Saturday 30 September 2017 11:42, UK
Tyrrell Hatton roared into a three-shot lead and spearheaded an impressive English challenge at the top of the leaderboard on day two of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports.
Hatton defied the wet and miserable early conditions to add a composed 65 to his opening 63 to hit the front on 12 under par, and he is one of a remarkable seven English players in the top 10 at the halfway stage at Close House.
Tournament host Lee Westwood and fellow veteran Ian Poulter are among the chasing pack in a share of second while Rory McIlroy recovered from a poor start to make the cut with plenty to spare, but Masters champion Sergio Garcia played one shot too many to avoid a weekend off.
Hatton was out early in persistent rain and chilly conditions, but he made light of the unpleasant weather and got off to a flying start from the 10th with three birdies over his first four holes.
The overnight joint-leader extended his lead further with another gain at the 17th as he covered the back-nine in 31, and he picked up another shot at the fourth before making his only mistake of the day three holes later.
Hatton rebounded and birdied the eighth for the second day running, and a solid par at the last kept him at 12 under and with a clear lead that did not come under serious threat for the remainder of the round.
Rising star Ashley Chesters did get within two of Hatton when he reeled off three consecutive birdies from the fourth - his 13th - but a bogey at the eighth dropped him into a share of second with Poulter, Westwood, Chris Hanson and Robert Karlsson.
Westwood continued his flawless progress around his home course, getting his round up and running with three birdies in a row from the 14th and adding two more on the front nine as he returned a 65 while completing 36 holes without a blemish on his card.
Poulter also stayed within striking distance of the leader and went one better than Westwood with four consecutive birdies on the back nine and, after a couple of classy par-saves around the turn, he birdied the sixth and eighth either side of a bogey at seven after a pulled tee shot left him blocked out for his approach.
Karlsson, currently the only confirmed assistant captain to Thomas Bjorn for next year's Ryder Cup, was another to fire a six-birdie 65 before Hanson made it a five-way tie for second thanks to a late eagle at the sixth in his resolute 67.
Two more Englishmen, Graeme Storm and Lee Slattery, both returned 67s to move into the top 10 on eight under alongside Mikko Ilonen, with Graeme McDowell (68) and Shane Lowry (66) among a group of nine players a shot further back.
McIlroy will start his third round eight shots off the pace, although he flirted with not being around for the weekend at all when he bogeyed the second and fifth to slip to one under - one outside the projected cut mark at the time.
But the world No 6 gave the vast galleries following his group some cheer when he made a valuable birdie at the sixth and he picked up another shot at the 11th to lift the pressure.
Another birdie at the 17th following a mammoth drive got him under the card for the day, although he missed a great chance for another at the last as he settled for a 69.
However, Garcia narrowly failed to extend his tournament on a rare visit to British soil despite a bogey-free round, but he managed only one birdie amid 17 pars and a 69 was not quite enough to make the cut.
