세인트루이스. BMW Championship이 벨레리브 컨트리클럽에서 개최될 준비가 되었다. 이 토너먼트에서는 단순히 우승만이 아니라, 여러 어워드와 자격 요건들이 결정된다. 특히 두 형제 선수의 시즌을 놓고 벌어지는 경쟁이 흥미롭다.
01Fitzpatrick 형제: Player of the Year vs Rookie of the Year
Matt Fitzpatrick과 Alex Fitzpatrick. 형 Matt는 분석적이고 정교한 플레이를 하는 반면, 동생 Alex는 감각에 의존한다. 벨레리브의 연습장에서 Alex가 보여준 다양한 샷들(188피트의 높은 플라이볼과 8피트의 스팅거)이 이를 잘 보여준다.
형 Matt는 올 시즌 PGA 투어 최고 5인 중 한 명으로 부상했다. 동생 Alex는 상대적 무명에서 불과 5개월 만에 Zurich Classic 우승, TOUR Championship 진출이라는 기록을 세웠다. 올해 2026 시즌을 정의할 두 선수다.
현재 두 형제는 각각의 어워드 경쟁에 참전하고 있다. Matt는 Player of the Year를, Alex는 Rookie of the Year를 노리고 있다.
특정 누군가가 지난주에 이미 상을 차지한 것 같다Matt Fitzpatrick
Matt는 Scottie Scheffler의 지난주 8타 차 우승이 Player of the Year 경쟁을 종료시켰다고 봤다. Rory McIlroy도 같은 의견을 밝혔다. "Scottie가 우승이다"라고.
02Rookie of the Year: 세 선수의 경쟁
Rookie of the Year(Arnold Palmer Award) 경쟁은 훨씬 더 치열하다. Kristoffer Reitan(Truist Championship 우승), Jackson Koivun(3M Open에서 Scheffler 제치고 우승), Alex Fitzpatrick이 경쟁 중이다.
Reitan의 강점은 우승이다. Koivun의 강점은 시즌 초반의 임팩트다. 하지만 Alex의 사례는 더 총체적이다. 시즌 중반에 투어에 뛰어든 Alex는 참가한 4개의 Signature Event 모두에서 상위 10위 피니시를 기록했다. Quail Hollow에서는 Reitan 다음인 4위를 기록했다.
정말 멋진 시즌을 보내고 있다Rory McIlroy
Koivun의 시즌은 지난주 Memphis에서 마감되었다. 하지만 Reitan과 Alex는 계속된다. 현재 두 선수는 FedExCup 랭킹에서 나란히 19위와 20위를 점하고 있으며, 둘 다 다음주 TOUR Championship 진출이 확실하다. 그 경기가 어워드의 향방을 결정할 가능성이 크다.
03Masters 진출 자격의 고민
BMW Championship은 또 다른 의미도 있다. 50명의 필드가 30명으로 줄어든다. TOUR Championship 진출이 결정되는 것과 동시에, 내년 메이저 챔피언십 진출 자격도 확정된다.
특히 Masters 자격이 중요하다. Adam Scott은 100경 연속 메이저 진출을 지속하고 싶고, Alex Fitzpatrick은 "어릴 때 꿈꾸던" 첫 Augusta National 진출을 노리고 있다. 현재 20위의 Alex는 진출이 거의 확실하다.
하지만 Rickie Fowler(30위), Gary Woodland(31위), Robert MacIntyre(36위), Patrick Cantlay(43위) 같은 선수들은 좋은 주간을 기록해야만 Masters 티켓을 확보할 수 있다. "이번이 마지막 기회"라고 느끼는 선수들이 많은 만큼, BMW Championship의 경합은 더욱 치열할 것으로 예상된다.
04Original (English) — PGA TOUR
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Checking in from St. Louis and only mildly upset the Cardinals are out of town ...
ST. LOUIS – The first 9-wood apexed at 188 feet. I assumed it was a mishit, a pop-up in the St. Louis sky. The next apexed at 8 feet, and I was sure that he must not have caught it clean.
Nope, both were very much intentional. Alex Fitzpatrick was just demonstrating to us the variety of shots he can pull from in any given scenario. Both the towering fly ball and the stinger have a place in Fitzpatrick's arsenal, he explained from Bellerive Country Club's driving range on Wednesday morning.
The younger Fitzpatrick plays a distinctly different game than his older brother. Matt Fitzpatrick is analytical and meticulous. Alex Fitzpatrick is all feel. That dichotomy has been a joy to watch unfold.
The emergence of the Fitzpatrick brothers is one of the stories that will define the 2026 season. The elder has blossomed into one of the best five players on TOUR, and the younger went from relative anonymity to a TOUR winner at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and a TOUR Championship participant in less than five months.
Both are in the heat of two award races. Matt is vying for Player of the Year and Alex for Rookie of the Year.
Yet if you ask Matt, there's only one Fitzpatrick brother with a legitimate shot to win as it stands now.
"I think a certain someone's sewed it up last week," Matt said, alluding to Scottie Scheffler's eight-shot victory that, at least in Matt's eyes, has wrapped up the Player of the Year race for now. His opinion was shared by Rory McIlroy, who was asked about his own chances if he were to do something special over the next two weeks.
"No chance. Scottie is," McIlroy said.
The victor is much less clear in the other awards race, where Kristoffer Reitan, Jackson Koivun and Alex Fitzpatrick are battling to win the Arnold Palmer Award as the Rookie of the Year. Reitan has the best win: the Truist Championship, a Signature Event. Koivun has the buzz, fresh out of college with a victory over Scheffler at the 3M Open.
Alex's case is more holistic. The win alongside his brother is perhaps not even the highlight of his resume. Instead, Fitzpatrick joined the TOUR unexpectedly midseason and didn't miss a beat. He played in four Signature Events and finished in the top 10 in all four, including a solo fourth at Quail Hollow, where Reitan won.
"He's done fantastically well," said McIlroy, a long-time admirer of Fitzpatrick's game.
Koivun's season ended last week in Memphis, but Reitan and Fitzpatrick will go the distance, ranked side-by-side in the FedExCup, 19th and 20th, respectively. Both are assured to be at the TOUR Championship next week.
That week could be the deciding factor. I'm not sure of much after my range session with Alex, but I'm sure of that. Who can top the other at the TOUR Championship will likely have the inside track at the award.
Another week, another bubble. The field of 50 will be trimmed to 30 after this week's BMW Championship, and it carries another set of implications. For starters, those 30 will play at the TOUR Championship for the chance to be crowned the FedExCup champion. The other carrot? Exemptions into next year's majors.
That holds particular importance for someone like Adam Scott, who's holding onto a streak of 100 straight major championships and is flirting around the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, the popular cutoff for exemptions.
"I've found myself more often over the last few years, you know, trying to get myself qualified for everything. So that would be great going into next year," Scott said.
For most, that means they have the Masters in mind. The only player who is trying to play their way into their first trip to Augusta National is Alex Fitzpatrick, who said: "That was the one I dreamed of as a kid. Spent enough time going with my brother that I got fed up with going." At 20th in the standings, it is all but assured that he will have a spot in the field.
But that is not the case for players like Rickie Fowler (30th), Gary Woodland (31st), Robert MacIntyre (36th) or Patrick Cantlay (43rd). That popular quartet all need good weeks to lock up their spot at Augusta National.
Here's a look at the scenarios for a few of the top names. Reminder: This is just the bare minimum they could do to have a mathematical chance. Most likely, they will need to do even better.
