had to stop and think the last time he won a golf tournament.
It turns out he had two wins in college at Wake Forest University, the last coming in the Old Town Club Collegiate, when he tied with fellow Demon Deacon Michael Brennan in September 2021.
“It's been a while but I've done it. I think the ability to win I think is still there for me,” Fitzpatrick said. “On the Challenge Tour, I've put myself in a lot of situations where I have a chance to win and I haven't quite got across the line, but I feel like if I keep being there and keep persisting with it, hopefully one of the tournaments will go my way.”
Fitzpatrick is likely correct—he has the game, but he's too far back for this Open to be his first professional win. But he may have found a couple of things that are working for him this week.
The first is seeing that his game matches up with the best players in the world. The second is his new caddie, Connor Winstanley, a superior green reader and maybe the key to unlocking his winless streak as a professional.
“It hasn't even crossed my mind to be honest,” Fitzpatrick said of winning this week. “Even after the round today, I've thought about when I saw my name on the thing about being in contention. Winning the Claret Jug would obviously be a dream, but there's a million top players who are still ahead of me and still have got a lot of holes to play.”