Friday 19 January 2018 17:08, UK
Tommy Fleetwood stayed in contention to defend his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship title and insisted that playing the first two rounds with Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson was a great experience.
Fleetwood celebrated his 27th birthday with a battling four-under 68 in the second round which leaves him just two strokes adrift of leader Thomas Pieters heading into the weekend.
The Race to Dubai champion, who clinched a one-shot victory over Johnson in Abu Dhabi last year, did not hit the heights of his opening 66 that earned him a share of the overnight lead, but he was happy with his scrambling abilities and made only one bogey against five birdies.
Fleetwood dropped his first shot of the tournament at the 16th, but he bounced back with birdies at each of the final two holes to close on 10 under which lifted him one ahead of McIlroy and two clear of world No 1 Johnson.
"I think, however long my career is, I'll struggle to get a better three-ball in my life," he said after being presented with a birthday cake by McIlroy. "It was always going to be enjoyable.
"Dustin shot the most stress-free 64 you'll ever see and Rory just shot the most stress-free 66 you'll ever see. It was a bit more stressful for me, but I really holed out well, so I just kept going. Those two played great, but I was very happy to get in today, sort of from the turn, I didn't play that great and so I was kind of hanging on."
Fleetwood's par putt at the 16th rolled around most of the lip before staying out, but he produced an impressive response on the next green as he holed a slippery downhill putt for his fourth birdie of the day.
"On 16, you always love a horseshoe," he added. "It would have been nice to go bogey-free again, but it was kind of coming and I hit a terrible tee shot.
"Then on 17, it just felt like you could just touch that putt and it would go in, and after having Happy Birthday sang to me twice, I think the moment was made!
"You can't win the tournament after two days, you can only play yourself out of it. Two shots behind, still no time to look at leaderboards just yet, but it's nice to know where you stand.
"And that back nine today was just being patient to stay in it. I holed a lot of four or five footers, and the finish has put me that little bit closer on the weekend. Saturday, is always an important day to stay in it and try and make a move, but I've just got to keep doing the right things."
Johnson, meanwhile, had been feeling the effects of jet lag on the opening day as he fired an erratic 72, but he stormed back into the hunt with a flawless eight-birdie 64 which he described as "easy".
"I felt pretty good out there, and I did everything really well," said the American, who extended his lead at the top of the world rankings in the first week of the New Year with his dominant win at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
"I mean, it was a pretty easy 64. I hit it really well, had a lot of great looks, but I didn't really hole any putts until I made two nice putts on 17 and 18. But other than that, it was just really solid all day long. Hit a lot of great shots, which is what I need to do the next two days if I want to have a chance to win on Sunday.
"I just swung it a little better than yesterday. I don't know if it had to do with a little jet-lag or what. I just wasn't feeling that great yesterday, a little stiff. But this morning I got in the gym and then I came out and worked on my game a little bit before we teed off, and I did everything a lot better today."
