Los Angeles, April 25: Aaron Rai and Sahil Thigala scored 2-under in the alternate shot format during the second round of the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. They are now tied for 15th place with a total score of 12-under, slipping from a previous tie for 13th.
Indian duo Sudarshan Yellamraju and Ryan Gerard made a remarkable leap from a tie for 42nd to a tie for 26th place. They achieved a 3-under score, bringing their total to 10-under.
The Fitzpatrick brothers, Matt and Alex, combined to score 7-under 65 in Friday’s alternate-shot play, leaving them just one stroke behind leaders Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer after two rounds. Matt Fitzpatrick, who has won twice on the PGA Tour this season, noted that they hardly missed any shots.
The Fitzpatrick siblings are competing together in New Orleans for the fourth consecutive year and have been in excellent form recently. Matt has secured two victories since March, while Alex won his first DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open last month.
Smalley and Springer matched the tournament record with a score of 58 in the opening round of four-ball play. They scored 70 in the second round, totaling 16-under 128. The third round will commence on Saturday, with nine teams within two shots of the leaders.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who recently moved to third in the world rankings after defeating world number one Scottie Scheffler in a playoff at the RBC Heritage, made his round memorable with a chip-in birdie on the 18th par-5 hole.
Alex converted four of the duo’s six birdie putts, including the longest at over 17 feet. He credited his older brother, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, for his keen green-reading skills, which often involve getting nearly flat on the ground to assess the terrain.
Despite making five birdies, Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka missed the cut by one stroke due to bogeys on two par-3 holes—numbers 3 and 17. The format will switch to ‘better ball’ in the third round, returning to ‘alternate shots’ on Sunday.
After scoring 70 in the second round, American players Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat are also tied for second. Defending champions Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak barely made the cut with a score of 134.
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