In the third round of the 2023 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, a lot of good players start getting noticed. While 44-year-old Jimmy Walker made every effort to maintain the lead, a few careless swings, in the end, eliminated him from the top spot. Matt Fitzpatrick, who shot a career-low total in the third round, is in his position and currently owns the sole lead at 14 under.
Matt Fitzpatrick takes care of maintaining clean scorebooks.
Fitzpatrick was pleased with his scrambling abilities at Harbour Town’s 17th par-3 hole after playing his first 16 holes of the RBC Heritage on Saturday at 8 under without making a bogey.
With 18 holes to play, the Englishman transformed a six-stroke deficit into a one-stroke lead by picking an 8-under 63.
Fitzpatrick, a major champion already, aims to win his second PGA Tour championship. Walker is still very much in the competition, but Fitzpatrick won’t need to be wary of the 2016 PGA Championship winner.
Instead, the leading members of the immediate chasing pack are Patrick Cantlay, Jordan Spieth, and Scottie Scheffler.
These three Americans are all within a few strokes of Fitzpatrick and are attempting to disarm him so they can top the round 4 leaderboard.
The Englishman missed the green right and created a bunker between himself and the small amount of green he had to work with in addition to short siding himself to the front hole location.
“Everything there was dead,” Fitzpatrick said.
“There was no shot”
Fitzpatrick’s chip put him off the green and 24 feet away since he aimed wide left of the flag. Fitzpatrick then rolled in the par-saving shot from the fairway cut. He finished with a par on the last hole for an 8-under 63, which put him at 14 under par overall.
“This golf course, in my opinion, has proved that this week has seen a spike in low scores,” noted Fitzpatrick, who at the third par-4 hole holed scored eagle at 150 yards from a waste bunker.
So, doing this for myself is definitely a plus.
Fitzpatrick has a little additional drive despite the fact that some Harbour residents have been affected by a true Masters hangover this week. He used to go on family vacations to Hilton Head Island, and during his first few seasons on the PGA Tour, he used a lighthouse headcover from the pro shop; he now doesn’t use it for the Heritage.
However, his involvement in the course hasn’t produced many fruitful outcomes. Fitzpatrick had a T-4 finish here in 2021, to be sure, but in his other seven starts, he’s missed three cuts and has a best finish of T-14.
“Next to Augusta, Pete Dye, remains one of my best golf courses.” said Fitzpatrick, “Really, it is. I enjoy visiting this place to play it. Here, I haven’t had the best luck. I’ve had some successful runs and some unsuccessful ones, but I really like the layout and the challenge of the course, and I believe it’s a fantastic golf course.” he concluded.
