Fleetwood hits form to set up showdown with Dechambeau
The Incredible Bulk stands between Tommy Fleetwood and the weekend knockout stages of the WGC-DELL Technologies Match Play. Yet while the pumped-up figure of Bryson Dechambeau is an imposing obstacle, the manner in which the Englishman strolled through the second day at Austin Country Club suggests he is up to the task.
World No 64 Antoine Rozner caused a stir on Wednesday when beating Dechambeau, the US Open champion – but the Frenchman was no match for Fleetwood. The 4&3 victory was a welcome return to form after Fleetwood’s missed cut at the Players Championship.
With Dechambeau accounting for South Korean Kim Si-woo 2&1, Fleetwood is one of the few players who knows that his passage is guaranteed should he prevail today. “It’s a nice situation to be in and I feel like if I do things similar to today, I’ll be happy and then see what the result brings,” the world No22 said.
“I played really well. Managed to stay up in the whole match. My putting didn’t feel the greatest, so I just had to knuckle down and feel like if I could use my ball-striking to my advantage, then that would make the difference.”
Fleetwood has faced Dechambeau in match play before. “But that was in foursomes when he was playing with Tiger Woods at the 2018 Ryder Cup [when he and Francesco Molinari won 5&4],” he said.
Dechambeau is unrecognisable from that US debut in Paris, after putting on almost 3st last year as he assembled the muscle to increase his ball speed to 200mph. Dechambeau could outdrive his opponent today by up to 50 yards on some holes, but on a track where great iron play will be rewarded, Fleetwood will still fancy his chances.
“It’ll be exciting,” he said. “Bryson’s been smashing it literally and figuratively, he’s clearly great for the game and it will be nice to go toe to toe with him and see what we can do. A lot to play for.”
Rory Mcilroy bounced back from his drubbing by Ian Poulter with a 4&3 success against American Lanto Griffin. Afterwards, the 31-year-old explained why he has changed coach for the first time.
“Pete [Cowen] and I have known each other since I was 13 when he coached the Irish youth team, so it’s not as if this is a new relationship,” he said. “He’s worked with a lot of players that I’ve been close with over the years – Darren Clarke, Graeme Mcdowell, Lee Westwood. I just felt like it was a natural fit.”
Mcilroy vowed to retain Michael Bannon, his long-time mentor, as an adviser. “Michael is like a second dad to me,” he said.
Mcilroy plays Australian Cam Smith today and knows that, even if he wins, he requires Griffin to beat Poulter. The 45-year-old Englishman saw off Smith on the 18th.