Alex Fitzpatrick is still adjusting to a major life change that "doesn't feel real" after the Englishman officially joined the PGA Tour coming off an emotional victory alongside his brother, Matt, in last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
"I sat down with my caddie on Monday morning, we had breakfast together, and we looked at some of the events and it was like, wow, this is crazy, this doesn't feel real," Fitzpatrick told reporters at Tuesday's press conference for this week's 2026 Cadillac Championship.
"And even walking on to the range yesterday morning was, yesterday afternoon, was like, it feels weird to be here. This is something I'm not used to."
Fitzpatrick turned professional in 2022 after his collegiate career at Wake Forest, he secured his first major individual professional victory at the 2023 British Challenge.
Currently ranked 140th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the 27-year-old won his maiden DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open in March.
His win at Zurich in the two-man team event with his brother earned him full status as a PGA Tour member through the 2028 season, including entry into the remaining 2026 Signature Events, the 2026 PGA Championship and the 2027 The Players Championship, bringing a sense of security Fitzpatrick acknowledged Tuesday.
"There's a lot of stress with this game, it can really bring you down to earth at any time," he said. "So being able to kind of plan my schedule and figure out where I'm going to be is amazing and, yeah, it definitely takes a lot off your plate, that's for sure."
Despite the stability his PGA Tour membership offers, Fitzpatrick said he's still awed by some of the changes it involves.
"I don't have a clue what's going on, I'm not going to lie to you," he said, "... playing against the best players of the world all of a sudden and even like the purses are obviously much bigger."
But Fitzpatrick expressed confidence that his game is ready even if his mindset is still adjusting.
"I feel like my game is in a good shape. I feel like I played really nicely last week and over the past couple months my game's improved a lot. So hopefully I can kind of continue the form and see where that takes me this week," Fitzpatrick said.
"But, yeah, I have no expectations. Especially this week I think it's going to be a whirlwind and my head's going to be everywhere, but hopefully that calms down after this week and I kind of settle in, hopefully settle in nicely."
The 2026 Cadillac Championship, the fifth of eight Signature Events this season, kicks off Thursday at the Trump National Doral (Blue Monster) in Miami, Fla.
--Field Level Media
