Matt Fitzpatrick Leads FedEx Open de France by One After Bogey-Free 64

• Matt Fitzpatrick shot a bogey-free 64 to reach 13-under at the FedEx Open de France.
• Jeff Winther is one shot behind, with defending champion Michael Kim two back.
• The second round was suspended for darkness and will resume on Saturday morning.

Matt Fitzpatrick shot a bogey-free 64 at Le Golf National on Friday to lead the FedEx Open de France by one stroke at 13-under.

Jeff Winther reached 12-under with a 64 of his own, while defending champion Michael Kim is two shots off the lead. Fog delayed the start of the second round, and darkness stopped play before everyone had finished.

Fitzpatrick saves par at the last

Fitzpatrick started the day 6-under after Thursday’s bogey-free 65. Four birdies on the front nine took him to 10-under. He made four straight pars after the turn, eagled the par-5 14th to catch Winther, then holed a 27-foot birdie putt at the 16th to take the lead.

His approach to the water-surrounded the 18th flew long and left after his right foot slipped during the swing. Fitzpatrick 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.”

"I played really solid again, felt comfortable with my game. Just the last few holes were a bit of a grind. But happy to be in.

"I've been doing a little bit more work on the driver.

"So [I] went back to the old setup with my driver I started the year with and took a few issues… pic.twitter.com/Lta2a2jpHG

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 25, 2026

Winther and Kim stay close

Winther set the clubhouse target with a bogey-free 64 after the fog delay. The Dane, who won the Danish Golf Championship earlier this year, has finished joint runner-up at Le Golf National in both 2023 and 2024.

“I love coming here,” he said. “This is one of my favourites of the year. I’ve got a lot of great memories from here, hitting great shots, making a lot of birdies. It’s just trekking along, hitting fairways, hitting greens. And the greens are great.

“I think I just love this place too much.”

Winther is currently the highest-placed non-exempt player chasing the Open qualifying place available this week. It goes to the leading eligible finisher who makes the cut; Fitzpatrick already has an exemption for The 155th Open at St Andrews in 2027.

Kim followed his opening 63 with a 66, making six birdies and three bogeys to reach 11-under. The American won the FedEx Open de France last year at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche while Le Golf National was being renovated.

“Yeah, it wasn’t perfect golf like yesterday, but I felt like I made a good fight out of it,” he said. “And overall I’m happy with where I’m at. I didn’t get off to the best start. Swing didn’t feel as good as yesterday. But I’m really happy.

“I feel like I figured some things out during the middle of the round today. And just a little unfortunate bogey coming in. But I think I have a good chance to win this tournament for the weekend.”

Ryan Gerard and France’s Tom Vaillant share fourth place at 10-under. Ángel Hidalgo, Marcel Siem, Thriston Lawrence and Gregorio De Leo are a further shot back.

Saturday’s restart

Play was suspended at 7.55pm local time and is due to resume at 8.45am on Saturday. The cut is provisionally 3-under, with 66 players at that score or better. Round three will start from two tees in groups of three no earlier than 10am.

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