Fitzpatrick carded a tumultuous three under 68 in the third round at Hilton Head, enough to take him to 17 under for the tournament, three strokes ahead of a resurgent Scheffler.
The Englishman kept things exciting on moving day. His second-round lead evaporated after a disastrous start, where he found himself two over after three.
Fitzpatrick's round only improved from the ninth, where a booming drive helped him to a birdie. After a birdie on the 14th, he was right of the green with his second shot on the par-five 15th and chipped in for eagle to restore his three-shot lead.
Meanwhile, Scheffler, who started the day seven strokes adrift, drained five birdies in his opening six holes. There was a blip on the radar on the seventh, but the world number one made three more gains coming home to surge up the leaderboard.
"Good to be back in the tournament," Scheffler told the press.
"I was a little bit behind the 8-ball going into today, but had a nice round to put myself back in position."
Another player who went low on Saturday was American Brian Harman, who carded his lowest round ever at Hilton Head with a 63, moving him into T3.
"Just tried to keep the pedal down," said the 2023 Open Championship winner.
It's going to take a low number to win."
Joning Harman on 13 under was Sepp Straka and Si Woo Kim, four shots behind Fitzpatrick.
Matt Fitzpatrick and his younger brother Alex held their nerve down the stretch to secure a landmark win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a triumph that also hands Alex a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
Star pairing Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry fell short of the leaders at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, missing the cut by a single shot as they exited before the weekend.
Matt Fitzpatrick held his nerve to edge Scottie Scheffler on the first playoff hole in a thrilling finish at the RBC Heritage on Sunday.
Matt Fitzpatrick surged into the lead at the halfway point of the RBC Heritage after firing a superb eight-under-par 63 in Friday's second round.
