Tommy Fleetwood scored one of many lowest within the second spherical on the 2024 Olympics. A member of Group Nice Britain shot three strokes higher than his spherical 1 4-under 67.
Friday noticed him fireplace off a 7-under 64 with one eagle, six birdies and one bogey.
That rating moved him 11 spots up the leaderboard, giving him a share of the lead with Group USA’s Xander Schauffele and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Whereas Fleetwood went low, he defined the uncertainty surrounding his swing.
“I haven’t felt significantly comfy with my swing all week,” Fleetwood mentioned Friday after his spherical.
“I’ve been doing the issues that I do know are proper. I’ve put the ball in play lots. I’ve been doing the suitable issues. Progressively, as you retain hitting sufficient good photographs, your confidence builds, and you retain drawing on these emotions.”
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Photograph by Andrew Redington/Getty Pictures
Fleetwood’s final begin was the Open, the place he went 76-75 and missed the minimize at Royal Troon. That early exit within the yr’s closing main reveals how uncomfortable he’s together with his sport.
Earlier than that, he completed T16 on the U.S. Open, T26 on the PGA Championship and T3 on the Masters.
“It’s nearer, and I hit some lovely iron photographs. I had a good suggestion of what I used to be doing with the golf ball all through the day,” he mentioned. “Particularly as we speak, I feel after I needed to get up-and-down, or I needed to make a par save, I did it, and when you may have rounds prefer to as we speak, clearly 7-under is a very good one, you must make these as effectively.”
The Englishman is aware of Le Golf Nationwide moderately effectively as a result of he was part of the 2018 European Ryder Cup staff that defeated the Individuals. Fleetwood was an enormous cause for that victory, as he and his companion Francesco Molinari gained all 4 matches they performed collectively.
He additionally gained the French Open at this similar observe in 2017. No matter that have, the 33-year-old nonetheless has to execute.
“I’ve performed it sufficient to grasp how the golf course performs,” he mentioned. “I really feel comfy with the choices I make off the tee. In order that’s one factor. You continue to need to step up and hit the golf photographs. I’ve carried out that good to this point and I’ll attempt to simply preserve doing that.”
Fleetwood isn’t enjoying for an enormous examine this week however an Olympic medal, which comes with completely different challenges.
“I haven’t been in rivalry for some time,” Fleetwood mentioned. “I take pleasure in that by itself, in addition to it being the Olympics. You have a look at the ambiance this week, we consistently get requested the query, the place does the Olympics sit in golf. the way it’s going this week, it continues to develop. It brings nerves and pleasure,t and it’s very particular.”
The Southport, England native is enjoying in his second Olympics after collaborating in 2021. He is aware of what these video games imply and the way extremely cool it might be to be an Olympic medalist.
Fleetwood is within the closing group for Spherical 3 of the lads’s golf event. He’ll tee off with Matsuyama and Schauffele at 6:39 a.m. ET. The Ryder Cup veteran is trying to end within the high three and achieve some momentum forward of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. For extra golf protection, observe us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. You may as well observe her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
