AVONDALE, La. (AP) — Matt Fitzpatrick, fresh off his RBC Heritage victory, teamed with younger brother Alex to shoot an 8-under 64 in better-ball play Thursday in the Zurich Classic, leaving the English duo six shots behind Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer.
Smalley and Springer matched the tournament record with a 58.
“We’ve got a long way to go before the tournament is over, but it’s a fun format,” Smalley said about the PGA Tour’s only team event. “It’s nice to kind of mix it up a little bit, to have a team event like this instead of doing the same monotonous thing that we do week in and week out, just kind of doing our own thing, playing our own ball.”
Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka, who comprise the most accomplished team at the par-72 TPC Louisiana, shot a 66 to leave them outside the top 40 and in danger of missing the cut — unless they can make a strong push Friday in alternate-shot play.
The format returns to better ball Saturday, and back to alternate shot Sunday.
“The biggest thing is getting those two rounds under your belt, seeing where you lie, and kicking on from there,” Matt Fitzpatrick said.
Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat were a shot behind after a round in which they followed Eckroat’s eagle on the par-5 seventh with eight straight birdies.
Three teams were tied for third at 60: Sam Stevens and Zach Bouchou, along with Eric Cole and Hank Lebioda, and Nick Dunlap and Gordon Sargent.
Billy Horschel — the only player to win the Zurich in both single-play and team formats — was again in the hunt when after he and Tom Hoge shot a 61 — highlighted by Hoge’s eagle on No. 2 — to put them in a seven-way tie for sixth.
Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala each made eagles — Rai by spinning in a 106-yard approach shot on the par-4 13th — and posted a 62.
Defending Zurich champs Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak shot a bogey-free 65 and will need to move up some to make the cut in the only team event of the season.
Smalley, who has never won on the PGA Tour, made a 19-foot eagle put on the par-5 second hold after sinking a 16 1/2-footer to bridie No. 1. His tee shot on No. 3 landed within 7 feet to set up another birdie to put his team at 4 under.
“It’s nice to have another player to lean on a little bit,” Smalley said. ”
The pair of 29-year-old Americans then combined to birdie 10 of their final 14 holes. Springer, also seeking a maiden tour triumph, accounted for the final four birdies, highlighted by his 36-foot putt on the par-3 17th.
A large gallery gathered at the first hole to watch the Fitzpatricks tee off in the same group with Lowry and Koepka on a sunny, breezy, 80-degree afternoon.
Lowry carried their team early, with birdies on five of the first eight holes. Koepka finally pitched in with a 31 1/2-foot birdie putt on 10, but the pair did not better that par the rest of the way.
“Really disappointing way to end with two balls in perfect position,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “It’s not good enough, really.”
A shirtless Michael Brennan made a splash — literally and otherwise — when he elected to hit a ball on the water’s edge on 18 and sent muddy water flying everywhere while his ball popped straight up and plopped back in the water.
Still, he and teammate Johnny Keefer finished the round just three shots behind the leaders.
“I was dropping it if I was just playing in a normal tournament,” Brennan said. “But Johnny had a birdie putt on the green. So I was, like, ‘Well, I guess we can try it.’ But, yeah, it was fun.”
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