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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Andy Nesbitt

PGA Tour Star Addressed Nice Texts He Keeps Getting From a Stranger After Wins, and It’s All Too Good

Matt Fitzpatrick is one of the best golfers in the world. This past season on the PGA Tour he won three times and last week he won the French Open, which is a DP World Tour event.

After each win he has looked at his phone and seen nice texts from somebody who is not in his contacts. Instead, it’s a random fan who somehow got his number and has hit him up after victories with kind messages like something a good friend would send along.

MORE GOLF: A PGA Tour Golfer’s Ex-Caddie Went Viral for Quitting Mid-Round. Here’s Why He Walked Off the Course.

That fan, who goes by Tom Egbers on X, went viral this week after he shared what he’s been up to with the No. 4 player in the world golf rankings.

“Congrats on another W!,” Egbers wrote to Fitzpatrick after he won the RBC Heritage last April.

“Thank you again, sorry I’m not sure who this is,” Fitzpatrick replied. That reply shows that there had been similar texts after other wins before 2026.

Fitzpatrick then won again the following week when he and his brother, Alex, teamed up to take home the Zurich Classic.

“Congrats again!,” Egbers texted.

“Thank you! Still not sure who this is sorry haha” Fitzpatrick replied. That “haha” was a nice way to shake off the awkwardness while also serving as a ray of hope that the person would be comfortable sharing their name.

Egbers then sent this text last Sunday after the French Open: “Win number four on the year!”

To which Fitzpatrick replied: “Yes sir thank you!! Who is this number please? Haha.”

Matt Fitzpatrick
@Tom Egbers

What’s really great about those exchanges is the fact that Fitzpatrick replied respectfully each time while also informing Egbers that he had no idea who he was. And who hasn’t been in that situation before? You get lazy and forget to add a number to your contacts and then you have to find a way to figure out who you’re texting with when they reach out. It can be a little awkward but Fitzpatrick handled with all class.

On Wednesday, Fitzpatrick addressed the viral texts, saying he thought it was someone at his home golf course who he forgot to put into his phone.

“I don’t really get why this is so funny, everyone thought it was hilarious,” Fitzpatrick said with a laugh while talking to the media at the Dunhill Cup in Scotland. “I wasn’t getting annoyed at all. I actually thought it was just some member at my club and I obviously replied just asking (who he was). And he basically would never answer and I thought it was just some random guy who wasn’t good on his mobile phone. God knows how he got my number.”

I love that Fitzpatrick was able to chuckle over the texts and how viral this story has gone over the past few days. Now I just hope for two things: that Fitzpatrick and the fan can meet in person some day and have a few laughs over a couple pints, and that Fitzpatrick doesn’t change his number so there can be more congratulatory texts in the future.

The world is a crazy place. We need more stories like this in our lives.


MORE GOLF FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

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