CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland — Seeking a third victory at the European Masters, Matt Fitzpatrick was upstaged by his younger brother in a low-scoring first round at the picturesque Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in the Alps on Thursday.
Alex Fitzpatrick shot 7-under 63 and was tied for the lead with unheralded Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, ranked No. 629, at the European tour event.
While Alex finished tied for fifth on his debut at Crans-Montana last year, Matt — at age 30, the older of the siblings by five years — won the tournament in 2017 and 2018 and is looking to become just the fourth player — after Seve Ballesteros, Harold Henning and Dai Rees — to win it three times.
Matt Fitzpatrick shot 66 and was in a six-man group three strokes off the lead. The 2022 U.S. Open champion is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 27.
Fellow Englishman Matt Wallace had a bogey-free 64 and was with Daan Huizing, Jason Scrivener and Henrik Norlander in a tie for third place.