DUBAI — Tommy Fleetwood regained control in the Race to Dubai, rebounding from his poor first round to shoot a seven-under-par 65 and also power back into the hunt for the DP World Tour Championship title on Friday.
Englishman Fleetwood, who went into the season-defining event at Dubai's Jumeirah Golf Estates course leading the race to find Europe's leading golfer of the year, shot eight birdies in his second round after his disappointing opening 73.
It meant he moved back into pole position at half-way after his nearest contender, fellow Englishman Justin Rose, who had moved ahead of him in the projected rankings after the first round, slipped behind again by bogeying the last hole.
Yet the battle for the $1.25 million season-long accolade remains almost too tight to call. Rose's second round 70 leaves him still two shots ahead of 11th placed Fleetwood, but that final hole slip dropped him to joint third in the tournament.
The in-form Rose, who trails Fleetwood by 256,737 points in the race but has won his last two tournaments, needs to finish in the top two in Dubai and beat his compatriot to triumph.
The half-way pacesetter was another Englishman, Matthew Fitzpatrick, the defending DP World Tour champion who shot a second straight 67 to move on to 10-under, one clear of compatriot Tyrrell Hatton, who recorded a blistering day's best 63.
Fleetwood was delighted to get back on track to take the big prize. Masters champion Sergio Garcia, the only other contender in the Race, is a shot behind Fleetwood and three adrift of Rose after his 69.
Rookie Cook edges
clear at Sea Island
Austin Cook drained a birdie on his final hole to complete an eight-under-par 62 and grab a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the RSM Classic on Friday.
The 26-year-old PGA Tour rookie held his nerve on the last hole of the day on the par-70 Seaside course to move to 14 under, one clear of Brian Gay, who shot a second round 64 at Sea Island, Georgia.
Cook's 18th hole birdie completed another remarkably consistent round for the rookie, who is one of only two players in the field not to have carded a bogey through 36 holes.
Three players are tied for third, with Taiwan's Pan Cheng-tsung joining American duo Chris Kirk and Vaughn Taylor on nine under, five adrift of leader Cook.
Pan, playing on Sea Island's Plantation course, carded a seven-under-par 65 on the par-72 layout. Kirk, who had grabbed the lead with a sizzling 63 on the Plantation course on Thursday, found the going harder on the Seaside layout, settling for a level-par 70. Taylor shot a four-under-par 66.
A group of six players were a further shot back on eight under, including Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge and Canada's Ben Silverman. De Jonge and Silverman both shot 67s on the Seaside Course to stay in contention.
Koepka blitzes Phoenix
to extend Dunlop lead
Defending champion Brooks Koepka will take a four-stroke lead into the final day of the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament after firing a sizzling seven-under-par 64 in the third round on Saturday.
The US Open champion mixed eight birdies with a single bogey at Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki to move to 16-under 197 for the tournament, four shots better than South Korean Lee Sang-hee, whose 66 was good enough for second place.
Koepka's compatriot Xander Schauffele hit five birdies and a single bogey in his 67 for third place on 11-under, with another South Korean, Ryu Hyun-woo, a shot further back in fourth after a 69.
Japan's world No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama bogeyed his penultimate hole to drop to a level-par 71 and sixth place on eight-under, a stroke behind his fifth-placed compatriot Toshinori Muto (68).
Koepka, who has made retaining a title one of his goals for the year, picked up a shot at his final hole on Friday to take a one-shot overnight lead and continued in the same vein with birdies at his first two holes on Saturday.
A couple more at the fifth and seventh took him well clear of the field at the turn and, after his single blemish at the par-four 12th, he picked up four more strokes on the way home. — Reuters
