\n<\/p>\n
If Alex Fitzpatrick wanted a glimpse into just how life changing winning on the PGA Tour would be, he did not have to wait long.<\/b><\/p>\n
While celebrating victory at the Zurich Classic pairs event, in tandem with his older brother and world number four Matt, at a golf club just north of Palm Beach in Florida, Alex felt a congratulatory hand on his shoulder.<\/p>\n
“I look over and it’s Michael Jordan,” Fitzpatrick says. “I’m like ‘wow’, it’s insane.<\/p>\n
“He walks past the table. He’s got a bag full of cigars, t-shirt untucked, he looks like the coolest person ever.<\/p>\n
“He walked past me, saw Gary Woodland, who won the previous week, and was like ‘wow, it’s a room of winners in here’. That was the coolest thing ever.<\/p>\n
“When I started to really love basketball, I watched videos of him. I love his shoes. I loved everything about him. It was surreal having that moment.<\/p>\n
“I’m not someone who gets starstruck but Michael Jordan, having him say stuff to me, it was a different world.”<\/p>\n
It is a world, though, where Fitzpatrick is looking very much at home.<\/p>\n
In addition to his maiden DP World Tour win at the Indian Open<\/a> in March, Fitzpatrick has five top-10 finishes in 13 starts on the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n While cynics were questioning the merit of receiving a two-year tour card as a result of winning April’s Zurich Classic,<\/a> 2026 has seen Fitzpatrick prove his place alongside the world’s best.<\/p>\n And so sure is he of his spot among the elite, Fitzpatrick hasn’t actually leaned much on 2022 US Open champion Matt for advice.<\/p>\n “The truth is, we haven’t spoken that much about a lot of stuff. I’ve picked his brain once this year, maybe twice,” he says.<\/p>\n “I feel comfortable out here and comfortable around the group of people playing on this tour.<\/p>\n “I’ve been doing this a long time, I’ve been playing golf since I was four.<\/p>\n “I haven’t asked him a lot of questions about how things work, maybe how to get better with certain things.<\/p>\n “He’s always someone I can text or call but he’s still my brother and that’s more important than the golf side.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n