ST GEORGE’S
Fleetwood flounders but English stars are massing for bold weekend assault
TOMMY FLEETWOOD did his best to sound positive but knew he was clutching at straws in the Sandwich wind.
Fleetwood, runner-up at the 2019 Open, spoke of shooting low rounds in previous Majors and of how his second-round 71 could and should have been better. But while Saturday is known as moving day, Fleetwood knows, at two under through two rounds, he has a heck of a lot of moving to do.
Fleetwood’s second-place finish at Royal Portrush followed a 2018 near-miss at the US Open, where he finished one shot behind Brooks Koepka.
For some time, 30-year-old Fleetwood has been seen as one of the Englishmen most likely to put a first Major on their CV.
But the frustrations of 2021, during which his world ranking has slipped from 17th to 35th, were all too evident as he mixed two birdies with three bogeys.
Fleetwood had been billed as one of the great home hopes but the Open can throw up some unlikely contenders.
Andy Sullivan certainly falls into that category, only making it into the Championship as a reserve last Friday.
“I would have spent the week with the kids, which would have been equally nice,” he smiled after a second successive 67 left him on six under and within striking distance of the lead.
In no other sport can the psychological battle be more important than it is in golf and Sullivan was using an old reverse trick.
“No one out there thinks Andy Sullivan is going to win The Open so I can go under the radar,” he said.
But if no one thinks Sullivan can win, they have relatively short memories. The 34-yearold’s record in Majors is nothing to write home about but, five years ago, he was ranked No.28 in the world and represented Europe in the Ryder Cup.
He has won four times on the European Tour and knows how to go low, having won last year’s inaugural English Championship by seven strokes.
Understandably, Sullivan was “buzzing” ahead of the weekend and spoke of his second round being a “coming of age,” no less.
“I have always been overaggressive but today I was patient,” he explained.
“And when I say no one expects Andy Sullivan to win, I know I can win. I know how good my game can be and that is all that matters.”
While very few, ahead of the Open, would have expected Sullivan to win, some might have fancied Paul Casey.
The 43-year-old is the world
No.21, after all, and has 12 top-10 finishes to his name in Majors.
His 67 left him at five under, going into today’s third round, and bang in contention for the Claret Jug
“I feel like I’m in the flow. I wanted to stay in touch and that was what I have done,” said Casey, who played alongside Ian Poulter, whose 66 took him to two under.
Poulter (above) said: “I was frustrated in the first round because I was number one in fairways-hit yet shot 72. Today was the opposite.
“And it was good fun out there. The smell of fish and chips and the noise of 30-odd thousand people... it’s great to have the crowds back.”
And with Danny Willett on four under and Jack Senior and Matt Wallace a couple further back, there are still a few slim hopes for the home masses
to cling to.