TOMMY UPSET!
Fleetwood needs to crack on after losing early momentum
TOMMY FLEETWOOD did his best to sound positive but knew he was clutching at straws in the Sandwich wind.
The 2019 runner-up spoke of shooting low rounds in previous Majors and of how his secondround 71 should have been better.
But while Saturday is known as Moving Day, Fleetwood knows that at two under he has a heck of a lot of moving to do.
For some time, he 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.
Fleetwood, 30, had been billed as one of the great home hopes but The Open can throw up some unlikely contenders. Andy Sullivan, 34, 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.
“No one out there thinks Andy Sullivan is going to win The Open so I can go under the radar.”
However, Sullivan has four European Tour titles to his name and 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”.
He added: “I have always been over-aggressive but today I was patient.
“I know I can win. I know how good my game can be and that is all that matters.”
While very few would have expected Sullivan to win, some might have fancied Paul Casey, 43.
The world No.21 has 12 top-10 finishes to his name in Majors and yesterday’s 67 left him at five under.
“I feel like I’m in the flow. I wanted to stay in touch and that was what I have done,” said Casey.
Playing partner Ian Poulter, whose 66 took him to two under, 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.