AVONDALE, La. \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe barely missed a shot,\u201d Matt Fitzpatrick said. \u201cWe\u2019re in good stead going into the weekend for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe scrambled pretty well and hung in there,\u201d Springer said. \u201cWe kind of picked each other up where we needed to and made the putt where we needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The third round Saturday will tee off with nine teams within two shots of the leaders \u2014 a pair 29-year-old Americans who are winless on the tour.<\/p>\n
Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked third in the world after edging world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff in the RBC Heritage<\/a> last weekend, highlighted his round with a chip-in birdie on the par-5 18th.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I did much. (Matt) read the putts for me, and I just keep listening to him, and they go in,\u201d Alex said. \u201cIt\u2019s much easier having somebody who reads the greens very well by your side.\u201d<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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 \u2014 the par-3 ninth \u2014 and disgustedly slapped his right hand on the side of his leg.<\/p>\n The format switches to better ball Saturday, as it was in Thursday, and returns to alternate shot Sunday. <\/p>\n Billy Horschel \u2014 the only player to win the Zurich in both single-player and team formats \u2014 sank a 19-foot birdie putt on 18 to briefly pull himself and teammate Tome Hoge into a first-place tie at 15 under.<\/p>\n \u201cThis tournament does mean a lot to me. I\u2019ve created a lot of special relationships with the fans here,\u201d Horschel said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice that we\u2019re in a good position going into the weekend to do something special.\u201d <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Americans Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat also were tied for second after a second-round 70. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Koepka \u2014 in his first season back on the PGA Tour<\/a> after four years with LIV Golf<\/a> \u2014 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.<\/p>\n