ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 30, 2026

Alex Fitzpatrick

Matt Fitzpatrick

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Delighted to welcome Alex and Patrick back to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Having won here in 2023, how special is it to be back?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it's always nice to be back. It's always a great week. Playing three fantastic courses with a lot of history. Yeah, it's always a please to play.

THE MODERATOR: Alex, your fifth time playing here. What does it mean, I suppose, to be able to tee it up at a course with so much history and create feminine ryes with your family?

ALEX FITZPATRICK: It's amazing. Three amazing courses and to play places where the best in the game have played is pretty incredible and to share it with my family makes it more special.

Q. And on the back of Bethpage --

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I'd like to think so. I have obviously lofty goals that I want to achieve in the game, and I remember having a conversation a few years ago with my coach at the time, Mike Walker, about a certain number of Top 10 finishes in a season, and he kind of asked me, what do you think is realistic, and I gave this very high number, which I was kind of a little bit, not being silly, but kind of greedy, I guess, and I think he was a little taken aback by it and the following year, I managed to achieve it.

So I have belief in myself when I'm playing well, and to have a year like I have done, obviously it's nice to match expectations for a change when I would say in golf, most of the time it doesn't necessarily live up to your expectations. Yeah, it's been a special year.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I think so, if you ask anyone, Scottie's wanted to win all four majors and Rory, the same. I think the top players have that. I think it's important to have that self-belief that you can do that, too. It's nice to have the evidence in yourself and that you've hit the shots in moments and achieved those things. But to be able to do it, as well, is another thing. Yeah, I definitely think you've got to have that self-belief.

Q. Given the British Masters and the Ryder Cup, how pleasing to turn things around?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, massive. Obviously I've been playing better, and showed some signs in the middle of the year and felt like this summer was kick start. Had a great finish at the Scottish, great finish at The Open, and just felt -- I think just felt cost with where my game was at and what shots I could hit and keep on from there, but yeah, this is the best period of golf I've played.

Q. Obviously Matt has won this event. A bit of pressure on you this year?

ALEX FITZPATRICK: Comparing to a win -- if I have a chance (inaudible).

Q. This is the first time you've played the Old Course since the changes were made on 16, in particular. Can you talk a bit about that?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I didn't really notice it -- once I got down there, Dan made a really good point, though. I think it's probably a hard thing to do, given the history of the hole, but to shift the bunkers a little further left, I think you will get guys -- wind dependent is the big thing, probably get guys go further left than they were before.

I think if you shifted the bunkers, those three to the left, it maybe forced your hand a little bit to try to keep it a little bit further right. Be interesting to see how that plays but obviously there's two new bunkers as well. That's also a difficult scenario. It's an interesting change and be interesting to see how it plays this week.

ALEX FITZPATRICK: Yesterday, playing in 30-mile-an-hour winds -- 50 yards -- it was a long hole yesterday.

Q. There's been chatter about some text messages --

MATT FITZPATRICK: I don't really get why this is so funny. Everyone thought it was hilarious. Yeah, the guy -- he wasn't getting annoyed at all. I actually just thought it was just a member of my club who was texting me, and then I replied once he asked me.

He was basically just like, would never answer. I thought it was some random guy that wasn't very good on his mobile phone, basically. Yeah, I guess that's what it is. But God knows how he got that number.

Q. How did you guys decide who plays with who in terms of parents?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Well, after -- I think I had my mum had one year off after we won and it was like, time to let my dad have a go, I think, and did that. Then Mr. Rupert was very kind enough to continue to invite my mum the last two years as well. So it's been nice for her to play with Alex.

Q. Going to Adare -- your reflections on that, as well?

ALEX FITZPATRICK: Yeah, incredible. It's not often you get to be with some of the best players, and obviously the place was incredible. I had heard so many great things about Adare. I had seen photos of the golf course, but seeing it and being there was incredible. We had a lot of fun. That's something hopefully I'll keep in mind to September next year.

Q. Obviously a big year for you, winning on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. What's next in terms of your goals?

ALEX FITZPATRICK: Yeah, definitely, that's probably the one thing next year I want to do more than anything. I think having that experience makes you hungry to be on that team. That's the goal, just keep doing the same things I've been doing and hopefully that leads to being at Adare. We'll see.

Q. Just want to ask you, the wins this year, do you have to sit back and pinch yourself on what you've achieved in this game already?

MATT FITZPATRICK: I was talking to a friend yesterday about it. Obviously it is nice to manage to achieve a lot of those wins and a lot of those great results. There's definitely times, you know, you just forget about it and it's easy to continue to the next one. But I've said before, sort of try to take it in a little bit more, some of these good results, and really try to enjoy them and make that a thing, I think is important.

You never know when the next one is going to be. Hopefully it's going to be this week. You have to take them when you can. Definitely try to enjoy it more.

Q. Have you had any more thoughts about going to Abu Dhabi and Dubai?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah -- definitely. Obviously the Tour are getting good advice. I've spoken to a few people over the last couple weeks to be honest and they were very reassuring in what's going on over there.

Obviously five weeks, see where we are at but what they said was very, very reassuring and I think very easy for things to kind of get sort of twisted in terms of not necessarily what I said and my beliefs were.

It's a tournament that I love going to and obviously a tournament that I play very well at, and obviously I would be very disappointed to miss it, to be honest. Kind of taking it week-by-week and just sort of seeing the other side of it. I've also got to -- inaudible -- something to think about.

Q. You said when you play well, you believe in yourself. Is it not believing in yourself first, and then you play well?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I mean, it's a good question. I'd like to think I always do believe in myself, good or bad, but it's probably a bit easier when you hit the shot that you've intended to hit rather than hitting it 40 yards right. That makes it a little bit more difficult. We all have our moments but you still kind of try and rely on confidence that you've built over the course of a few seasons.

ALEX FITZPATRICK: What was the question for me?

Q. And the highlight for you?

ALEX FITZPATRICK: Yeah, it would be hard not to say that the win with the Matt wasn't the highlight.

Q. How much would it mean to be paired together next year?

MATT FITZPATRICK: Yeah, couldn't get much better. I feel like, I'm looking to achieve a lot in the game, and I think that would be as good as it gets. Winning a PGA Tour event together, that's pretty high on the list but to be able to play Ryder Cup and to be able to have a chance at winning Ryder Cup together would be, yeah, would be pretty incredible lax.

ALEX FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I haven't been fortunate enough to win a major yet so I don't know how that felt but it's at the top of the list. Make a decent case for ourselves -- yeah, it's definitely top of the list.

THE MODERATOR: Wishing you all the best for this week.