Sports

He is the player who led the PGA Tour in approach play in his rookie season this year

Nairavoice · Aug 12, 2026 · 2 min read

The 2026 PGA Tour regular season has reached its conclusion, and the young stars came out to shine down the stretch.

The last three PGA Tour events of the season, from the 3M Open to the Wyndham Championship, were all won by players under the age of 24, as Jackson Koivun, Michael Thorbjornson and Michael Brennan all claimed their first victories of the season.

This came at a pivotal moment for the PGA Tour. When The Masters rolls around next year, we will have no major winners under the age of 30 in the sport. Golf is crying out for its next young star, and they’re starting to emerge.

But one PGA Tour rookie has stood above the rest in one pivotal department, beating even the likes of Scottie Scheffler to the title of being the best approach player on the tour this season.

Alex Fitzpatrick was the best approach player of the 2026 PGA Tour regular season

2026 has been the year of the Fitzpatricks. First, Matt Fitzpatrick won the Valspar Championship and the RBC Heritage, and then he helped his brother, Alex, earn a PGA Tour card by winning the Zurich Classic alongside him. But Alex wasn’t just there to take part on the PGA Tour.

Many thought Alex had only made it to the PGA Tour thanks to his brother’s excellence at the Zurich, but he immediately proved that he belonged at the top level. He finished in the top 10 in his next two events, making for a total of five PGA Tour top 10s on the season.

He achieved this with laser-accurate iron play. In fact, Alex Fitzpatrick was so good with his irons that he led the entire PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach during the regular season. As a rookie!

He was better than even world number one Scottie Scheffler, whose major strength is usually his approach play. Gaining 0.91 strokes on approach, he was 0.05 strokes better than Collin Morikawa, and 0.1 strokes better than the third best approach player, his brother Matt.

Before the 2026 season began, Alex Fitzpatrick could not have dreamed of having this type of year. But this level of consistent ball striking shows that he’s here to stay for a long, long time.