European Tour No. 1 Tommy Fleetwood brilliantly set a new Carnoustie course record to move into a share of the lead on day two of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
Fleetwood, 26 produced a bogey-free nine-under par 63 to lower the previous low record by a shot on the course that will play host to next year’s Open (not British) Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood takes aim on route to a 63 at Carnoustie 2017 Dunhill Links. (Photo – European Tour/Gettys)
The effort, in bright but very cold conditions, saw the new father join fellow Englishman and defending champion, Tyrrell Hatton in the lead at 11-under par and with Hatton also at Carnoustie and adding a 65.
“I wasn’t aware of it was a course record until I holed that birdie at the last and someone mentioned it to me,” Fleetwood said.
“So, it’s all in a day’s work (smiling).
“It is some achievement and it will be nice to do the same when The Open comes around but anytime you have a course record, and especially when it is on Tour and on golf courses like this, it’s brilliant to have and I am very proud at the moment.”
Fleetwood’s 63 betters the mark of 64 enjoyed by 10 other golfers including Sweden’s Alex Noren of a year ago.
The long-haired and heavily bearded Fleetwood has played just one event in the past seven weeks and with Fleetwood purposely taking time off to be with his fiancée ahead of the birth early last week of their first child.
And if Fleetwood needed any further incentive to win for a second time this year and also collect a second victory in Scotland he has that in his dog, Cookie.
Four years ago, Fleetwood captured a maiden Tour title in winning the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship and sought to be photographed with the trophy at Gleneagles alongside his beloved dog, Maisy who soon after passed away.
Hatton finds himself in a similar position as last year and also last week as he seeks to become the first player in the 16-year history of the event to successfully defend the title.
Hatton capped his round with three birdies in succession from the sixth hole and the birdied four of his closing six holes.
“I am happy with today’s round though I got lucky a couple of times, but obviously you need that,” he said.
“The putter come alive for me on I think it was the last sort of 13 holes so it was a really good day and very happy”.
Belgium’s popular Nicolas Colsaerts is in third place with a second straight five-under par 67 for a 10-under par tally.
Colsaerts round at St. Andrews was a mirror to his first round showing at Kingsbarns Links that included a double bogey but also seven birdies.
“It felt good out there today but we got a little lucky with the wind as it changed direction at one stage over my back nine, so it would have been a little harder had the wind not changed,” he said.
“So, I was pleased to be able to take advantage of that”.
Rory McIlroy birdied his final hole at Carnoustie in a round of 71 to get back to level par but still three shots shy of Saturday’s third round expected cut-off mark of three-under par.
McIlroy spoilt his round, and in what is his last event of the year, in taking a sixth hole triple-bogey ‘7’ and this is after also posting a double-bogey early in Thursday’s score at St. Andrews.
