Theegala and Rai are tied-15th at Zurich Classic; Fitzpatricks in the hunt

Los Angeles, April 25 Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala shot 2-under in alternate shots and were Tied-15th after two rounds at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the only team event on the PGA Tour.

They slipped two places from Tied-13th to Tied-15th at 12-under.

Another pairing with an Indian interest was Sudarshan Yellamaraju and Ryan Gerard, who were T-26 after a big jump from T-42. They shot 3-under and moved to 10-under.

Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick combined for a 7-under 65 in alternate-shot play Friday to pull within a stroke of leaders Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer through two rounds. They barely missed a shot as per Matt Fitzpatrick, who has twice won PGA Tour this season.

The Fitzpatricks are playing together a fourth straight year in New Orleans, and the Englishmen have been in form lately. Matt Fitzpatrick has won twice since March, and Alex won his first DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open last month.

Smalley and Springer, having tied the tournament record with a 58 in Four-ball play in the opening round, had a 70 to get to 16-under 128.

The third round Saturday will tee off with nine teams within two shots of the leaders.

Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked third in the world after edging world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff in the RBC Heritage last weekend, highlighted his round with a chip-in birdie on the par-5 18th.

Alex made four of the tandem's six birdie putts, the longest from more than 17 feet. He credited his older brother, a 2022 U.S. Open winner known for a meticulous green-reading routine that includes dropping into a near-prone position for a ground-level view.

Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka missed the cut by a stroke despite combining for five birdies. They were done in by bogeys on a pair of par 3s: Nos. 3 and 17.

The format switches to better ball in the third round and returns to alternate shots Sunday.

Americans Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat also were tied for second after a second-round 70.

Defending Zurich Classic champs Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak narrowly made the cut at 134.

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