FITZPATRICK BROTHERS TEAM AGAIN TO COMPETE IN THIS YEAR’S ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

They join Masters champ Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry who will defend their title

NEW ORLEANS, LA (April 15, 2025)—British brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick will return to play the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this year, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.

“Both brothers have international team experience,” said Worthy. “Matthew has played for three European Ryder Cup teams, and his younger brother Alex represented the GB&I side in the Walker Cup twice,” Worthy added.

Newly crowned Masters champion Rory McIlroy, second in the world rankings and first in FedExCup points, has teamed again with Shane Lowry, ranked 15^th in the world, to defend their title in this year’s Zurich Classic. They will be joined by Collin Morikawa, fourth in both world ranking and FedExCup points, playing with Kurt Kitayama in the event April 24-27.

The Fitzpatrick brothers tied for 11^th in last year’s Zurich Classic after tying for 19^th the year before. They were featured in an entire episode of the Netflix series Full Swing in 2023, with several scenes of their play in the Zurich Classic.

Matt Fitzpatrick earned his first PGA Tour title in 2022 on one of golf’s biggest stages—the U.S. Open. His victory came at The Country Club, where he also won the 2013 U.S. Amateur. He became only the second player to win both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur on the same course. The first one was Jack Nicklaus. He was also the first English player to win the U.S. Amateur since Harold Hinton in 1911.

His victory at the U.S. Open in 2022 continued his trajectory of success in his short PGA Tour career since earning his card in 2019. He posted 10 top-10 finishes in 20 events played in 2022, including a tie for second at the Wells Fargo Championship; a tie for fifth at the FedEx St. Jude Championship; and a tie for fifth in the PGA Championship.

He followed that up in 2023 with victories at the RBC Heritage in the U.S. and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Europe. He scored six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour that season, including a tie for seventh in the year-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions, a tie for second in the BMW Championship and a tie for ninth in the Tour Championship.

Last year, he posted three top-10s, including a solo fifth in The Players Championship and a tie for fifth in the Memorial Tournament.

He turned professional in 2014 after a year playing collegiately for Northwestern University. While he was still in college, he became the first amateur since Bobby Jones in 1930 to hold low amateur titles at The Open Championship and U.S. Open at the same time.

He qualified for the European Tour in late 2014 and in June, 2015, finished third in the Lyoness (Austrian)  Open, took second in the Omega European Masters and earned his first victory at the British Masters in October that year.

He went on the win another six European Tour titles, including the DP World Championship in 2016 and 2020 and the Omega European Masters in consecutive years 2017-18.

He made the European Ryder Cup team in 2016, 2020  and 2023 and played on the Walker Cup team in 2013 when he posted a 3-1 record for the losing GB&I team.

Alex Fitzpatrick, Matt’s younger brother, plays on the DP World Tour. He turned pro in 2022. He finished tied for 17^th in The Open Championship 2023, posted a second in the ISPS Handa World Invitational and tied for eighth in the ISPS Handa Australian Open.

Last year, his best finishes were a tie for 16^th at the Hero Dubai Classic and the Ras Al Khaimah Championship on the DP World Tour. This year his best has been a tie for 25^th in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

Alex played four years for Wake Forest and competed in the Walker Cup for the Great Britain-Ireland team in 2019 and 2021. He was also selected for the Arnold Palmer Cup international team in 2020 and 2021. He was the fourth-ranked amateur in the world before he turned pro.

About Fore!Kids Foundation: 

 Since 1958, the Fore!Kids Foundation has raised money to fund children’s service organizations through golf events like the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and several charitable golf tournaments.

In 2024, the Fore!Kids Foundation generated a record $3.3 million in charitable giving for children’s charities in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. Charitable contributions have been rising in recent years:

• $3.3 million in 2024
• Over $22.9 Million to charities in last 10 years
• Over $51 Million to charities since inception

More information at http://www.forekidsfoundation.com.