Alex Fitzpatrick is leading a PGA Tour event in just his third start, and his brother Matt Fitzpartick has a lot to do with that.

The Englishman shot a third-round 64 on Saturday at Quail Hollow to take the solo lead at the Truist Championship, one shot ahead of Kristoffer Reitan and two clear of world No. 3 Cameron Young.

In a clip posted by Flushing It on X after his round at the Truist Championship, Alex said Matt’s support played a big part in helping him settle in on the PGA Tour.

"I think having my brother around has been super helpful," Alex said. "I feel like he's been and done everything that I want to do in the game, whether that's Ryder Cup and win majors. Having him being around and me being there for all of that, I felt like I got a really good sense of what it takes and what the atmosphere is like."

Matt, a three-time winner in 2026 who is tied for 45th at Quail Hollow this week, also helped Alex settle in early by introducing him to players before he joined the Tour.

"Even meeting some of the players before I even came out here was super helpful in settling in," he said. "I think that definitely played a factor today." The familiarity helped him adjust quickly on the tour.

Winning early also helped him. After claiming the Hero Indian Open, Alex teamed up with Matt to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, earning PGA Tour status through 2028 and entry into the remaining Signature Events this season.

"I definitely think you're more comfortable out there when you know that you're not fighting for the card for the year," Alex said.

A T9 at the Cadillac Championship followed. Now he's leading at Quail Hollow. But none of it would have clicked without a painful near-miss earlier this year.

Alex Fitzpatrick on the Near-Miss That Changed Everything

Alex had a real chance to win at the Joburg Open on the DP World Tour. He couldn't finish it off, and what followed surprised even him.

"Golf is a funny one. Back of my head, I'm thinking I might never get another chance to win," he said. "Two weeks later, I played in India and played solid golf around a really, really hard golf course, and happy to come out with a win there."

"Having that, coming over that barrier, getting the win on my back, was super helpful in pushing me forward."

Alex also knows this course well. He studied at Wake Forest University near Quail Hollow and played there during his college days.

Young, who shot a 63 in the third round, also went to Wake Forest and played there at the same time as Alex during the 2018-19 season.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav