If you don’t love Tommy Fleetwood, that’s an inexcusable red flag. He’s just the best, and that’s why Ryder Cup week is so hard. I need to root against the guy for three days, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Luckily, I’m allowed to wear my Fleetwood jersey this week.
The Englishman is rolling. He finished the PGA TOUR season with a win at the TOUR Championship and a FedExCup title, went 4-1-0 at Bethpage Black, and now he’s leading the way at the DP World India Championship through 36 holes.
After a Thursday 68, Fleetwood made eight birdies and kept the squares off the card for a second-round bogey-free 8-under 64 at Delhi GC. It’s been pretty easy for the Englishman to keep it loose out there for the first two days; he’s been playing alongside his captain, Luke Donald, and one of his European teammates, Shane Lowry.
“Unbelievable three-ball,” Fleetwood said. “I think because you’re so comfortable with each other, you do your own thing.”
There are two players a shot back of Tommy lad, and both have a Claret Jug at home.
Lowry, the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year, followed up his opening-round 64 with a 3-under 69 on Friday. He’s 11 under heading into the weekend and looking for his first DP World Tour win since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Also 11 deep is Brian Harman, who became a major champion at Royal Liverpool in 2023. His rounds of 68-65 have him tied with the Irishman and one back with two days in the books. (During both rounds, Harman played the front nine exactly the same way; birdies on Nos. 1, 2, and 8, with pars on the rest. Not really that important, but I thought I’d share.)
As for some of the other big names, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy is 6 under, six shots back of the other half of Fleetwood Mac, and tied for 17th. Viktor Hovland is right there with the Northern Irishman, while a couple of Americans, Ben Griffin and Michael Kim, sit at T-8 and 8 under.
If you want to watch the third round, get ready to set an early alarm. Saturday coverage on Golf Channel is from 2:30-7:30 a.m. ET.
