Tyrrell Hatton holds a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo after adding a second round seven under par 65 to his opening 69, but Simon Thornton is the story of the week from an Irish perspective.
Tom McKibbin was among the early starters and never really got going, following his opening 74 with a second-round 75 to finish well down the pecking order, but it was fellow County Down man Thornton who stole the show.
An opening round of level par had him in good stead to see weekend action, but two early bogeys made the task that much tougher. A birdie on the 15th – his sixth – breathed life into the challenge, and though he’d give the shot back on 18, another birdie on six made it game on once again.
A 20-footer for birdie on the last just slid by, and he was forced to wait anxiously on the final couple of groups to finish and see whether the cut fell at level-par or +1. Thankfully, though Lady Luck had been absent on the greens for much of the day, she made a late appearance and a bogey by Australian Haydn Barron on the last was enough to see +1 safely through.
Six-time DP World Tour winner Hatton made the most of ideal morning conditions on Friday to set the clubhouse target at ten under par and he will take a slender lead into the weekend with none of the afternoon starters able to catch him at the summit.
Among those looking to hunt him down are nearest challengers Jorge Campillo, from Spain, Frenchman Jeong weon Ko, and South Africa’s Brandon Stone who posted a blistering round of 64 to sit one shot off the lead on nine under.
Home favourite Hatton is a newcomer to this week’s host course at The Belfry but he looked extremely comfortable on day two as he carded eight birdies and a single bogey.
Starting from the tenth tee, Hatton saved par from seven feet on the 11th before picking up his first birdie of the day at the short 12th, with further gains arriving at the 14th, 16th and 17th to make the turn at four under.
The four-time Rolex Series winner continued the hot run with birdies at the third and fifth, before sandwiching his sole blemish at the eighth with birdies at the seventh and closing ninth.
Afternoon starter Stone posted the lowest round of the day, with the South African’s 64 containing nine birdies – including seven in eight holes around the turn – and a single bogey.
Frenchman Tom Vaillant and Dane Niklas Nørgaard were another shot behind, in a tie for fifth on eight under par, while South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence is seventh on seven under.
“It was nice to see some putts go in today to be honest,” said Hatton. “I definitely hit the ball better yesterday. But yeah, the big difference was I holed a few putts which was nice, and try and take that moment into the weekend now.
“I think any time we get to play in England, fans always come out and have good support. Yeah, I’m definitely enjoying that. As I said earlier, looking forward to the weekend. I think crowds will be pretty special.
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