Matt Fitzpatrick nearly running away RBC Heritage, leads a stacked leaderboard at Harbour Town
Matt Fitzpatrick set the pace in the second round of the RBC Heritage with a bogey-free, 8-under 63. The 2023 champion is right back where he belongs, sitting at the top of the leaderboard and in full control of his own path heading into the weekend.
His 36-hole total of 65-63 might be the most impressive stretch of golf we’ve seen from him all year and that’s saying something considering the form he’s been in.
At No. 7 in the world rankings, Matt Fitzpatrick could surpass his career-high rank of fifth with a win this week. And honestly, the way he’s playing right now, that feels like an inevitability rather than a possibility.
From a ball-striking perspective, he’s been unreal. Second in Strokes Gained Tee-to-Green and sixth in SG Approach on tour. He’s gaining nearly 1.6 strokes per round, which is the best mark of his career by a wide margin.
If those numbers don’t mean much to you, just know that what he’s doing with his irons right now is elite-level stuff and it’s translating directly to the scoreboard.
Matt Fitzpatrick won here before and he might make it two by Sunday afternoon. And if you look ahead on the calendar, Royal Birkdale and Shinnecock Hills, the venues for the last two majors of the year, reward the same statistical profiles that play well at Harbour Town. A second major might not be far off for Fitzpatrick either.
The Most Ridiculous Hole of the Tournament (So Far)
I have to talk about the 14th because what happened there was pure golf chaos and perfectly encapsulates why this sport will drive you to the brink of insanity.
Rickie Fowler hits what might be the most perfect shot of the entire tournament on the par-3 14th. High arcing ball, lands just onto the green, takes three bounces, rolls straight at the cup like it was on a string.
Rickie Fowler Nearly ACES Par 3 14th
The thing hits the flagstick and gently rolls to the left. Are you kidding me?
That is as close to a hole in one as you will ever see without the ball actually going in the hole. Right at the stick. Beautiful trajectory. Perfect distance. Didn’t even have to roll that far. And the pin just says no. Absolute horseshit. He taps in for birdie but you know that’s a letdown of a hole when the ball was that close to an ace.
Then on the same hole you have Matt Fitzpatrick with a horseshoe lodged firmly up his ass. He hits what I think was a tree, or the base of someone’s chair, or a foot, who even knows at this point, and the ball bounces back toward the hole, somehow stops before the water, and he drills it from the fringe for birdie when he should have been taking a four.
Just insane. Rickie Fowler does everything right and gets robbed. Matt Fitzpatrick does everything wrong and walks away with a birdie anyway. Golf is a sick and twisted game but there’s nothing else like it on the planet.
Matt Fitzpatrick WILD Birdie on the Par 3 14th
RBC Heritage Leaderboard Is Stacked
If you’re looking at the board and thinking this is a two-man race between Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland, it’s not. There are at least 10 players within striking distance and with how Harbour Town is playing right now, there could realistically be more.
Birdies are available and they’re available in bunches. All it takes is one super low round to jump five, six, even seven spots on the leaderboard.
Akshay Bhatia matched Fitzpatrick’s 63 on Friday and made 11 birdies doing it, tied for the most in a single round at Harbour Town in tournament history. He still managed to make a double bogey in the same round, which is the most Akshay Bhatia stat line imaginable. As for Hovland, he posted a 65 and sits just one shot off the pace. Fowler is six shots back. This thing is wide open heading into Moving Day.
Rickie Fowler Deserves a Moment
18 years ago, a 19-year-old Rickie Fowler made his PGA Tour debut at Harbour Town Golf Links. Now he’s 37 with a wife, two daughters, six PGA Tour victories, and $55 million in career earnings. He’s never won a major despite finishing second twice, but the fans still love him and the orange still pops on Sunday.
Rick Fowler birdied five of his first seven holes in the first round on his way to a 6-under 65. He went bogey-free on the back nine and his most entertaining moment of the day was a par save on the par-5 15th where his drive settled next to a tree and he had to play lefty to punch out. That’s peak Rickie. Even when it goes sideways he finds a way to make it interesting.
Fowler started the season strong with four top-20 finishes in five starts before missing two straight cuts in Texas and sitting out his fifth Masters in the past six years. A win at the RBC Heritage would be a massive statement for a guy who a lot of people have already written off.
Here’s to Rickie Fowler getting back into real contention on Moving Day.
The Jordan Spieth Experience
Jordan Spieth’s second round wasn’t quite brutal but it was stressful from start to finish. He hit six fairways on Friday. Through 36 holes he’s hit 12 total, the third fewest in the entire field. His tee shot on the first went well right and sailed out of bounds for a quick double bogey. His ball on the second went left.
Then he missed right on the third and left on the fifth and sixth. A crippling two-way miss that he never got a handle on all day. He hit the eighth fairway and then immediately pulled his approach into the water for another double bogey.
Spieth still hasn’t made a single bogey this week. That’s the experience.
He’s just made four doubles and sits at 1-under overall. When he won here in 2022 he was top five in driving accuracy. This week he’s dead last in the field through two rounds. Harbour Town is gettable from the fairway and a nightmare from everywhere else. Spieth is finding everywhere else right now.
Quick Hits
Scottie Scheffler hit all 14 fairways on Friday, which is a ridiculous stat at a course with corridors this tight. Loose iron play kept it from being special but he still shot 4-under. He’s seven strokes back of Fitzpatrick and probably needs a low one Saturday to have any real shot on Sunday.
Jake Knapp had the worst putting day in the field by a mile, losing more than five strokes on the greens. He didn’t make a single putt outside five feet all day. The kicker is that Knapp ranks second in putting on tour this year. Golf is cruel.
Keegan Bradley strung together back-to-back 67s after shooting 66 in the final round of the Masters. That’s three straight sub-70 rounds for the first time all year and some much-needed solid golf heading into the weekend.
Round 3 is Saturday. Round 4 is Sunday. CBS has the coverage at 3 p.m. ET both days. Streaming on Paramount+.
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