Matt Fitzpatrick Shines as Jordan Spieth Faces Struggles in Signature Scroll

Apr 17, 2026 — Matt Fitzpatrick surged to the 36-hole lead at the RBC Heritage.

He carded rounds of 65 and 63 at Harbour Town to hold a one-shot advantage.

Viktor Hovland fired a second-round 65 and trailed by one.

Fitzpatrick’s resurgence

A year earlier he faced a downturn and dropped outside the top 75 in the OWGR.

He returned to coach Mark Blackburn and began a steady recovery.

That revival produced a tie for eighth at the PGA Championship.

He posted seven top-10s across nine events and earned a Ryder Cup spot.

Earlier this year he nearly won THE PLAYERS Championship.

He followed that with a victory at the Valspar Championship the next week.

He ranks seventh in the OWGR and could climb past his career-high fifth place with a win.

From a stats view, he is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.

He sits sixth in SG: Approach and is gaining about 1.6 strokes per round.

Spieth and other storylines

Jordan Spieth labored from the tee through two rounds.

He hit only six fairways on Friday and 12 through 36 holes.

He opened with an out-of-bounds drive and took a double bogey on the first.

He made three more doubles and stood 1-under overall after two rounds.

Spieth won this event in 2022 but ranks last in driving this week.

In Filmogaz.com’s Signature Scroll coverage, Matt Fitzpatrick continues to shine while Jordan Spieth faces struggles.

Notable rounds and odd swings

• Akshay Bhatia made 11 birdies on Friday, tying the Harbour Town single-round mark.

  He also made a double and carded a 63.

• Scottie Scheffler hit every fairway, 14-for-14, and shot 4-under on Friday.

  He trailed by seven shots after 36 holes.

• Jake Knapp made no putts from outside five feet on Friday.

  He lost more than five strokes on the greens, worst in the field.

  He ranks second in putting on TOUR for the year.

• Viktor Hovland sits one shot behind Fitzpatrick after his 65.

• Keegan Bradley shot consecutive 67s and previously posted a 66 in the Masters final round.

  This is his first time stringing three sub-70 rounds this season.

• The short-form series “Chasing Sunday: Unheard” released its first installment.

  The edition focuses on Si Woo Kim.

Harbour Town proved gettable from the right spots.

Fitzpatrick hit 10 fairways and posted an 8-under 63 in his low round.

Filmogaz.com’s Signature Scroll noted these developments from Harbour Town.

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