Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer fired five birdies and three bogeys for a 70 on day 2 of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and saw their lead reduced to just one shot at 16-under.

Their 128 total falls one shy of the 36-hole Zurich Classic of New Orleans record (Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele/2022, Isaiah Salinda/Kevin Velo/2025).

“I think we scrambled pretty well and hung in there. You know, just I feel like we kind of picked each other up where we needed to and made the putt where we needed to,” said Springer.

“Definitely I think for me on 18 it was huge for Alex to make that putt and save par there after my tee shot and just kind of keep us going and not really lose a ton of momentum. I think we’re working well together, yeah.”

An all-world birdie from his knees 😱

Hayden Springer and Alex Smalley are tied for the lead @Zurich_Classic.

📺 Golf Channel pic.twitter.com/sEkuMbOHka

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2026

This marks the first time either player has held the 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour (Smalley/138th start, Springer/55th start).

This is a first-time pairing for Smalley and Springer at the Zurich Classic. Smalley is making his fourth tournament appearance (MC/2022, MC/2024, MC/2025), while Springer is making his third (MC/2024, T18/2025).

Smalley is making his 11th start on the PGA Tour this season, highlighted by four top-25 finishes (best: T14/Valero Texas Open). He earned exempt status through 2026 by finishing in the top 100 in the 2025 FedExCup standings (No. 74). Springer is making his second start of the season (T26/Puerto Rico Open).

“I don’t know if Hayden missed a putt inside of 10 feet all day, so that was huge. The wind picked up a little bit this afternoon, and it was just difficult to get close to the hole. The greens were kind of baked out a little bit. They were getting a little crispy in spots,” said Smalley.

“So to have him hit as many putts as he could was kind of the key going throughout the day with how well he was stroking it. You know, looking forward to best ball again tomorrow, and then we’ll kind of go from there.”

Coming off his victory last week at the RBC Heritage, World No. 3 Matt Fitzpatrick and teammate/brother Alex Fitzpatrick fired an eagle at the par-5 18th and made six birdies and one bogey for a 65 (the round of the day at TPC Louisiana) and trail by one. They are making their fourth consecutive tournament appearance as a team (T19/2023, T11/2024, MC/2025).

Davis Thompson and Austin Eckroat share second place having made five birdies and three bogeys for a 70. They are both making their 10th start on Tour this season, with Thompson’s best finish coming at the Puerto Rico Open (4th) and Eckroat’s at the Valero Texas Open (T10). Thompson seeks a second Tour title (2024 John Deere Classic) and Eckroat is in search of his third victory (2024 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, 2024 World Wide Technology Championship).

Zurich ambassador Billy Horschel and teammate Tom Hoge birdied five of their last six holes (Nos. 13-14, 16-18) en route to a 4-under 68 and are also tied in second place. Horschel, the only player to win the Zurich Classic in both the individual and team format (2013, 2018), is teeing it up with Hoge for the first time; the two were going to be teammates in 2025 before Horschel withdrew on the Wednesday before the tournament due to injury.

Since becoming a team event in 2017, four second-round leaders/co-leaders converted for the win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (most recent: Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry/2024).

All five sponsor exemptions made the cut, including 18-year-old Blades Brown (teammate Luke Clanton; T26); the others: Alex Fitzpatrick (teammate Matt Fitzpatrick; T2), Casey Jarvis (teammate A.J. Ewart; T16), Martin Couvra (teammate Matthieu Pavon; T16), Jacob Skov Olesen (teammate Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen; T26).

Zurich Classic of New Orleans format

This is the ninth year the Zurich Classic will be played in a two-man team format, which was introduced in 2017 (canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19). Teams play Four-Ball in the first and third rounds, and Foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and final rounds. Each player on the winning team will receive 400 FedExCup points, $1,372,750 and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour (through 2028).

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