Olympics: Tommy Fleetwood overcomes discomfort, improbably leads

Tommy Fleetwood scored one of many lowest within the second spherical on the 2024 Olympics. A member of Crew Nice Britain shot three strokes higher than his spherical 1 4-under 67.

Friday noticed him hearth off a 7-under 64 with one eagle, six birdies and one bogey.

That rating moved him 11 spots up the leaderboard, giving him a share of the lead with Crew USA’s Xander Schauffele and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.

Whereas Fleetwood went low, he defined the uncertainty surrounding his swing.

“I haven’t felt notably snug with my swing all week,” Fleetwood stated Friday after his spherical.

“I’ve been doing the issues that I do know are proper. I’ve put the ball in play rather a lot. I’ve been doing the appropriate issues. Progressively, as you retain hitting sufficient good pictures, your confidence builds, and you retain drawing on these emotions.”

2024 Olympics, Tommy Fleetwood

Photograph by Andrew Redington/Getty Photos

Fleetwood’s final begin was the Open, the place he went 76-75 and missed the reduce at Royal Troon. That early exit within the yr’s ultimate main reveals how uncomfortable he’s together with his recreation.

Earlier than that, he completed T16 on the U.S. Open, T26 on the PGA Championship and T3 on the Masters.

“It’s nearer, and I hit some stunning iron pictures. I had a good suggestion of what I used to be doing with the golf ball all through the day,” he stated. “Particularly immediately, I believe after I needed to get up-and-down, or I needed to make a par save, I did it, and when you might have rounds wish to immediately, clearly 7-under is a extremely good one, you must make these as nicely.”

The Englishman is aware of Le Golf Nationwide fairly nicely as a result of he was part of the 2018 European Ryder Cup staff that defeated the Individuals. Fleetwood was an enormous cause for that victory, as he and his accomplice Francesco Molinari gained all 4 matches they performed collectively.

He additionally gained the French Open at this similar monitor in 2017. No matter that have, the 33-year-old nonetheless has to execute.

“I’ve performed it sufficient to grasp how the golf course performs,” he stated. “I really feel snug with the choices I make off the tee. In order that’s one factor. You continue to must step up and hit the golf pictures. I’ve performed that good thus far and I’ll try to simply maintain doing that.”

Fleetwood will not be enjoying for an enormous test this week however an Olympic medal, which comes with totally different challenges.

“I haven’t been in competition for some time,” Fleetwood stated. “I take pleasure in that by itself, in addition to it being the Olympics. You have a look at the ambiance this week, we consistently get requested the query, the place does the Olympics sit in golf. Taking a look at the way it’s going this week, it continues to develop. It brings nerves and pleasure,t and it’s very particular.”

The Southport, England native is enjoying in his second Olympics after taking part in 2021. He is aware of what these video games imply and the way extremely cool it might be to be an Olympic medalist.

Fleetwood is within the ultimate group for Spherical 3 of the lads’s golf match. He’ll tee off with Matsuyama and Schauffele at 6:39 a.m. ET. The Ryder Cup veteran is seeking to end within the prime three and acquire some momentum forward of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. For extra golf protection, observe us @_PlayingThrough on all main social platforms. You too can observe her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.