Alex Fitzpatrick had been homing in on a maiden DP World Tour before finally collecting it in India.
Jason Butler, Getty Images
Just when one back-to-back success looked assured, another trampled all over it in the Hero Indian Open.
After 54 holes on the Player Course at DLF Golf & Country Club outside New Delhi, the defending champion, Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, held a four-stroke lead and a second win looked his for the taking.
Instead, England’s Alex Fitzpatrick chased him down in the final round to complete a unique back-to-back triumph for his family, one week after his big brother, Matthew, won the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship. It was the first instance of siblings winning in consecutive weeks on the two tours.
“It can be hard sometimes when you’re constantly chasing someone’s accolades but luckily it’s my brother so it’s not horrific. It’s been a good week for the Fitzpatricks.”
Alex Fitzpatrick
Alex, 27, turned professional a few weeks after Matthew won the 2022 U.S. Open and immediately rejected an offer to play in the LIV Golf league in favour of the traditional pathway.
He was a winner on the second-tier HotelPlanner Tour in 2023 and within weeks finished second at the DP World Tour’s ISPS Handa World Invitational which, together with further strong efforts, earned him a card he hasn’t relinquished since.
While he has been a frequent top-20 finisher, victory had proved elusive but there were signs that he was getting closer and, moreover, those signs pointed towards last week being the turning point.
He was tied third in last October’s DP World India Championship (at Delhi Golf Club) and in his last start before heading to Asia he sat in second place ahead of the final round of the Joburg Open before finishing in a share of sixth.
Perhaps watching his brother win in Florida was the magical third ingredient.
“I idolise him and I’m just trying to be like him in every way,” Alex said after the final round. “It can be hard sometimes when you’re constantly chasing someone’s accolades but luckily it’s my brother so it’s not horrific. It’s been a good week for the Fitzpatricks.”
He was proud of his own resilience but also quick to praise those who had helped him along the way.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work and had a lot of doubts,” he said. “I feel like I really stuck with it, especially over the past couple of years.
“I’ve just got a really great team around me, a great bunch of people, so I’m really lucky to be in this situation and I’m over the moon. From the experience of Joburg, being in contention, I learned that if you kind of stick around for a while, hopefully one door will open and luckily for me it was today.
“Hopefully I can continue to push on. I feel like my game’s in a really good spot and I’m super excited for the rest of the year.”
The Player Course was designed for volatility and yet again it didn’t disappoint. Bogeys on 15, 16 and 17 cost Chacarra dearly.
Fitzpatrick had made two early bogeys of his own at Nos. 3 and 4, and added another at No. 10. But he also made eight birdies between Nos. 6 and 17.
Fitzpatrick revealed that he was returning home to Sheffield to see his parents before they all head to the States for a family reunion.
It will be a very happy one that will no doubt toast just the fifth set of brothers to win on the DP World Tour following the successes of Germán and Antonio Garrido (Spain), Manuel and Severiano Ballesteros (Spain), Edoardo and Francesco Molinari (Italy), and Rasmus and Nicolai Højgaard (Denmark).
Matt Cooper
