The Open: Tommy Fleetwood soars into contention with 65 on day two
By Keith Jackson at Carnoustie
Last Updated: 20/07/18 8:35pm
Tommy Fleetwood has his sights set on becoming the first Englishman to win The Open for 26 years after he fired a bogey-free 65 on day two at Carnoustie.
Fleetwood hit the practice range on Thursday evening after being unhappy with his form during his opening 72, and the extra work paid off as his six-birdie card lifted him into the clubhouse lead, although he was surpassed moments later by Zach Johnson.
The US Open runner-up made a confident start as he followed three pars with birdies at the fourth and fifth, and another at the ninth took him to the turn in 33 before he got further putts to drop at 11 and 14.
And the 27-year-old, who fired a course-record 63 at Carnoustie during last season's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, capped an excellent day with a 12-foot putt for a closing three at the last to move to five under for the tournament.
"I struggled yesterday tee to green, and it was hard work really to just get in," he said. "It was a good 72 in the end even though I bogeyed 16 and 17. I had some time on the range last night and came out today and just did a lot better basically.
"I put it in position all day and holed a few putts in tough conditions. It's a really good round of golf really here in the end.
"I had the odd chance yesterday, but I was never really that close enough to making them. And today, some of them were nice putts, some of them are really good shots, but overall, I think, it was mostly tee shots that made the difference.
"I hit really good drives in the fairway, didn't leave myself a long way into the green. You've still got to complete the hole from there, but it makes a big difference if you're not 30 yards in the rough hacking out."
Fleetwood also explained how he was working to manage his expectations after his consistent form in the big events over the last year, with his near-miss at Shinnecock Hills lifting him into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time.
"You put all the work in, and I've played very well, and I've had some performances that I'm very proud of," he added. "I've put myself high in the world rankings, and I've had the US Open just recently where I've had a great result. With that comes expectation, and with that comes you have to learn to manage it and handle it.
"You always have expectation on yourself, that's just a given really. But it's something that you get used to and something that you have to learn about, but at the same time, it's much nicer than having no eyes on you at all."
Fleetwood also joked he stole an Open-branded umbrella after it was noted he was not carrying a sponsor's brolly in the persistent rain over Angus on Friday morning.
Asked if he had to buy it himself, he replied: "No, we stole it! We got one given for free, actually, so we didn't steal it. We don't always carry an umbrella as we don't have a sponsor. We don't have a manufacturer sponsor.
"So it just so happens this week that we've got a nice Open Championship brolly. It looked quite nice, the yellow and the course."
