Matt Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick had some course experience heading into last year's event at Brookline. He won't have that same comfort this week but he does arrive off back-to-back top 20s. He also won the RBC Heritage in mid-April. "I seem to remember just last year just thinking about the tournament, just the U.S. Open. It was obviously different because I had the tie to the golf course and the history there, so probably was easier for me to mentally focus on that and be in a better place than obviously all this confusion that's going on this week." Speaking on course strategy, Fitzpatrick said he's reached out to Edoardo Molinari for an analytical look into the routing. Fitzpatrick is starting the week as a +3500 outright betting option. 

The Englishman was two shots worse than the field average on Thursday but didn't hang his head. He battled back and then some, gaining 8.2 over the field by week's end. Driving was the key weapon as he ranked 9th in strokes gained off-the-tee. Fitzpatrick continues his boom-or-bust relationship with Muirfield Village as he now sports a T9 and solo third finish while landing outside of the top 65 in his other three starts at the Memorial. Fitzpatrick will look to maintain momentum next week in Canada.

The Englishman is making his eighth appearance at the PGA Championship and it certainly wasn't love at first sight. He missed the cut in three of his first five tries with finishes outside of the top 40 in the other two. He's improved with a T23 and T5 in his last two tries. "I think just different setups... I think a lot of the PGA setups tend to reward long drivers. I think it just tests your all-around game. I feel like the two that I did well, like you said, Kiawah and last year, was probably because I just think the golf course setup was a little bit more forgiving in a way. " Adding distance to his skillset was certainly a big part of his improvement at this event. Also working in his favor, there is cold weather in the forecast which may remind him of back home. He'll also bring some confidence to the table with a recent win on his resume (RBC Heritage), three starts ago.

Big brother Matt tallied five birdies at TPC Louisiana. Little bro Alex carded the same. So, it was asked after their 10-under 62 in the fourballs format, if they ham-and-egged it. "I hate that phrase. Ham and egg is so American, and we're from England," Matt said, to which Alex countered, "We dovetailed." Next up is foursomes on Friday. "I think you're definitely playing less aggressive," Matt said about the alternate-shot format. "You're plotting your way around more, fairways and greens, and just keeping the bogeys off the card is what's going to be important tomorrow, I think if we can do that, maybe nick a few, then it'll be a good day."