Matt Fitzpatrick fired four birdies, three bogeys and an eagle at the par-5 15th to close with a 3-under 68, reach 17-under and retain a three-shot lead heading into the final day at the RBC Heritage. He ranks first in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (8.268).

” I said to Dan [Parratt, his caddie] kind of after seven or eight holes really, I didn’t feel like I’d hit that many bad shots. The shot on 1, it’s not a great tee shot, but it’s not like it’s out of play. Obviously kind of behind the 8-ball with the second shot, and half decent chip, missed that. 3, second shot, not horrendous, not the end of the world. Obviously on that hole it makes it a difficult up-and-down, missed that. Then you feel like you’re behind the 8-ball pretty quickly and kind of scrambling and you’re looking for shots and then you’ve got 4, the tough par-3 to face, as well.

“Again, the bogeys that I made today, I didn’t feel like I kind of hit it off the planet and I was scrambling and stuff. I just felt that they were holes that I didn’t really make my par on, and I felt like I was making good enough swings to make a turnaround on the back nine. Obviously some nice momentum with the hole-outs on 14 and 15.

“I felt like I drove the ball pretty well. 18, 16, 15, 13, 12, those holes, you’ve got chances if you hit the fairway. I think it’s easy to kind of scramble around off the tee and you’re sort of behind the few trees and whatnot. I was pleased the way I hit the ball off the tee coming in. Obviously then just some good putting on that back nine to take advantage of it.

“I think it’s easy to play a golf course when you enjoy it, when you like it, when you love the challenge or you love certain holes. I think it’s harder to play a golf course where it doesn’t necessarily fit you, whether it’s a dogleg right and it feels uncomfortable to hit a cut or whatever. I think when that happens, it makes it more difficult to enjoy a golf course for sure.”

196 marks the Englishman’s lowest 54-hole score on the PGA Tour. His previous best was 199 (2023 RBC Heritage/1st, 2023 BMW Championship/T2).

He holds his fifth 54-hole lead/co-lead and is 2-for-4 converting to victory (2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational/2nd, 2022 US Open/1st, 2023 RBC Heritage/1st, 2023 BMW Championship/T2).

Three strokes is the largest 54-hole lead at the RBC Heritage since Stewart Cink carried a five-stroke lead to victory in 2021.

In eight starts this season, he has had three top-10 finishes, highlighted by a win at the Valspar Championship.

Through 14 events of the 2026 PGA Tour Season, five players have successfully converted the 54-hole lead/co-lead into victory: Justin Rose/Farmers Insurance Open, Jacob Bridgeman/The Genesis Invitational, Ricky Castillo/Puerto Rico Open, Gary Woodland/Texas Children’s Houston Open, Rory McIlroy/Masters Tournament.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the USA fired eight birdies and one bogey for a 64, his 15th under-par score in as many rounds at the RBC Heritage, to move up to second place at 14-under.

The American, who won this event two years ago, is in search of his 21st win, which would move him to T32 on the PGA Tour’s all-time wins list (the others: five-time RBC Heritage champion Davis Love III, Willie MacFarlane, Lanny Wadkins and Craig Wood).

He enters the week with 28 straight top-25 finishes (last finish outside the top 25: 2024 BMW Championship (T33) and holds the Tour’s current longest streak of consecutive made cuts (72).

American Brian Harman made nine birdies and one bogey for a 66, his best score in 59 rounds at the RBC Heritage, and lies in a share of third place at 13-under.

Si Woo Kim, who made one bogey for his own 66 and T3 place, is seeking to post the 15th win by an international player at the event and the first from South Korea.

Finally, also in third place, Austria’s Sepp Straka made one bogey for a 67. He has had top-15 finishes in three of his last four RBC Heritage starts (T3/2022, MC/2023, T5/2024, T13/2025).

Related: MacIntyre’s Misfire

Juvenile actions unacceptable at Augusta — time to grow up.