ST ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Tyrrell Hatton produced a brilliant display of links golf in Scotland on Friday to keep himself on track for a third victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The Englishman, fresh off the 19-9 hammering from the United States in the Ryder Cup, could not have faced a much tougher test as he played the famously difficult Carnoustie on day one and then met high winds at Kingsbarns on day two.
But after posting a sparkling 64 at the British Open venue, he battled to a 70 in the second round to get to 10 under and lead by one heading into a weekend over the Old Course at St Andrews.
Full-field scores from the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Fellow Englishman Daniel Gavins was his nearest challenger, a shot clear of 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett and China’s Li Haotong.
“I was fortunate at times where, when I did hit a bad shot, I didn’t end up in too much of a dodgy position,” Hatton said.
Starting at the 10th, Hatton turned in level par with three birdies and three bogeys but back-to-back gains on the sixth and seventh took him to the top of the leaderboard.
Gavins carded a 68 at Carnoustie, Willett signed for a 69 at Kingsbarns, and Li recorded a 72 at St Andrews to make his first cut in 14 events this year.
Hatton’s Whistling Straits teammate Tommy Fleetwood sat at 7 under alongside Dane Jeff Winther, one shot clear of a group containing another Ryder Cup player in Ireland’s Shane Lowry, his countryman John Murphy, Scot Ewen Ferguson, and England’s Oliver Fisher.