The Fitzpatrick Brothers Win the Zurich Classic

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— and Golf Has Its Feel-Good Story of the Year

Some victories are about the numbers. Birdies made, strokes gained, FedExCup points banked. And then there are victories that are about something else entirely.

The 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans was that something else.

Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick with trophy after winning the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana

On Sunday at TPC Louisiana, Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick — Sheffield brothers, golfing siblings, and now PGA Tour champions — held their nerve through one of the most dramatic back nines of the season to win the Tour’s only team event by a single stroke. Their combined total of 31-under 257 set a new tournament record. The manner in which they got there will not be forgotten in a hurry.

A four-shot lead, and then a wobble

Matt Fitzpatrick arrived in New Orleans in the form of his life. His 2025–26 season had already featured a DP World Tour Championship title in November, a runner-up at The Players Championship, and a Valspar Championship victory in March. His win at the RBC Heritage the week prior — a playoff victory over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler — had taken his season earnings to nearly $8.3 million across four events.

He was, in short, the hottest player on the planet. And he brought his younger brother along for the ride.

Alex Fitzpatrick, a DP World Tour regular, had already broken through for his maiden professional victory at the Hero Indian Open in March. The pair entered Sunday’s alternate-shot finale with a four-shot lead, after a tournament-record 15-under 57 in Saturday’s best-ball round.

Then the back nine happened.

A double bogey at the par-4 12th. A bogey at 14. The four-shot cushion evaporated. The teams of Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer, and Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura, were watching from the clubhouse at 30-under. The Fitzpatricks needed something from somewhere.

When it mattered most

It came, as it so often has this season, from the older brother.

Matt’s approach on the par-5 18th found a greenside bunker. From 35 yards out, he splashed to inside a foot, leaving Alex with a tap-in birdie to seal the win.

“I couldn’t feel my hands. I couldn’t feel my legs. I couldn’t feel anything,” said Alex, crouching over the ball before rolling in the putt. “It’s a pretty life-changing thing.”

He wasn’t wrong. The victory earned Alex a two-year Tour exemption through 2028, along with entries into the next four Signature Events, the 2026 PGA Championship, and the 2027 Players Championship.

History made, records broken

The Fitzpatricks became the first brothers ever to win on the PGA Tour, with Matt also becoming the first Englishman to win three or more times in a single year on Tour. The win moved him to the top of the FedExCup standings — a remarkable position for a player who spent much of the last two seasons finding his feet.

“To win a team event on the PGA Tour with my brother — I don’t know if it gets better than that,” said Matt, the US Open champion of 2022. “That’s how special it feels.”

Their parents were there on the 18th green to see it. The full family portrait. The kind of moment golf was invented to produce.

What it means for the season ahead

The tour moves on to Miami this week, where the Cadillac Championship tees off at the iconic Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral — a $20 million Signature Event and the first return to that storied venue in a decade. Matt Fitzpatrick is in the field, naturally. Alex, fresh off a two-year Tour card, will be alongside him.

The Fitzpatrick era has well and truly arrived.

Retief Goosen Wins Mitsubishi Electric Classic

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— and Completes a 24-Year Double at TPC Sugarloaf

Some courses have a way of remembering you. TPC Sugarloaf, it seems, has a particularly long memory.

Retief Goosen won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic on Sunday in Duluth, Georgia — 24 years after he claimed the PGA Tour’s BellSouth Classic on the very same course. A tidy bit of symmetry for a man who has always made the game look effortlessly unhurried.

Retief Goosen holds the trophy after winning the 2026 Mitsubishi Electric Classic at TPC Sugarloaf

The 57-year-old South African closed with a 14-point final round under the Modified Stableford scoring system, finishing on 39 points to beat Stephen Ames by two. It was his fifth win in 150 starts on the Champions Tour.

The Modified Stableford format rewards aggression — birdies earn two points, eagles five, while bogeys cost you one and doubles three. It is golf with the handbrake off. Goosen entered the final round three points behind 36-hole leader Zach Johnson, then made five birdies in a six-hole stretch between the 2nd and 7th to surge clear. A bogey-free back nine and a birdie at the last sealed it with quiet authority. “The putter this week got me going,” Goosen said, “and that’s how you win tournaments.”

Hard to argue with a man who has been saying that sort of thing since his first US Open in 2001.

But the moment that will linger longest had nothing to do with the leaderboard. Goosen’s son Leo, 23, was there in person to watch it happen — the first time he had seen his father win since the 2004 US Open, when Leo was just one year old. “I think the biggest emotion is that I’ve won in front of my son,” Goosen said. Twenty-three years in the making. Worth the wait.
Zach Johnson finished third on 36 points, with Stewart Cink a shot further back in fourth.

At 57, Goosen is proof that timing, touch, and a hot putter remain ageless. A two-time US Open champion. A Champions Tour winner. And now, a man who has conquered the same course in two different decades.

Some courses, it turns out, remember the right people.

Vale de Janelas Retain the National Club Championship – Seniors

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Vale de Janelas have done it again. The West Coast club successfully defended their title at the National Club Championship – Seniors, edging out Estoril by two strokes, in what became a tighter contest than most would have predicted.

O Clube de golfe de Vale de Janelas voltou a sagrar-se campeao no Campeonato Nacional de Clubes

The two-day event was played across two formats and two venues. Round one, held at Santo Estêvão Golfe, used Individual Strokeplay — with each club counting its three best scores. Vale de Janelas, arriving as reigning champions, built a commanding nine-stroke lead over nearest rivals Miramar and ACP Golfe.

Day two brought Foursomes into the equation, and with it, a change in tempo. Estoril refused to go quietly, posting an impressive 147 to Vale de Janelas’ 156. In the end, the arithmetic still favoured the champions. Vale de Janelas finished on 385 (+20); Estoril, to their credit, made them work for it, finishing on 387 (+22). Quinta do Peru took third place on 393 (+28).

It is the fourth time Vale de Janelas have lifted this title since 2022 — with only 2024, when Belas Clube de Campo took the honours — interrupting what has otherwise been a rather comfortable reign. The winning team comprised Gonçalo Mota Carmo, Jeffrey Valade, Ken Cooper and John Williams.

Estoril’s challenge was mounted by Miguel Franco de Sousa, Manuel Agrellos Jr., Sofia Paiva and José Maria Cazal-Ribeiro.

O Clube de golfe de Vale de Janelas voltou a sagrar-se campeao no Campeonato Nacional de Clubes2