After a disappointing opening round yesterday Tommy Fleetwood bounced back with a superb 65 as he regained the lead in the European Tour Race to Dubai rankings.
Fleetwood’s seven-under second round at the DP World Tour Championship, the final event of the season, sees him edge ahead of his rival Justin Rose as each battle to end the year as Europe’s No. 1 golfer. Just 15,280 points split the duo in the projected Race to Dubai rankings.
Rose followed up his opening day 66 with a 70 today to leave him joint third on eight-under with two rounds left to play in Dubai. Fleetwood has a share of 11th place, two shots back on six-under.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Overall, the tournament leader at the halfway stage is 2016 winner Matt Fitzpatrick. The defending champion takes a one-shot lead into tomorrow’s third round after a second consecutive 67. He’s on ten-under, one shot clear of Tyrrell Hatton.
With the Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship titles set to be decided this weekend, it promises to be a fascinating final 36 holes at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Fleetwood knew he had to shoot a low score today and was pleased with his second-round performance. He said: “There’s still a tournament to play for and there’s still a Race to Dubai to play for. So there are two things going on and you’ve just got to concentrate on one, which is kind of each day as it comes and try and do your best in the tournament.
“But I needed a low one today for sort of both purposes,” he said. “The only thing that you can control is the tournament in a way. Race to Dubai, I can’t do anything about the maths or what Justin does or anything.
“So the sole focus was to try to get back into this event today. I knew I needed a low one.”
Race to Dubai permutations: who can finish European No. 1?
- Tommy Fleetwood: he will win the Race to Dubai providing he equals or betters Justin Rose’s result. If Rose finishes outside the top five and Sergio Garcia fails to win, Fleetwood will be crowned European No. 1 regardless.
- Justin Rose: he can win the Race to Dubai with victory this week and must finish at least solo fifth to have any chance. If Fleetwood doesn’t win, solo second will be good enough for Rose.
- Sergio Garcia: the Spaniard must win and hope that Fleetwood finishes outside the top 11 and Rose finishes solo fourth or worse.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodleCartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Mason Greenwood: footballer arrested on suspicion of rape and assaultSpeed Read Man Utd confirm the striker will not train or play until further notice
-
Handball: swapping bikini bottoms for tight pantsSpeed Read Women competitors will be required to ‘wear short tight pants with a close fit’
-
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second comingSpeed Read Last week, Manchester United re-signed the forward on a two-year deal thought to be worth more than £400,000 a week
-
Bank holidays and boycotts: are MPs trying to jinx England?Speed Read Declaring a bank holiday would be ‘tempting fate’, says Boris Johnson
-
Weightlifting: Olympic Games set for transgender firstSpeed Read New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will make history at Tokyo 2020
-
Sport shorts: Champions League expansion plan to be agreedSpeed Read News and reactions from the world of sport, featuring Joachim Low and the Lions women’s team
-
Sport shorts: Sturgeon slams Rangers fans over title celebrationsSpeed Read News and reactions from the world of sport, featuring Keely Hodgkinson and Bryson DeChambeau
-
Sport shorts: Klopp’s unwanted record as Liverpool lose again at AnfieldSpeed Read News and reactions from the world of sport, featuring Tiger Woods and Tom Brady
