Alex Fitzpatrick has revealed how his brother’s US Open triumph came at a cost following a last-minute change of plans.
Alex caddied for his older brother Matt when he won the US Amateur at Brookline in 2013 and watched from beside the 18th green as the two-time Ryder Cup player sealed his first major title on Sunday at the same venue.
“It’s amazing,” said Alex, who recently turned professional after a successful amateur career which saw him reach sixth in the world rankings.
“I actually flew home yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and then flew straight back when I saw he was tied for the lead. It’s been a hectic 24 hours but it was definitely worth the 150 dollars coming back.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him. It’s his dedication to getting better each day. If you look at 99 per cent of the field, none of them would go through what he does to get better, even one per cent a day.”
Fitzpatrick’s parents Russell and Susan were also at Brookline to see their son’s victory, just as they were nine years earlier.
“I can’t believe he’s won this at the same venue,” Russell said. “It’s a really special place. We’ve stayed with the same family, we love Boston. We’re moving here next year!
“It’s not just for Matt. I’m so happy for Billy (Foster). He’s been 40 years as a caddie out there and always wanted to win a major championship. I’m so delighted he’s got one as he’s the best in the business.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here