History was made Saturday at the 2026 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
World No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick and his brother, Alex, fired a 15-under 57 in the third round at TPC Louisiana, making birdie or better on all but four holes to break the tournament’s single-round scoring record in the better-ball format. The English duo is 30 under after 54 holes — which is also a record — and they lead by four shots entering Sunday’s final round.
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“Amazing day. Amazing day,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “Probably [hasn’t] kind of sunk in how well we played today, if I’m honest. Yeah, it was just hole after hole. The score, I only just realized we finished with five [birdies] in a row. You kind of are thinking about the next shot, so you’re not really thinking about that.”
Matt Fitzpatrick (L) of England and his partner Alex Fitzpatrick of England line up a putt on the 18th green during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2026 at TPC Louisiana on April 25, 2026 in Avondale, Louisiana.
Matt Fitzpatrick is seeking back-to-back victories and his third of the 2026 season after winning the RBC Heritage last week and the Valspar Championship last month. A win Sunday would also earn Alex a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
“[Alex] was brilliant today,” Matt said. “He was faultless truly. He played fantastic, and he played fantastic yesterday as well. He played brilliant golf both last two days. His game has really turned a corner these last few months, and I believe in him to continue that trend. He’s doing all the right things, and obviously it was nice for him to have such a big impact there on the back nine to continue what the front nine brought.”
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The Fitzpatricks birdied the first two holes of the day before back-to-back pars. Then, Matt, the eldest brother, went on a heater, making birdies at Nos. 5 and 6 and an eagle at the par-5 seventh. From there, they were off to the races. Alex birdied holes 8, 10 and 11, then Matt picked up shots at 12, 14 and 15. They closed out the round with three straight birdies from Alex to cap off a 57 (29-28).
“For me, it feels like no matter what happens tomorrow, it’s going to be a great week regardless,” Alex said. “You know, just spending time with family that I don’t get to do very often is very, very nice. It makes it a little nicer that we’re playing good golf. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, and hopefully we play like we did Friday.”
The Zurich Classic is the PGA Tour’s lone team event, featuring teams of two pros in a mixed format. The first and third rounds are played under fourball rules, or better-ball, while the second and final rounds are alternate shot.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Matt Fitzpatrick, brother Alex break Zurich Classic record with 15-under 57
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