Credit: DH photo
New Delhi: Some crisp hitting off the tee, smoother rolls on the green for putts and accurate approach shots in between saw Tommy Fleetwood enjoy a better outing on Friday.
The 34-year-old Englishman, who had a morning start from 10th hole, followed up his opening round four-under 68 with an eight-under 64 to take his two-day total to 12-under 132 and the lead at the DP World India Championship.
The rollercoaster ride he had the previous day, especially on the back nine, was replaced by a steady stroll for Fleetwood to walk off the course with eight birdies and 10 pars.
"I hit it in the fairway a lot today and gave myself some chances with irons," said the world No. 5 at the end of his play. "It's easy talking about how many things you did well when you shot 8-under, but yeah, a really good round of golf."
To put his round into perspective, Fleetwood hit the fairway on 10 holes, missed to land it on the semi rough and rough twice each - which is still mostly trouble-free here. He made 15 regulations out of 18 holes and spent less time on the greens by making a mere 26 putts.
Lying a shot behind Fleetwood was his playing partner and overnight leader Shane Lowry of Ireland and Brian Harman of USA. Lowry, following his day one heroics of eight-under 64, could only manage a three-under 69 while Harman clawed his way to the tied-second spot by adding a seven-under 65 to his first day score of 68. The free-swinging Japanese Keita Nakajima is two shots behind the leader at fourth (65, 69).
The cut fell at two-under and 66 out of the 138 golfers safely moved into the weekend rounds. And yes, the biggest crowd puller of this week, world No.2 and five-time Major champion Rory McIlroy, will also have a go at the course for two more days.
However, the Irishman's discomfort of tackling the challenging course was evident. Reduced to two-under after two back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes, McIlroy appeared to be walking on a tight rope. Realising that he needed to be sharper, the reigning Masters champion re-focused to shoot four birdies in the final six holes to finish with a second consecutive three-under to lie tied-17 along with his group-mate Viktor Hovland (71, 67).
Shubhankar fights back
For the Indian fans praying for the home boys to shine, Shubhankar Sharma put up a brave show to fight back from a disappointing opening round.
The 29-year-old from Delhi carded a blemish-free six-under 66 that is sure to help him put the two-over 74 behind him. With a two-day total of four-under, Shubhankar is at tied-32 as the top Indian in the field.
The other home star, Anirban Lahiri's struggles continued on Friday too as the 38-year-old held on to card one-under 71 and stay at the tied-41 position.
The other Indians to make the cut were Shiv Kapur (tied-41), Dhruv Sheoron (tied-41) and Abhinav Lohan (tied-58).
Scores (after 36 holes): 132: Tommy Fleetwood (Ire, 68, 64); 133: Brian Harman (USA, 68, 65), Shane Lowry (Ire, 64, 69); 134: Keit Nakajima (Jpn, 65, 69); 135: Joost Luien (Ned, 68, 67), Brandon Robinson Thompson (Eng, 69, 66).