FITZPATRICK TAKES LEAD IN DUBAI AS RACE TO NO.1 HOTS UP

Matt Fitzpatrick’s title defence of the DP World Tour Championship continued apace on a thrilling second day at Jumeriah Golf Estates as the Englishman carded a five under 67 to move one shot clear, as the tussle to win the Race to Dubai also gathered momentum.

Fitzpatrick was afforded the rare luxury of coming into the final event of the European Tour season under the radar, despite claiming the title last year and entering the week on an imperious run of results. The 23 year old has been revelling in his underdog status in the final of eight Rolex Series events, and he edged clear at the top on ten under courtesy of a round which included an eagle at the 14th and a birdie at the last.

Tyrrell Hatton, who claimed back-to-back victories in October, fired a 63 early in the day to move into outright second place on nine under, with a shot at a 61 going awry after he found his ball plugged in a greenside bunker at the par-five last.

Meanwhile, the battle to be crowned European Tour No.1 is building towards a thrilling crescendo as Tommy Fleetwood roared back into contention to win the Race to Dubai. With his main challenger, Justin Rose, making a brilliant start on Thursday with a 66, Fleetwood posted a disappointing opening 73 to put Rose in the driving seat to leapfrog Fleetwood at the top of the Rankings.

A second round 65 put Fleetwood back in the hunt to be corned Europe’s number one

But Fleetwood showed his mettle in round two, producing a fine 65 to Rose’s 70 to move within two strokes of his opponent and reach the halfway point of the season’s finale back at the top of the projected Race to Dubai rankings

Speaking after his second rounds, Rose said: “It’s actually a tricky one to try to sum up. I drove the ball really well, which obviously set up an opportunity to shoot a really good score. I would say the putter was the weakest link today. I had a really hard time reading the greens. That was what I found the hardest, created quite a few good chances, especially on the back nine again. I knew there was a good score to be had out there but from Tommy’s point of view it’s a great bounce-back after yesterday.It might make a difference on Sunday because I know there’s tons of permutations still. But in terms of my task, it doesn’t make too much difference.”

Fleetwood said of second round fight back: “It’s all about how you react to stuff, isn’t it? Yesterday I was really happy with how I reacted early on. I got off to a bad start and got back into it and I didn’t really play great. I missed a couple of putts and it was like one of those rounds. It was a big day. But today, you have to get over it, you move on, and there are still three rounds of golf left to play. Now there are two. My swing felt a lot better, I was on the putting green until dark last night. You know, today was just a much better today.

“I don’t know if Justin will be bothered or not. He’s so strong mentally and he knows what he’s doing. He’s been in a lot of situations like this. This is my first time. But I’m glad I’ve put my name up there.”

SCORES AFTER ROUND 2

134 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 67 67,

135 T Hatton (Eng) 72 63,

136 J Rose (Eng) 66 70, J Suri (USA) 68 68, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 69 67,

137 P Dunne (Irl) 67 70, P Reed (USA) 65 72, J Rahm (Esp) 69 68, S Hend (Aus) 66 71, S Kjeldsen (Den) 68 69,

138 T Fleetwood (Eng) 73 65, R Fox (Nzl) 67 71, D Burmester (RSA) 70 68, A Björk (Swe) 67 71,

139 P Uihlein (USA) 71 68, D Frittelli (RSA) 71 68, I Poulter (Eng) 70 69, P Larrazábal (Esp) 69 70, R Fisher (Eng) 71 68, S Lowry (Irl) 69 70, S Garcia (Esp) 70 69,

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