Matt Fitzpatrick has been one of the best players on the PGA Tour this season, and fresh off his win at the RBC Heritage, he will spend another weekend competing in New Orleans, this time paired with his younger brother Alex.
The Fitzpatrick brothers entered Friday’s second round of the Zurich Classic with a six-stroke lead, but the Englishman, who completed the day’s round in an alternative shot format, shot a seven-under 65 to move into T2 on an incredibly tight leaderboard at 15 under, one stroke behind leaders Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer.
Fitzpatricks started the day on the back nine, put together a solid, clean card through the first eight holes, and Matt chipped in for eagle on the 18th, pushing him to 4 under for the day and giving him serious consideration for moving down the order. This eagle made up for what looked like a disastrous bogey at the time on the 18th, ending the first round in the best ball form as both players went into the water on their second shots.
Those few slow swings slowed him down considerably, but he bounced back on Friday and made few mistakes in the second round, climbing to the top of the leaderboard.
“I felt like we played great today, we barely missed any shots,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “I made some putts when I needed to, made some good birdies, and yeah, I felt like I played really solid overall today.”
Overall, they recorded six birdies, one eagle, and just one bogey. This is a remarkable feat for alternative shots. The brothers showed how comfortable they are with each other’s game by getting around TPC Louisiana.
The 2026 season has been a strong one for the Fitzpatricks, with Matt doubling his career PGA Tour wins with two wins already in the Valspar and RBC Heritage, and Alex scoring his first career DP World Tour victory at the Indian Open in March.
Going forward, they hope to maintain that momentum on weekends and come away with a win together. This will be especially special for Matt. Adding a third win of the season is great, but more importantly it prepares Alex for his move to the PGA Tour.
cut line drama
The change in format from Best Ball to Alternative Shots caused some serious fluctuations in the leaderboard, resulting in a wild showing on the cut line on Friday. The top 33 teams in the same ranking advanced to the weekend, and ultimately settled at 10 under par, just six strokes behind the leader.
The most notable teams that missed out were Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka. Along with Fitzpatricks, he is a joint favorite to win the season opener this week. After falling behind with their best balls, the two stars showed a solid effort with alternating shots to finish at 3 under, but it wasn’t enough to enter the weekend at 9 under, falling one shot short. This week was supposed to be a chance for Lowry and Koepka to end their long winless droughts on the PGA Tour, but instead they both missed out on the FedEx Cup race and managed to cede a spot.
They were far from alone in their disappointing retreat from New Orleans. Tony Finau and Max Glaserman also charged into the weekend with 68s on alternative shots, but needed one more shot to end the weekend, and Finau missed a 10-foot birdie for birdie in the final, sending them home early as well. Meanwhile, the two teams in the top 10 that day, Jackson Suber and Stefan Yeager and Michael Brennan and Johnny Keefer, struggled mightily, taking turns hitting over-par rounds and falling just outside the cut line.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom at the cut line, as many teams were able to churn out the late birdies needed to earn a spot for the weekend. The most impressive of them was David Lipsky. He holed out of the bunker on the 18th for birdie, putting him and Rico Hoey in the lead.
leaders
1. Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer (-16)
A roller-coaster round of 18 holes led by the leader, with the leaderboard shrinking behind them, but despite not being at their absolute best with alternative shots, the duo finished strong with two late birdies on the seventh and eighth holes (after starting on the back nine) to take sole possession of the lead heading into the weekend. A year ago, we watched Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak make strides to win their first PGA Tour wins, and Smalley and Springer hope to do the same over the next two days.
weekend candidates
T2. Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick, Davis Thompson and Austin Eckrot, Billy Horschel and Tom Hoge (-15)
T5. Eric Cole and Hank Lebioda, Matt McCarty and Mac Meisner, Doug Gim and Jeffrey Kang, Nick Dunlap and Gordon Sargent, Christopher Reitan and Chris Ventura, Sam Stevens and Zach Bouche (-14)
T11. Bryce Garnett and Lee Hodges, Adam Svenson and Adam Hadwin, Ben Martin and Trace Crowe, Matty Schmidt and Seamus Power (-13)
15. Aaron Rai and Sahit Segala (-12)
The truth is, because of this format, everyone who survives will compete for the championship. As we saw on Thursday, teams can hit 58 on their best ball on Saturday and quickly climb up the leaderboard. We also saw on Friday that replacement shots can derail teams and drop teams just as quickly.
That would create an exciting weekend where every team knows they have to play hard and low with their best ball on Saturday, and then figure out how to avoid disaster when they return to their alternative shots on Sunday. Teams that finish in the top 15 will feel very solid about their standings, but even teams that rank at 10 under are only six shots behind entering Saturday and could post early numbers that put them firmly in contention heading into the final round.
Updated Zurich Classic odds and picks
- Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick (10/31)
- Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer (9/2)
- Davis Thompson and Austin Eckrot (13/2)
- Sam Stevens and Zach Bouche (19/2)
- Christopher Reitan and Chris Ventura (19/2)
- Matt McCarty and Mac Meisner (10-1)
- Billy Horschel and Tom Hoge (11-1)
- Eric Cole and Hank Lebioda (15-1)
It seems nearly impossible to confidently pick a winner at this point, but with a winner to be decided on Sunday, I’m inclined to lean toward the team that played better with the alternative shot. Horschel and Hoge, Reitan and Ventura, and the Fitzpatrick brothers produced three of the top 10 best alternative shot rounds. Further down the board, Carl Willips and Michael Thorbjornsen (55-1) posted 66s on Friday to get within the cut line, but if they can put up the kind of scores they can with their best ball on Saturday, that team could be a real threat this weekend.
