The Break: Best brother ever?

The Fitzpatricks won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with Matt helping his brother Alex earn a PGA Tour card.

Author

Ryan Ballengee
April 27, 2026

Brotherly love

Matt Fitzpatrick is a strong contender for Brother of the Year — at least insofar as it goes in golf circles. He just helped his brother Alex, himself already a DP World Tour winner this year, get a fast pass to the PGA Tour by virtue of their win on Sunday in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

It was a rough go on Sunday for the Fitzs in the tougher alternate-shot format, including a decimating double-bogey 6 on the 12th hole that opened the door for the duos of Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer, as well as the Norwegian pair of Kristoffers Reitan and Ventura. A bogey on 14 made things even tighter.

But in a greenside bunker in two on the par-5 finisher, with his brother’s immediate future career in his hand, Matt delivered a greenside bunker shot to tap-in range.

“When I got there, the lie was just absolutely obscenely good. It was literally like sat on a tee peg,” said Matt. “I knew that it was going to spin, and I knew I had to kind of be aggressive with it.

“I'd say, you know, it's as good a bunker shot as I've ever hit, but that may be lying. But to hit it the way I did and to finish where it did to make it the most stress-free tap-in of all time pretty much for such a big occasion was really, really nice.”

Still, Alex was petrified over a putt he’s probably made a thousand times.

“I thought I was going to miss the putt, stood over it, even though it was so short,” he said. “I couldn't feel my hands, couldn't feel my legs, couldn't feel anything.”

He felt enough to get the ball in the hole, earn a two-year PGA Tour card and $1.37 million for each himself and his brother. Alex is playing the Signature event at Doral this week, and he’ll be in the PGA Championship in a few weeks, too.

It’s not exactly all altruism for Matt, though. He becomes the first player since Scottie Scheffler in 2024 to win in back-to-back starts, and he’s now won three times this year. He had another close call at The Players. He leads the FedEx Cup (no OWGR points in team events, though). He’s won $10.5 million this season. What a run. Oh, and he’ll become a father for the first time this summer.

For my thoughts on Nelly Korda’s major triumph in Houston, scroll down!

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Nelly’s back on top

Nelly Korda won The Chevron Championship for her third-career LPGA major on Sunday, earning her second win of the year in a five-shot romp at Memorial Park in Houston. It looked pretty easy and kind of boring on Sunday, but Korda said she felt uncomfortable all day trying to play a round that protected her huge lead while not growing complacent. She just wanted to get it overwith.

“The tension I felt internally on the back nine I didn't love,” she said, “just because I had to play it safe a lot and I didn't feel like I was playing like myself. To make that putt on 18 I was just like, thank God. Like I just want to enjoy this moment now.”

This was the culmination of a great start to the year for Korda. She won the season-opening Tournament of Champions when the event was shortened to 54 holes due to weather — a finish that drew criticism and skepticism that Korda would have closed it out in Orlando. Then she lost to Hyo Joo Kim in back-to-back showdowns in the final pairing. Then she came up just short against Lauren Coughlin in Las Vegas. She had been in contention in every tournament this season, and she got it done at the biggest one to date.

“For me to put myself in a position going into every tournament, being in the final group on a Sunday and not getting it done and finally getting it done in a major championship, it's all worth it to me.”

There was some question whether Korda would jump into the temporary 4-foot-deep pool dubbed Poppie’s Pond this week. The 18th hole will feature a new greenside pond next year, but Korda, who has a lot of respect for the history that came before her, didn’t want to shun a bit of an awkward setup just out of convenience.

“I'm going to keep the tradition alive,” she said. “Everyone is going to have their own opinion. My opinion is if you kill a tradition it's going to be gone forever.”

If she plays her cards right, she may well get to leap into that new pond, too, a year from now.