Matt Fitzpatrick superbly delivered his Official World Ranking top-four status heading to the weekend rounds of the FedEx Open De France on the outskirts of Versailles.
Fitzpatrick, 32, capped his second round landing a 229-yard second shot at the par-5 14th hole to 13-feet ahead of holing the eagle ‘3’ and then taking birdie at the par-3 16th in adding a flawless round of 64 and a stroke clear of his rivals at 13-under on the host Le National course.
‘Fitz’s’ opening round of 65 was also mistake-free while he’s alone being the only player inside the top-1o not to drop a shot over the two days.
FITZ SUPERBLY DELIVERS HIS @OWGRltd No. 4⃣ CLASS STATUS …
With Matt Fitzpatrick @MattFitz94 @MattFitzLegion @Workday capping his second bogey-free round with an eagle to take a one-shot lead heading closing rounds #FedExOpenDeFrance
Fiztz chasing a third ‘individual’ … pic.twitter.com/5vbXekLujy
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) September 25, 2026
“I played really solid again, felt comfortable with my game”, said Fitzpatrick.
“The last few holes were a bit of a grind. But I’m happy to be in.
“I’ve been doing a little bit more work on the driver. So [I] went back to the old set-up with my driver I started the year with and took a few issues in the middle of the year that were sort of off-putting a little bit.”
Dane Jeff Winter is in second place on 12-under while defending champ Michael Kim signed for a three-under 68 to be lying third on 11-under.
‘Fitz’ teed-up as the highest-ranked player in the French field and seeking an 11th DP World Tour title and the 15th of his impressive pro career capped, of course, in capturing the 2022 US Open.
He’s also seeking a second ‘individual win if the season after brilliantly denying World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a play-off to capture the RBC Heritage and in the week post the Masters.
Since then Fitzpatrick has enjoyed a trio of top-four finishes while he arrived in France after sharing sixth in last week’s BMW PGA Championship.
There was a little bit of drama for ‘Fitz’ and at the very last hole when his approach to the water-surrounded the 18th flew long and left after his right foot slipped during the swing.
Though Fitzpatrick was far from concerned as he superbly played his next shot to four feet and holed the par putt to keep his card clean.
“Yeah, the shot itself, we were wondering whether to go for it. I was kind of happy to go for it. Took the extra club just to make sure. And then as I took my backswing, I felt my right foot slip,” Fitzpatrick said.
“So I kind of obviously was then in search for the ball, I kind of throw my right arm and managed to sort of make contact, it’s just gone a long way and a long way left. But, yeah, obviously nice to be in the fairway, be able to have some control on the ball and hit one in close.”
