Fitzpatricks

Former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick hit a superb, bogey-free 63 to claim a one-shot lead over Viktor Hovland after a punishing second round at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina.

On a day of sweltering heat and unpredictable wind, the Englishman moved to 14 under par with an impeccable round helped by a stroke of fortune at the par-three 14th.

After pulling his tee shot towards the trees, Fitzpatrick’s ball struck a cart path, ricocheted back on to the green, and was only prevented from trickling into the water by a well-positioned sprinkler head.

He capitalised fully, holing the subsequent 30-foot putt for an improbable birdie.

“Yeah, it was lucky, there’s no two ways about it,” Fitzpatrick said. “Sometimes you need that in a week, so it’s nice to get, and then even nicer to take advantage of it.”

The 2023 champion followed up with two further birdies in his final three holes to surge ahead of the field.

Norway’s Hovland remains his closest challenger after a stunning birdie at the 17th kept him in the hunt.

“I wouldn’t say I striped it today, but at least I kind of kept the ball in front of me, and that’s what you’re trying to do on this golf course,” Hovland said.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, playing alongside Fitzpatrick, produced a characteristically disciplined 67. Despite hitting every fairway, the American struggled to convert several birdie opportunities and sits seven shots adrift.

Jordan Spieth was among those to suffer in the tricky conditions, carding three double bogeys in a frustrating 72, while Akshay Bhatia hit 11 birdies in a round of 63 to climb back to -6.

With Scheffler’s recent patchy form, by his extraordinarily high standards, and McIlroy struggling to match the standard of his golf this time last year, there is scope to look beyond the top two players in the world for Augusta glory.

Fitzpatrick, now up to number six, undoubtedly falls into that category as does Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, (fourth at the Players) last year’s Masters play-off runner-up Justin Rose and FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood.

But, amid justified optimism that the famous Green Jacket might remain in UK hands, it would be foolish to ignore what has also been happening on the breakaway LIV Tour.

Bryson DeChambeau will go into the Masters having won play-offs in his past two outings before the opening major of the year. The big-hitting American beat Rahm in a shootout in South Africa a week after claiming victory in Singapore.

The switch from 54 to 72 holes has clearly favoured the best players on LIV, with Rahm, the recent winner in Hong Kong, finishing in the top two in all but one of five tournaments to date.

Yes there is not the same depth of field on LIV, but Data Golf, who crunch the numbers from all tours, rank the Spaniard second only to Scheffler in their global standings.

While Rahm has abandoned his appeal against sanctions imposed by the DP World Tour, he remains embroiled in a stand-off with the European circuit that threatens future Ryder Cup appearances.

But the ongoing controversy does not seem to be putting off the 31-year-old Basque, who is certainly one to watch when the Masters begins on 9 April.

How enticing it is that so many of the other threats are his Ryder Cup team-mates – McIlroy, Fleetwood, MacIntyre or Rose as well as Ludvig Aberg. And, of course, Fitzpatrick – who has already stylishly painted gloss to his year with his Valspar win.

“I want to make sure that I’m ready for when I get to Augusta,” Fitzpatrick said. “To be ready to play and be ready that Thursday morning and be in the best shape possible.”