The quartet, all rising stars on the DP World Tour, will compete at Al Hamra Golf Club from January 25-28 before heading to Royal Golf Club in Bahrain the following week during the International Swing on the new-look 2024 Race to Dubai.

The events follow back-to-back weeks in Dubai with the Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as the Middle East forms the focal point of the DP World Tour’s early 2024 schedule.

With defending champion Daniel Gavins having already confirmed his return to Ras Al Khaimah along with three-time Major Champion Pádraig Harrington and DP World Tour winners Rasmus Højgaard and Pablo Larrazábal, the field for the showdown at Al Hamra Golf Club is starting to take shape.

Padraig Harrington – Jared C. Tilton

Bradbury, who enjoyed a stand-out debut season in 2023, is looking forward to progressing further in 2024 after finishing 36th in his maiden year on the Race to Dubai.

“I enjoy playing golf in the Middle East so I’m excited to head back to Ras Al Khaimah and also visit Bahrain for the first time. They should be great events,” he said.

Fellow countryman Fitzpatrick earned his playing privileges for 2024 through a combination of the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca and strong performances in limited starts on the DP World Tour, including a tie for 17th in The Open at Royal Liverpool, and is now able to play a full schedule on the Race to Dubai.

“There was quite a lot of pressure last year because I felt like I had to play well in the limited opportunities I got to play, so it’s quite nice now to be able to plan my schedule a bit more,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s always nice to go out to the Middle East so I’m looking forward to getting out there next month.”

Germany’s Paul, who won the 2021 Mallorca Golf Open, is also looking to build on a strong 2023 which included two runner-up finishes and five other top tens.

“I felt like I played some good golf last season, particularly in the first part of the year, so hopefully I can do that again next year. I can’t wait to see everybody in Ras Al Khaimah and Bahrain,” he said.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Smith is someone who knows Al Hamra Golf Club well, having won the Challenge Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah, 2016 Golf Challenge, and always enjoys returning to a place where he’s enjoyed previous success.

Jordan Smith – Challenge Tour / Getty Images

“That victory in 2016 effectively secured the number one spot on the Challenge Tour Rankings for me, so I’ll always enjoy going back to Al Hamra,” said Smith. “This event, in addition to Bahrain, will be a really fun part of the schedule and I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

Main Image: DP World Tour / Getty Images

The post Al Hamra poised for young guns in Ras Al Khaimah Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Dan Brown wrote his own script to card the lowest round of his DP World Tour career with a 64 to take a two-shot lead after day one of the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

The Englishman — not the famous Da Vinci Code author — carded an eagle and six birdies with a single bogey at Castlerock Golf Club to get to seven-under at the event co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour where full fields of men and women play across two courses over four days.

Italian Gregorio De Leo challenged Brown for the round of the day with a five-under 65 at Galgorm Castle, where scoring proved tougher on the opening day.

English duo Callan Barrow and Alex Fitzpatrick and India’s Manu Gandas were also at five-under after all carding rounds of 66 at Castlerock.

.@FitzAlex99 continued his recent fine form as a birdie blitz steered him to an opening 66 at the @World_Inv_Golf ?#WorldInvitational

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 17, 2023

It has been a long road to the DP World Tour for Brown, who is playing his rookie season at the age of 28 after coming through the Qualifying School.

He made his debut at the 2015 KLM Open but did not make another appearance until this season, as he spent time moving between the EuroPro Tour and European Challenge Tour, finishing 30th on last season’s Road to Mallorca.

An excellent start to his DP World Tour career saw him make his first 13 cuts with two top tens and while he then missed three weekends in June and July, he achieved his first PGA TOUR top ten last time out at the Barbasol Championship.

That saw him enter this week 74th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, and he made a fast start in Northern Ireland, birdieing the second, third, sixth and seventh to turn in 31.

A birdie at the 11th was followed by an eagle at the 15th and while he bogeyed the 16th, Brown picked the shot back up at the last.

“I felt like this week more than any other was important to get off to a good start with some bad weather forecast tomorrow,” he said. “There’s going to be times where you’re grinding it out and battling to make pars. I’ve given myself a nice little buffer really ahead of that challenge tomorrow.

“It’s probably as good as I played all year. Tee to green and was really solid. Holed out nicely inside ten to 12 feet and the front nine wasn’t too windy but then it really got up on the back nine.

“The round just kept on flowing even though the conditions got a bit tougher so it was positive after a good three or four weeks off in the schedule.

“I didn’t actually get to play the Scandinavian Mixed, but I think it’s a great change to the atmosphere, watching how everyone goes about things. Trying to learn off each other and also amazing for the fans as well.”

De Leo — a Challenge Tour rookie making his first DP World Tour appearance — started on the 10th at Galgorm and birdied his opener, 12th and 16th before bogeying the next.

A brilliant second to six feet brought an eagle at the 18th and he shared the lead with gains at the first, fifth and seventh before a bogey-bogey finish.

Fitzpatrick — a recent winner on the Challenge Tour and brother of former US Open champ Matt — had set the early pace with five birdies in a row from the 11th but he bogeyed the first before picking the shot back up on the ninth.

Barrow also carded six birdies and a bogey in just his third DP World Tour start, as did 2022 TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India Order or Merit winner Gandas.

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Alex Fitzpatrick is a winner on the European Challenge Tour for the first time after producing an outstanding final day charge to win by five strokes at the British Challenge at St Mellion.

The Englishman, brother of former US Open champ Matt,who finished tied 17th at The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club two weeks ago, registered a four-under round of 68 to go with rounds of 72-66-70 to reach 12-under for the week and win by five shots ahead of Welshman Stuart Manley, Frenchman Tom Vaillant and fellow Englishman Ross McGowan who shared second.

The 24-year-old carded just four bogeys all week in testing conditions in Cornwall, and catapults him into seventh place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings to close in on promotion to the DP World Tour.

Fitzpatrick was delighted to secure a maiden win on the Challenge Tour having come close on several occasions already in 2023.

“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been playing some decent golf and I’ve been putting in a lot of work. It’s just nice to see it finally pay off.

“Sunday is always tough. You know people are going to make a move and luckily I was the one that did. I couldn’t be happier.

“Over the past year on the Challenge Tour, I feel like I’ve put myself in contention quite a lot. I did it in India and in the Netherlands but not got it over the line. It’s been an amazing week and I’m very happy to get it done.”

Special moments after Alex Fitzpatrick secured a maiden Challenge Tour win ?#BritishChallenge | @FitzAlex99 pic.twitter.com/rHvkbNR8xh

— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) August 6, 2023

Fitzpatrick started the day three strokes behind overnight leader Manley, but birdied two of his opening four holes to close the gap to one. After Manley bogeyed the sixth, Fitzpatrick took the outright lead for the first time on the following hole with a gain at the seventh.

The Englishman then added back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 to move clear and despite a bogey on the 15th, he parred his way home to secure a resounding win on a course that he admits provided a tough challenge all week.

“I bogeyed the 18th on day three, but before that I’d gone 48 holes without a bogey, which around this course is pretty good,” he added. “It’s a tough golf course as it’s so tight off the tee. You’ve almost got to pick the widest part of the fairway to aim at, and then be sensible when approaching the greens and try to make your birdies from there.

“It was tense to be honest. I didn’t know where I was until I came off the 13th green where I holed a really good putt. At that point, I just had to know where I was. Our target at the start of the day was to get to 13-under par, and I was close enough.”

???pic.twitter.com/PRTOoUejyw

— Matt Fitzpatrick (@MattFitz94) August 6, 2023

Scotsman Euan Walker, who won at St Mellion in 2022, finished fifth on six-under par alongside Italian Andrea Pavan and Englishman Ashley Chesters. Englishman Josh Hilleard and Hamish Brown from Denmark were one shot further back in eighth.

South African Casey Jarvis remains at the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 1,131 points, with Frenchman Ugo Coussaud in second on 995. Manley’s second place finish this week sees him enter the top ten for the first time this season.

The Road to Mallorca now heads to Aberdeenshire for the Scottish Challenge from August 10-13.

The post A golfer called Fitzpatrick claims tour title — and it isn’t Matt appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It has happened before, but not since 1985 when Manuel Ballesteros joined his wee brother, Seve, in the Open Championship field at Royal St George’s alongside another pair of siblings, Tateo and Naomichi Ozaki from Japan. So the sight of Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick and Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard in the starting line-up this week is unusual rather than unique.

Nor is the appearance of any brothers in golf’s oldest major really that surprising. It has happened quite often over the years. In a still-to-be-equalled familial highlight, Harry and Tom Vardon finished first and second at Prestwick in 1903. Into the 1930s, the three Whitcombe brothers — Charles, Ernest and Reg — made multiple starts alongside each other.

Three decades or so later, former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Hunt played in seven Opens when his younger brother, Geoff, was also in the field. And the Ozakis equalled the feat of the Whitcombes when Jumbo joined his two siblings at Royal Troon in 1989.

More recently, things have quieted down on the brother front. But the Saltmans, Lloyd and Elliott, played in 2009 at Turnberry. And the Molinaris, Edoardo and Francesco, were both in the field for three Opens between 2010 and 2015.

Still, even if history isn’t getting too excited by their presence at Royal Liverpool this week, for the Fitzpatricks this is going to be a special occasion. Such is his enthusiasm at his brother’s presence, only in his victory press conference at last year’s US Open has Matt been comparably animated.

“I was so happy when he qualified,” said the World No. 9, who is ranked 552 places higher than his brother. “I was buzzing. I was playing golf at the time and was refreshing the scores on my phone constantly. It was taking a while to update. My girlfriend was literally, like: ‘Put it down, it’ll load in a minute.’ But I was constantly refreshing, texting my mum: ‘What’s he doing, where is he hitting it?’ I was so happy for him.”

Since that day there has been, as you might expect, some advice floating between the two, who are sharing a local house with their parents this week.

“Alex came last week to play 18, which I think was helpful,” continued the elder Fitzpatrick, 28. “See the golf course, no stress, no rush. Then I told him to take things easy over the next few days.

“I remember speaking to my coach, Mike [Walker], about what to do at my first Open back in 2013. He stressed not tiring myself out. So I played nine on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I think that is kind of similar to what Alex should do. Then the other thing is no media, so he can concentrate on himself and stay away from you lot [laughter].”

There is, however, no guarantee that the younger sibling will pay a blind bit of notice to anything the elder has to say. Not only has Alex, 24, had more recent competitive experience over the Hoylake links than his brother (he was a member of the 2019 Walker Cup Great Britain & Ireland side that lost to the Americans), the pair are very different people.

“On paper my strengths are driving and putting,” said Matt. “And his strengths are short game and approach play. Then off the golf course, we are just literally polar opposites. I’m like a control freak, OCD, organised. And he’s not.”

All of which is not to say the pair don’t get along. And Matt clearly understands the annoying aspect of being the younger brother of a famous golfer.

“I remember when I first got on tour, Alex was still at my golf club, Hallamshire, and members would come up to him all the time,” Matt recalled. “It was: ‘How’s Matt doing? Where’s Matt?’ Not: ‘How are you doing? How’s your game?’ It was always asking about me. Well, I completely understand how that feels. Now it’s the other way round. Literally, the majority of questions I’m asked are about Alex.

“I’m sure for him growing up it was probably very annoying. It’s hard for him to have his own identity and have his own game. Plus, he’s just learning. It’s all new to him. This is obviously his first major. And he’s in his first full season on tour if you like. I definitely empathise with him, but he’s handling it pretty well so far.”

There was time too for one last smile. How was it being back in the same house together?

“It’s fine,” said Matt. “He’s fine. Fortunately, my parents are there to take care of him.”

The post Open Championship 2023: The ‘polar opposite’ Fitzpatricks join list of brothers to play in oldest major appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
As the DP World Tour prepares for a 2023 Ryder Cup dress rehearsal of sorts at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club this week, there is one unique sideshow that could produce the headline act.

Not one, not two, but three sets of brothers will line up in the stellar field in Rome — a first for the DP World Tour.

First up is defending champion Nicolai Hojgaard and his sibling Rasmus. These identical twins like to do things together — including winning. Nicolai won his first DP World Tour title at the Italian Open last time around, only a week after Rasmus claimed Omega European Masters in Switzerland, becoming the first brothers to win back-to-back events on Tour.

The victory was part of a strong end to the 2021 season as Nicolai went on to finish runner-up at the Portugal Masters and tied fourth at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, helping him close out the season eighth on the season-long rankings. Since then, the 21-year-old has gone to win his second Tour title with a four-shot victory at the Ras al Khaimah Championship in the UAE in February.

Edoardo (left) and Francesco Molinari have become Ryder Cup stars. Adrian Dennis

Next up are the elder statesmen Molinaris, famed for their band-of-brothers exploits in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe and a collective 20 top-flight titles between them — including Francesco’s famous Open Championship triumph at Carnoustie in Scotland.

From two of the most recognisable brothers in world golf to one of the newest kids on the block. No, not Matt Fitzpatrick, the reigning US Open champ, but his little bruv Alex, who just turned pro in June at the Irish Open. A breakthrough DP World Tour victory for Alex this week would see the Fitzpatricks become the fifth pair of brothers to have both earned at least one victory.

Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick. David Cannon

It won’t be easy for the rookie as, apart from his brother and those other multiple-title-winning siblings, he will also have to contend with the likes of FEdEx Cup champion Rory McIlroy, world No. 10 Viktor Hovland, former Italian Open winners Tyrrell Hatton and Thorbjorn Olesen and a hosts of DP World Tour winners in a stacked field.

But you cannot beat a bit of sibling rivalry.

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The post DP World Tour: Italian Open set for a band of brothers appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Fitzpatrick family made global headlines less than three weeks ago when the older of two brothers, Matt, claimed a maiden Major title at The Country Club in Brookline, prompting emotional scenes on the 18th green with Alex, along with their parents Russell and Sue.

Having watched his brother make history in Boston, 23-year-old Alex is now ready to make his own mark on the professional game as he plays his first event as a professional at Mount Juliet Estate — following an impressive amateur career which included Walker Cup appearances in 2019 and 2021.

He has already had some experience among the professional elite — making the cut as an amateur at last year’s Cazoo Open in Wales, before playing at the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship three months ago.

Matt Fitzpatrick claimed a share of 29th position when he made his own professional debut at Irish national open eight years ago, kicking off a career which has thus far yielded a major title among seven other DP World Tour victories.

Australia’s Lucas Herbert will return to Mount Juliet Estate to defend the title he won in wire-to-wire fashion last year, while Tyrrell Hatton will be targeting his first win of the 2022 season in an event at which he has already claimed two top five finishes.

“I found out about the invite probably two or three weeks ago, I was incredibly excited,” said Alex. “So obviously it’s funny, following in your brother’s footsteps but sometimes that isn’t a bad thing, especially the route that he’s gone. Hopefully it might open a few doors, but if it doesn’t, I still have to play good golf and if I don’t play good golf, then doors will be shut. Just all about enjoying myself and working hard and hopefully get some good results.

“We’re different in a lot of ways. Our games are completely different. I would say he’s a great driver of the golf ball and a great putter, and I would say my iron and short game would be better than his, which is hard to say when he’s just won the US Open. I think if we were one player, we would be pretty good as well.

“Mainly he tells me all the time: ‘Hit it straight and you’ll be just fine.’ If I can start doing the same stuff he does, then hopefully I’ll be fine.

“I’ve got a great caddie this week in Martin, one of Billy Foster’s friends. Incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly funny as well. So I noticed he was a Leeds fan, so giving each other a bit of stick about that.”

The post Meet Alex: Little brother follows in Matt Fitzpatrick’s major footsteps by turning pro at Irish Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
HOYLAKE, England — Sometimes genuine analysis and perspective means looking beyond the obvious. While a cursory glance at the scoreboard shows a two-point edge, 7-5, for Great Britain & Ireland over the United States at the end of Day 1 of the 47th Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool, deeper inspection reveals the true closeness of the contest. Remarkably, 11 of the 12 matches over Saturday’s two sessions reached at least the 17th green before coming to a conclusion. So far at least, this has been a snarling, scratching dog-fight that has left just about every protagonist breathless.

It is, of course, an immutable law of match-play golf that playing the 18th hole better than the opponent will almost certainly mean not losing the match. And that was perhaps the only difference between the two sides halfway through the biennial contest. After splitting the morning foursomes 2-2, almost without exception the GB&I golfer in each afternoon singles match hit the right shots at “closing time” to clinch a point for the home team.

In Game 1, Alex Fitzpatrick’s solid par won the 18th and revenge against World No. 1 Cole Hammer, who defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.

In Game 2, Euan Walker followed his teammate’s example to beat Steven Fisk.

In Game 3, Sandy Scott’s closing 4 was enough to edge out U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree.

In Game 6, Conor Gough made 4 on the 446-yard par-4 to beat Isaiah Salinda.

Only John Pak’s stellar closing birdie stemmed the faster-finishing GB&I tide. Which was huge, and a fact not lost on the the Florida State All-American. One down with two to play against British Amateur champion James Sugrue, Pak had never led until the final putt disappeared into the cup. Which was perhaps not so surprising. In his post-match press conference, American skipper Nathaniel Crosby mention more than once how he has given Pak a “bad time” about being a slow starter in matches.

“That felt really good,” said Pak, who holed from 10 feet for the win before indulging in the loudest whoop of the day. “I knew we were down a few points, so that was a big moment for the team. I knew it was a bit of a risk hitting driver off the tee, but it came off. I must admit I pulled my approach a little bit. Middle of the green was what I was aiming for. But when I holed the putt I had to fist-pump and scream to get my team going.”

Peter Byrne – PA Images
GB&I’s Alex Fitzpatrick and USA’s Cole Hammer share a joke during their Saturday singles match at the 2019 Walker Cup.

That was much needed. Although Brandon Wu was approximately eight under par in defeating Tom Sloman on the 16th green in the eighth and final match of the session, and John Augenstein had been up all the way in defeating Conor Purcell, 2 and 1, until that point the scoreboard had contained a lot more British (and Irish) blue than American red.

Perhaps most depressed by that turn of events was Ogletree. In the wake of his 1-up loss to Scott, the Georgia Tech student was a disconsolate figure afterwards, having endured one of those days when his opponent had holed a series of unlikely and lengthy putts.

“I didn’t play great this morning, but this afternoon I felt like I played really well,” Ogletree said. “I hit it in the fairway a lot more and hit my irons great. But Sandy made about 200 feet of putts out there. That’s amazing on these greens. Every time I did something great, he did something great. So hats off to him.”

Not surprisingly, the British and Irish side was quietly content with their day out on a Hoylake links playing much easier than it had done in practice. Even the nagging thought that their lead could and maybe should have been bigger was not causing any disquiet.

“There is no disappointment,” said GB&I captain Craig Watson. “What happened is probably a good thing because my players will be ready for something similar tomorrow. If they had won convincingly this afternoon, they might have been looking around for someone else not get the winning points tomorrow. So the fact that the American kept things close could work in our favour. We’ll be ready for another fight tomorrow.”

Speaking of which, Crosby claimed incredulity at the number of putts holed by the home side and strangely won’t be making any adjustments to his already established foursomes pairings for Day 2. Three of the four pairs from Day 1 survive, but Steven Fisk and Cole Hammer replacing Pak and Salinda. Which will come as a surprise to all (especially the benching of Pak), except the American players themselves. On the eve of the matches, Crosby told his squad of his plans and nothing, not even a two-point deficit, is going to change those.

“These guys are adults,” Crosby said. “I can pat them on the back and tell them I love them, but there’s no words of wisdom or special secret sauce that I can give them to turn things around. They’re here because they have turned it around in bad circumstances for the last two years on occasion. They’ve been great front-runners many times and won a lot of golf tournaments. All I did today was tell them what was going on and say it would be great if they could win three of the next four holes. Simple stuff. One thing I do know, we won’t have an overconfidence problem going into tomorrow.”

Hardly inspirational stuff. Which, on the evidence of Day 1, is going to be needed if the U.S. side is to turn this thing around. Well, that and play the 18th hole a little bit better than the guys with the red lions on their chests.

SUNDAY MORNING FOURSOMES

United States vs. Great Britain & Ireland (All times Eastern)
3 a.m.—Brandon Wu/Alex Smalley vs. Alex Fitzpatrick/Conor Purcell
3:10 a.m.—Andy Ogletree/John Augenstein vs. Euan Walker/Sandy Scott
3:20 a.m.—Stewart Hagestad/Akshay Bhatia vs. Harry Hall/Conor Gough
3:30 a.m.—Cole Hammer/Steven Fisk vs. Tom Sloman/Thomas Plumb

SUNDAY AFTERNOON SINGLES
8:15 a.m.—Isaiah Salinda vs. Alex Fitzpatrick
8:25 a.m.—John Pak vs. Euan Walker
8:35 a.m.—Brandon Wu vs. Sandy Scott
8:45 a.m.—Alex Smalley vs. Caolan Rafferty
8:55 a.m.—Stewart Hagestad vs. Harry Hall
9:05 a.m.—Andy Ogletree vs. Conor Gough
9:15 a.m.—John Augenstein vs. Thomas Plumb
9:25 a.m.—Akshay Bhatia vs. James Sugrue
9:35 a.m.—Cole Hammer vs. Conor Purcell
9:45 a.m.—Steven Fisk vs. Tom Sloman

The post GB&I finds a way to finish strong in singles, takes 7-5 lead after Day 1 at Royal Liverpool appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Six years after Matt, then the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, served as the lone beacon on an overmatched Great Britain & Ireland side—accounting for one-third of his team’s points in a 17-9 landslide loss—Alex will allow the family to be the first brothers since World War II to play for the Old World in the biennial contest against leading amateurs from the United States.

There have, of course, been other familial connections since the Walker Cup began in 1922. Brothers Jay (1975) and Jerry Haas (1985) have represented the Americans. And three father-son combinations—Guy and Gary Wolstenholme, Joe and Roddy Carr and Andrew and Michael Brooks—have worn the dark blue of GB&I. But the Fitzpatricks are breaking new(ish) ground in the oldest of golf’s intercontinental team matches.

Interestingly, apart from their shared propensity for low scoring, membership of the Walker Cup “club” is one of the few things that Matt, 25, and Alex, 20, have in common, other than a life-long affection for Sheffield United Football Club.

“People who know us both must laugh,” Matt says with a smile. “In so many ways, we are complete opposites. This sounds terrible, but Alex is so sloppy and a little bit lazy. He has bags of talent, though. Way more than I have ever had. He was also a very gifted footballer. I wish he had stuck in there. He was strong, fast and had two great feet. He read the game well and had a great shot and passing ability.”

Indeed, where Matt is one of the most disciplined members of the professional golf fraternity, Alex remains, albeit less and less as he matures on and off the course, your classic amateur. Their games are very different, too. Never one of the longer hitters, Matt built his game around accuracy and one of the surest putting strokes on the European Tour to become a five-time winner and a member of the 2016 Ryder Cup team.

David Cannon/Getty Images
Matt poses with Alex during the pro-am for the 2018 BMW PGA Championship.

In contrast, Alex—who American fans might remember working as Matt’s caddie during his U.S. Amateur victory at Brookline—is “at least 20 yards longer” off the tee and, at least by his measure, not more than “average” on the greens.

“Alex is an aggressive player,” says swing coach Pete Cowen, who works with both brothers. “His clubhead speed gets up around 127 miles per hour, which is plenty. He hits his irons an awful long way, too. But he’s not as confident as Matt. And although they are about the same height, Alex is stockier, like a little bull.”

Cowen affirms that the two aren’t much alike.

“Yes, they are different characters,” Cowen says. “Alex is bubbly. When he walks in the room, you know he is there. He likes a laugh and a joke. I expect him to do well as a pro. He has played nicely at the last two U.S. Amateurs, making the quarterfinal in 2018 and the last 16 this year, having beaten the [British] Amateur champion [fellow GB&I Walker Cupper James Sugrue] 5 and 4 in the first round. So he’s not afraid of winning. A bit like Rory [McIlroy], he can hit and shape all the shots. And when he is on, he goes really low.”

RELATED: Nathaniel Crosby’s second Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool promises better memories

There was more than a bit of that during Fitzpatrick’s first year on the Wake Forest golf team during the 2018-’19 college season. In 22 of his competitive rounds, the young Yorkshireman broke par, his T-15 finish in the NCAA Championships the best by a Wake Forest freshman since 1986. Overall, he compiled four top-10 finishes in 11 events, and his stroke average was a more than respectable 71.38.

“Going to the States has been huge in my development as a player,” says Alex, which highlights another difference between him and his brother given that Matt spent just one semester at Northwestern before deciding to pass on college to turn pro. “The practice facilities there are the best I have ever seen. And being able to work on my game day-in and day-out has really helped all aspects of my game, especially my putting. I’ve gone from really bad to average. My driving has gotten better, too. I’m definitely finding more fairways. Rather than hitting the low ‘cutty’ safe shot I used to employ habitually, I’m now sending the ball a lot higher. All of which has made me more confident.”

Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Alex wears his caddie bib as the Fitzpatrick family celebrates Matt’s 2013 U.S. Amateur win at Brookline.

A year in North Carolina also has made Fitzpatrick familiar with many members of the United States side he will face this weekend. With that awareness has come respect, but more importantly, realisation. Long gone are the days when GB&I Walker Cup players teed-up in awe of their opponents.

“It has to be a benefit to know the opposition,” Alex says. “I don’t know them all, but I know most of their guys and their games. I know they are going to play aggressively. But I think, too, that it will be harder for them in our windy conditions and on a links like Hoylake. They won’t be used to landing the ball 20 yards short and running it in. Or aiming as much as 30 yards left or right and allowing for that much wind. So yes, I know what to expect. But I probably won’t see them playing their own games this week.”

As for his own prospects, Alex was quick to point out that it would be nice to go one better than Matt and finish on the winning side. But his performance, Alex feels, will come down to how well he can hole out. Ironically, given his brother’s proficiency on the greens, if there has been a recurring issue in Alex’s game it is his putting. Earlier this summer, concerned by a growing inconsistency, he paid a visit to renowned putting coach Phil Kenyon.

“Alex had conceptual issues with how he viewed his stroke and a few problems with his green-reading,” says Kenyon, who works with a number of leading pros on both sides of the Atlantic. “He was a little off mostly because it can sometimes be difficult to work on things by yourself. He needed a fresh eye. The biggest problem was his tendency to under-read putts. So even if he started the ball on the line he had chosen, chances were it wasn’t going in. But once we had him seeing where the ball should start, he was quick to improve.”

That, of course, is an ongoing process in all aspects of the younger Fitzpatrick’s game. At No. 33 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Alex has a ways to go if he is to emulate his brother’s success as a pro. Invited to compete in last year’s European Open in Germany, Alex shot 78-80 to comfortably miss the cut, his week scarred early on by the sextuple-bogey 10 he made on the third hole of his opening round.

Jan Kruger/R&A
Alex gets in some work on the putting green at Royal Liverpool ahead of competing for Great Britain & Ireland this week.

“Looking back, playing there probably came a little too soon for me,” he says. “But it was a great opportunity. I know I could get used to playing in that environment. Some of the decisions I made were probably a little bit stupid. Too often, I went for the miracle shot. My lack of experience showed up there. The pros were just a bit more consistent than I was through the bag.”

Alex doesn’t have to look far for advice, of course.

“I think it has helped Alex to see what I and other pros do to get ready to play,” says Matt, who will be in attendance at Hoylake. “But, to be fair, golf isn’t everything for him. Not yet. He has his school work to focus on. And he wants to enjoy himself. But the team environment at Wake Forest has been really good for him. He knows what it takes to get where he wants to go. In the fall, he wasn’t getting picked for tournaments, despite being the highest-ranked player on the squad. I think that fired him up a bit.”

Which sounds a bit more Matt than Alex. But also a potent combination. The best of both brothers, you might say.

The post Alex Fitzpatrick, like brother Matt did, is playing for Great Britain & Ireland team, but the similarities end there appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.