Fitzpatrick Two Clear In Memphis

Matthew Fitzpatrick will take a two-shot lead into round three of the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational after Friday’s sensational 64. The 24-year-old carded seven birdies and just one bogey in his six-under-par effort and, on -9, he is two strokes clear of a group of four players.

Those on seven-under are US duo Patrick Cantlay and Billy Horschel plus Spain’s Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith of Australia. Japan’s Shugo Imahira has sole possession of sixth spot on -6, with six players grouped together at five-under par. Among these four back are English pair Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, with rounds of 68 and 69 respectively, while Brooks Koepka and Bubba Watson are also on that mark.

However, the day belonged to Sheffield’s Fitzpatrick, who now has an opportunity to book a spot in the PGA Tour’s season-ending FedEx Cup play-offs. “I was looking forward to some time off. But if I were to make the play-offs then that would obviously be brilliant,” he said. “The goal at the start of the season was to get my [PGA Tour] card and obviously I wrapped that up early, so anything extra is a bonus.”