Tommy Fleetwood kept up his strong finish to the season by shooting an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead at the halfway point of the DP World India Championship as Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy battled to stay in contention Friday.
Over the past two months, Fleetwood has won the Tour Championship for his first PGA Tour title — picking up $10 million as the FedEx Cup champion in the process — and been the top points scorer at the Ryder Cup retained by Team Europe.
Now the Englishman, up to No. 5 in the world rankings, is leading perhaps the most prestigious golf tournament ever to be staged in India after making eight birdies in a bogey-free second round to jump to 12-under par for the week.
Fleetwood’s last birdie — from 8 feet at his last, No. 9 — left him clear of former Open champions Shane Lowry (69) and Brian Harman (65), who were tied for second place.
“I feel like if I’m playing with Shane for the next two days, I’ll be doing something right probably,” said Fleetwood, who credited a post-round range session after his opening 68. “I played better than yesterday. I wasn’t happy with how I hit it towards the end yesterday, so I hit some balls afterwards and I felt like today the swing was in a better place.”
A further three shots back was Ben Griffin, a rookie for the Americans at the Ryder Cup, in a tie for seventh place at 8 under.
McIlroy had back-to-back bogeys early in his back nine but responded by making birdie at four of his final six holes to shoot a second straight 69. He was at 6 under, along with fellow European team member Viktor Hovland (67).
As the No. 2-ranked McIlroy walked off No. 18 at the tree-lined Delhi Golf Club, he removed his cap and shook hands with India cricket great Sachin Tendulkar, a special guest for the tournament, at the back of the green.
The pair had met previously at the 2023 DP World Tour Championship, and McIlroy told Tendulkar he was “looking forward to spending some time together.”
The Associated Press and PA contributed to this report.
