Tommy Fleetwood revealed he is using his son as inspiration after he claimed a share of the lead at the Olympic men's golf event with a stunning second-round 64.
Fleetwood carded six birdies and an eagle to sit alongside Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and American reigning champion Xander Schauffele on 11-under-par at the halfway mark of the 72-hole competition at Le Golf National.
Matt Fitzpatrick was also seven-under for the day and is six shots back heading into ‘moving day’, the stage at which Justin Rose ramped up his charge for gold at Rio 2016.
“I haven’t felt particularly comfortable with my swing all week, but I’ve been doing the things that I know are right, and I’ve put the ball in play and have been doing the right things,” said co-leader Fleetwood.
“Gradually, as you keep getting off the right shots, your confidence builds and you keep drawing on those feelings.
“It’s coming, it’s closer, I’ve hit some beautiful iron shots and I definitely had a good idea of what I was doing with the golf ball throughout the day.”
Moving day 📈
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 2, 2024
Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick both shoot seven under on day two at Le Golf National, with Fleetwood tied for the lead on 11-under!#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/6K8xseTBal
Fleetwood has previous at the Paris course, having won the French Open there in 2017 before winning four of his five matches a year later as Europe reclaimed the Ryder Cup at the same venue.
The Olympics represents a different challenge, however, and Fleetwood is using his son Franklin as inspiration in his quest for a memorable triumph.
“I try to look at things through the eyes of my six-year-old son,” he said.
“I think about having a gold medal that he would take when I was gone, and what an unbelievably special thing to have.
“I think being able to be one of these unbelievable athletes, who have put their heart and soul into their craft, and a gold medal is the absolute pinnacle of what they do. I think I have an unbelievable respect for that, and I understand how special that is and how much it means.
“I haven’t been in contention for a little while, so I kind of enjoy that on its own as well as it being the Olympics.
“It brings its own mental challenges - you’re playing for a medal and you only get one shot every four years. We constantly get asked the question, ‘where does the Olympics sit in golf’, and think when you look at how it’s going this week, it continues to grow.
“There’s no doubt about it, it brings its own nerves and excitement. It’s very, very special. It’s its own unique feeling.”
Fitzpatrick, meanwhile, urged the new ‘non-golf’ fans to keep cranking up the noise. Around 25,000 fans turned out for the first day of the event and the 2022 US Open champion is relishing the more ‘rowdy’ atmosphere as in his medal pursuit.
“It was nice to be a part of it,” said Fitzpatrick.
“Having some of the non-golf fans makes it a little bit more exciting, a bit rowdier and it created a different atmosphere, which was great.
“I’m definitely happier today after that round. It didn’t feel like it was that bad yesterday but I didn’t score well and today didn’t feel spectacular but I scored well.
“They’re not easy holes, first and second is a tough start so birdieing the first got me off to a good start. It’s different momentum for sure. You look to level par those last few holes so to play them in two-under today was a nice bonus.”