AVONDALE, La. — Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick combined for a 7-under 65 in another shot play Friday to pull within two rounds of leaders Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer at the Zurich Classic.
“We never missed,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “We’re ready to go into the weekend for sure.”
Smalley and Springer, tied for the tournament record with a best-ball 58 in the opening round, had 70s to get to 16-under 128.
“We fought well and hung in there,” Springer said. “We picked each other up where we needed to and made putts where we needed to.”
The third round on Saturday will pit nine teams between two shots at the leaders – the 29-year-old American couple who are winless on tour.
Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked third in the world after beating No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the RBC Heritage last weekend, highlighted his round with a blistering birdie on the 5th 18th.
Alex, a regular on the European tour, made four of his six birdie putts, the longest from more than 17 feet. He thanked his older brother, the 2022 US Open winner, who is known for his careful study of the greens, which includes hitting the fairway for a low-key look.
“I didn’t feel like I did much. [Matt] I read the putts, I keep listening to him, they go in,” Alex said. “It’s a lot easier to have someone who reads the greens right next to you.”
Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka missed out by a stroke despite combining for five birdies. They made bogeys on par 3: Nos. 3 and 17.
Koepka had a 5-foot par No. 3 and slid it 3 feet past, after which he hit the bottom of his putter into his palm. Lowry, who won the 2024 Zurich with Rory McIlroy, narrowly missed a birdie putt within 10 feet on their closing hole — the par-3 ninth — and in disgust hit his right hand on the side of his leg.
The format switches to better ball on Saturday, as it was on Thursday, and then back to one shot on Sunday.
Billy Horschel, the only player to win in Zurich in both the individual and team formats, sank a 19-foot birdie putt on the 18th to briefly pull himself and partner Tome Hoge into first place at 15 under.
“This tournament means a lot to me. I’ve built a lot of special relationships with the fans here,” said Horschel. “It’s great that we’re in a good position going into the weekend to do something special.”
Moments after Horschel hit the putt, Tony Finau missed a birdie chance on the same green from six feet that would have helped him and Max Greyserman. Instead, they finished with a 135, one stroke below the cut.
Americans Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat are also tied for second after second-round 70s.
Five teams tied for 130 in PGA Tour team event only: Matt McCarty and Mac Meissner; Doug Ghim and Jeffrey Kang; Nick Dunlap and Gordon Sargent; Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura; and Sam Stevens and Zac Bouchou.
Other top-ranked teams in striking distance include Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala at 132, and 2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore at 133.
Defending Zurich champions Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak tied for 134. They were in trouble after Novak missed a 5-foot par putt on 17 to drop them to 9-under. But Novak redeemed himself with a 281-yard shot from the 18th fairway that set up Griffin for an eagle putt on the back rink. Griffin rolled his ball to 16 inches and Novak sank a do-or-die bridie putt, smiling with relief as he went in.
Koepka, in his first season back on the PGA Tour after four years with LIV Golf, needed a good showing to earn his first release at the signature event. He will likely be left out of the field next week at Trump National Doral in Miami, unless he enters as one.
The Fitzpatricks are playing together for the fourth year in a row in New Orleans and the English have been in form lately. Matt Fitzpatrick has won twice since March and Alex won his first European Tour title at the Hero Indian Open last month.
At the end of the second round, Alex — who would have earned a two-and-a-half-year PGA Tour exemption with the win — was looking forward to his favorite New Orleans meal at Mr. B’s French Quarter: garlic fries, roasted garlic chicken and orzo pasta and a warm white chocolate brownie.
“I don’t even need to look at the menu,” she said.
