PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland :Matt Fitzpatrick raised hopes of a first English winner of the British Open for 33 years with a masterful five-under-par 66 to move second at the halfway point at Royal Portrush on Friday.
Many have come close since Nick Faldo lifted the Claret Jug for the third time in 1992, with the likes of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood all falling just short.
When Fitzpatrick curled a 23-foot par-saving putt into the hole at the 18th in late evening sunshine, it kept him top of the leaderboard on nine under and although he was dislodged by Scottie Scheffler he will head into the weekend with high hopes.
“Giving myself an opportunity to win the golf tournament, but there’s still a hell of a long way to go,” the Sheffield-born world number 59 Fitzpatrick told reporters.
“Obviously the aim of the game is to stay in it for as long as possible and hopefully you can pull away right at the death.
“I’m 50 per cent there. We’ll see what the weekend brings.”
His weekend will start by going toe-to-toe with world number one Scheffler in the final pairing on Saturday after the American showed he meant business with a brilliant 64 on Friday, the lowest round of the week so far.
It will be a formidable test for 2022 U.S. Open champion, whose best Open finish to date is a tie for 20th six years ago.
Fitzpatrick, 30, said the English drought does not add any pressure on his shoulders, insisting three-time major winner Scheffler will be expected now to go on and claim his Open triumph.
“He’s going to have the expectation to go out and dominate. He’s an exceptional player. He’s world number one,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re seeing Tiger-like stuff.
“I think the pressure is for him to win the golf tournament. For me obviously I hope I’m going to have some more home support than him, but it’s an exciting position for me to be in given where I was earlier this year.”
Fitzpatrick has not won since 2023 but after a slow start to this season appears to have emerged from his slump.
He finished eighth at the PGA Championship and recorded top-10 placings in his last two events, including fourth at the Scottish Open last week.
A first-round 67 gave Fitzpatrick a share of the overnight lead and on Friday he got on a roll with eight birdies firing right into contention.
“I felt like every facet of my game was on today and I felt like I really played solid,” he said. “To take advantage of the opportunities I had out there was obviously really positive.”
