Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick have learned how to play nice over the years, but they probably have never played as nicely together as they did on Friday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., shooting 7-under 65 in the foursomes format at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
“We barely missed a shot,” said Matt, the world No. 3. “Made the putts when we needed to, made some good birdie looks, and yeah, just felt like we played really solid all around today.”
Indeed, they did. Starting on the back-nine after a 64 in the easier best-ball format, the Fitzpatricks, who are teaming up in the Big Easy for the fourth straight year, got hot at the turn, making eagle at the par-5 18th thanks to Matt chipping in from 60 feet.
More: Matt Fitzpatrick’s quiet rise is getting harder to ignore
“I didn't really do anything,” said Alex. “I hit a 3-wood to the left side of the fairway, and he just chipped it in. So, yeah, there's not much more I can add, really.”
Then, with Matt helping with the reads on the green, Alex made a couple of short birdie putts at Nos. 1 and 2.
“I just keep listening to him, and they go in,” Alex said.
In foursomes, a team plays one ball and alternates hitting shots. Not a lot of work for the brothers from England, who had just one blemish on the card.
“I missed a really short one (2 feet, 3 inches) on three, our 12th hole, and then Matt hit -- it wasn't even that bad a drive and kind of nestled up in the bunker, and we had to kind of wedge it out,” said Alex, describing an otherwise stellar performance that lifted the brothers to 15-under 129 at the midway point of the tournament.
More: 2026 Zurich Classic Friday leaderboard, cut line updates, projections
Matt, who captured the Valspar Championship in March, won for the second time this season last week at the RBC Heritage, while Alex, who is playing on a sponsor's invite, recently earned his first win on the DP World Tour in India. A victory at the lone team event on the PGA Tour would come with a two-year exemption for Alex and make following the brothers a lot easier for their father, Russ, and mother, Sue.
“It would obviously mean a lot. I think the thing is you can't force it,” Alex said on Wednesday. “I think that would be something I might be thinking about if we're coming down the stretch on Sunday and we're in contention...Yeah, it would be nice to win, but also, yeah, it's just nice to be here with him and have the opportunity to play and compete and see how we get on.”
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Fitzpatrick brothers shoot 65 at Zurich Classic in foursomes format