Hatton’s in with a fighting chance after admitting he struggled for motivation
ENGLAND’S Tyrrell Hatton moved to within a shot of overnight leader JB Holmes at the halfway point of his second round at The Open this morning.
Hatton had begun the day on three under par and added two birdies on the fifth and sixth to go five under heading into the back nine at Royal Portrush.
The 27-year-old briefly shared the lead with Holmes before the American moved a shot clear of the field with a birdie of his own at the second.
World No43 Hatton admitted to having struggled in the wake of Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph last year, but there were few troubled signs in a solid round in the dry weather before what one forecaster predicted would be “apocalyptic conditions” as the day wore on.
“I’ve struggled since the Ryder Cup with motivation and not really enjoying golf,” he said. “It’s a massive high and coming away from that most events don’t seem that big in comparison. It’s new for me and I’ve found it pretty difficult.”
Breathing down Hatton’s neck was Ryder Cup team-mate Tommy Fleetwood, one of just four players to be bogey-free on day one, a good run which was immediately undone with a bogey at the first.
Fleetwood settled with birdies on two and five, but had to scramble around the course in the subsequent holes to keep his score on four under. He missed a birdie chance on the sixth and had to battle to hold par on the next three holes.
Early movers on the leaderboard included Jordan Spieth, who picked up two birdies and an eagle to join Hatton on five under before another birdie took him to six under, and South African duo Erik van Rooyen and Louis Oosthuizen, who moved to four and three under respectively.
World No1 Brooks Koepka, who has not finished outside the top two in the past four Majors, had a steady, if unspectacular, start to stay three under after a bogey and a 30ft birdie putt.
Tiger Woods walked gingerly to the first tee and appeared to struggle to tie his shoelaces following a recurrence of his back problems, but he cut his seven-over-par score by one shot with a birdie on the opener.