AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick combined for a 7-under 65 in alternate-shot play Friday to pull within a stroke of leaders Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer through two rounds at the Zurich Classic.
“We barely missed a shot,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “We’re in good stead going into the weekend for sure.”
Smalley and Springer, having tied the tournament record with a 58 in better-ball play in the opening round, had a 70 to get to 16-under 128.
“We scrambled pretty well and hung in there,” Springer said. “We kind of picked each other up where we needed to and made the putt where we needed to.”
The third round Saturday will tee off with nine teams within two shots of the leaders — a pair 29-year-old Americans who are winless on the tour.
Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked third in the world after edging world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff in the RBC Heritage last weekend, highlighted his round with a chip-in birdie on the par-5 18th.
Alex, a European tour regular, made four of the tandem's six birdie putts, the longest from more than 17 feet. He credited his older brother, a 2022 US Open winner known for a meticulous green-reading routine that includes dropping into a near-prone position for a ground-level view.
“I didn’t feel like I did much. (Matt) read the putts for me, and I just keep listening to him, and they go in,” Alex said. “It’s much easier having somebody who reads the greens very well by your side.”
Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka missed the cut by a stroke despite combining for five birdies. They were done in by bogeys on a pair of par 3s: Nos. 3 and 17.
Koepka had a 5-footer for par on No. 3 and slid it 3 feet past, after which he pounded the bottom of his putter into his palm. Lowry, a 2024 Zurich winner with Rory McIlroy, narrowly missed a birdie putt from inside 10 feet on their closing hole — the par-3 ninth — and disgustedly slapped his right hand on the side of his leg.
The format switches to better ball Saturday, as it was in Thursday, and returns to alternate shot Sunday.
Billy Horschel — the only player to win the Zurich in both single-player and team formats — sank a 19-foot birdie putt on 18 to briefly pull himself and teammate Tome Hoge into a first-place tie at 15 under.
“This tournament does mean a lot to me. I’ve created a lot of special relationships with the fans here,” Horschel said. “It’s nice that we’re in a good position going into the weekend to do something special.”
Moments after Horschel's putt, Tony Finau missed a birdie chance on the same green from within six feet that would have seen him and Max Greyserman through. Instead, they finished with a 135, one stroke below the cut line.
Americans Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat also were tied for second after a second-round 70.
Five teams were tied at 130 in the PGA Tour's only team event: 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 higher-profile teams in striking distance included Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala at 132, and 2023 US Open winner Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore at 133.
Defending Zurich champs Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak narrowly made the cut at 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 Griffin up for an eagle putt from the back fringe. Griffin rolled his ball to 16 inches and Novak sank the do-or-die bridie putt, smiling in relief as it 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 exemption for a signature event. He'll likely be left out of the field next week at Trump National Doral in Miami, unless he gets in as an alternate.
The Fitzpatricks are playing together a fourth straight year in New Orleans and the Englishmen 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.
When the second-round ended, Alex — who could earn a career-changing, two-and-a-half-year PGA Tour exemption with a win, was looking forward to his preferred New Orleans meal at Mr. B's Bistro in the French Quarter: garlic truffle fries, roasted garlic chicken with orzo pasta and a warm white chocolate brownie.
“I don't even need to look at the menu,” he said.
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