US PGA Championship day two: Fleetwood in the ascendancy in California

Golf

Tommy Fleetwood fired a brilliant second round of 64 to lead a three-pronged bid for an extremely rare English success in the US PGA Championship in San Francisco.

China’s Li Haotong held the halfway lead at Harding Park on eight under par, with Fleetwood sharing second place with compatriot Justin Rose, defending champion Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Daniel Berger and France’s Mike Lorenzo-Vera.

Fleetwood’s fellow Englishman and Ryder Cup team-mate Paul Casey was a shot further back on five under, while Rory McIlroy lies seven shots off the pace after a frustrating 69, a stroke ahead of playing partner Tiger Woods.

Jim Barnes (1916 and 1919) is the only Englishman to have lifted the Wanamaker Trophy, but Fleetwood, Rose and Casey will have high hopes of ending the 101-year wait for an English winner on Sunday.

Tweet of the day

Open champion Shane Lowry’s frustrations boiled over on the 13th hole and left him with 13 clubs in the bag.

Quote of the day

Tommy Fleetwood
Tommy Fleetwood hits from the bunker on the 10th hole during the second round of the US PGA (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

“I was playing quite well today, so I thought I’ll keep it on; I didn’t want to test anything and just go down to a tee shirt” – Tommy Fleetwood plans to stick with his “lucky” cardigan.

Shot of the day

Mark Hubbard made the cut on the mark of one over par thanks to a second round 71 which included a spectacular eagle from 238 yards from a fairway bunker on the ninth.

Round of the day

Fleetwood began the day on level par but ended it on six under thanks to a superb 64 containing seven birdies and just one bogey.

Statistic of the day

Being “drawn” with a club professional means you are not considered a big name, but Li Haotong and Mike Lorenzo-Vera defied their lowly status at Harding Park.

On the up

The prospects of a first English winner since 1919 with Fleetwood, Rose and Casey all in contention.

On the slide

Rickie Fowler’s confidence over short putts after a stubbed attempt from six inches saw the American miss the cut by a single shot.

Brooks Koepka Jason Day Justin Rose Li Haotong Rory McIlroy Tommy Fleetwood

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