ATLANTA (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood is a familiar story hopeful of a different ending, posting eight birdies in his round of 7-under 63 to share the lead Friday at the Tour Championship with Russell Henley in what was shaping up as a tight race for the $10 million prize.
Fleetwood, increasingly popular for his grace in handling so many tough losses, is searching for his first PGA Tour win to go along with a collection of strong European tour titles. But he has been down this road before, quite often this year. The questions are getting old.
Maybe it ends with the Englishman winning two trophies for his first win — the FedEx Cup and the “Calamity Jane” replica putter that serves as the Tour Championship trophy.
“All I can do is keep learning,” Fleetwood said. “I actually feel like I’ve played very, very well when I have led the tournaments and been in contention. It’s just I might have not got things right right at the end. It’s not like I’ve crashed and burned. It’s just that I’ve not quite finished things off. The people that win the most are the guys that are in contention the most.
“That’s where I want to be,” he said. “I keep going. I love the buzz when I am in contention, and I’m just excited for the opportunity again.”
The only buzz he got wrong was the setting on his clippers when he went to trim his beard, prompting questions about whether he shaved. It beats the alternative question of when he will win or whether this will be the week.
But it won’t be easy. Russell Henley had another birdie-birdie finish for a 66 to join him in a share of the lead at 13-under 127, extraordinarily low scoring except for spells of heavy rain the previous two days at East Lake and more expected Friday — they moved the tee times forward to avoid a stoppage in play. Greens are soft, they run true and preferred lies are in place.
It’s a recipe for low scoring and that’s what the Tour Championship has provided. Add to that the new format where the top 30 players start at even, instead of the top seed getting a two-shot lead and the bottom five players starting 10 shots behind.
Cameron Young bolstered his Ryder Cup hopes with a 62, which included a par save from the 17th fairway when he wisely pitched out from a most awkward lie. He was two shots behind.
Patrick Cantlay, the FedEx Cup champion from 2021, was on the verge of taking himself out of the tournament until he shot 30 on the back nine, capped off by a birdie-birdie-eagle finish, the last one a 7-wood from 249 yards to 6 feet. He shot 66 and was three behind, along with BMW Championship runner-up Robert MacIntyre.
Scottie Scheffler hit a wedge to a foot on the final hole for a 69, not his cleanest round but extending his streak of 19 consecutive rounds under par. He was five back.
“Just one of those days where it seemed like I wasn’t getting rewarded for the stuff that I was doing,” Scheffler said. “Just a touch off all day.”
Henley opened the round by holing out from a bunker for birdie, and he played the slope on the green from the bunker on the 18th for a closing birdie.
The course is playing to an average score of 67 through two rounds.
“When conditions are soft and there’s been rain, I think that leads to a bunched leaderboard, so no surprise there,” Cantlay said. “These 30 guys have played well all year, so not a surprise to see them playing well here this week.”
That’s especially true for Fleetwood. He was gutted when he took a one-shot lead into the final hole at the Travelers Championship, only to take three putts from 50 feet from short of the green and lose by one shot to a Keegan Bradley birdie.
Two weeks ago in Memphis, he was two ahead with three to play when he played one chip too firm, failed to get up-and-down on the 17th and wound up one shot out of a playoff.
There is still plenty of work ahead, with 13 players at 7-under 133 or lower.
“I know this weekend scoring is obviously going to be very good,” Fleetwood said. “The scoring is really good, but the course actually isn’t easy. You’ve got to play well. I know that I need to just go out for the next 36 holes — I mean, I’m not even thinking about 36, I’ve got to start tomorrow first — keep committing to my golf shots, keep hitting them, and hopefully play well.
“But the more you’re there, the more you are comfortable in those situations and comfortable in that scenario. I’m just really excited to go again.”
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