Alex Fitzpatrick

The younger brother of 2022 US Open champion Matt has taken a huge leap forward this year, highlighted by his first victories on the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR.

Alex Fitzpatrick's maiden success on the DP World Tour came at March's Hero Indian Open and the following month he teamed up with sibling Matt to triumph in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a win that secured a two-year PGA TOUR exemption for the junior Fitzpatrick.

To say he has taken advantage of that opportunity would be an understatement. In his next seven PGA TOUR starts, Alex made every cut, while posting four top-10 finishes and six top-25s - including a T23 placing at the US Open.

In addition to securing more than $3m in prize money, on top of the near $1.4m he received for his Zurich Classic success, the flurry of strong performances lifted Alex into the top 20 of the FedEx Cup standings at the cut-off point where the leading five players not already exempt earned places at Royal Birkdale.

He will therefore return to The Open, having impressed on debut at Royal Liverpool in 2023 where he finished T17.

Like brother Matt, Alex enjoyed a distinguished amateur career that included two Walker Cup appearances and a climb to fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.