England’s Matt Fitzpatrick came agonisingly close to recording the first-ever 59 on the European Tour on Friday as he charged into contention in the KLM Open.
A day after Paul Lawrie and Wade Ormsby shot 61 to share the overnight lead at Kennemer Golf Club, the 21-year-old Fitzpatrick went one better with 10 birdies and no bogeys in a flawless 60.
Padraig Harrington battled back from a one over par 71 yesterday to card six birdies in a 65 this morning.
The Dubliner birdied four of the five par threes to move to four under par for the tournament.
It’s Simon Thornton who continues to lead the Irish contingent however after a two under par 68 added to his three under round from yesterday.
Peter Lawrie just made the cut at three under par after a 69 while Paul McGinley and Kevin Phelan will both miss out on the weekend’s action.
Damien McGrane suffered disqualification as he came to the end of an abysmal round that would have seen him miss the cut.
Former US Amateur champion Fitzpatrick, from Sheffield, needed to birdie the ninth, his final hole, to break the magical 60 barrier, but his putt from 20 feet came up a few inches short.
Even if it had gone in, Fitzpatrick’s score would not have officially counted for record purposes because of the preferred lies in operation due to heavy rain before the event and “rabbit damage” on the course in Zandvoort.
Nevertheless, it lifted him 97 places up the leaderboard and ensured a halfway total of nine under par, three behind clubhouse leader Soren Kjeldsen, who carded a second consecutive 64.
Starting on the back nine, Fitzpatrick carded five birdies in a row from the 11th and picked up another shot on the 17th to reach the turn in 28, before further gains on the second, fifth, sixth and seventh left him needing to birdie one of the last two holes.
“I was thinking about the 59 after the front nine to be honest,” Fitzpatrick said. “I was already celebrating going out in 28 actually so to give myself a shot at that magic number was great.
“I was just trying to get the read right on that putt on the last there. In fact I was thinking so much about the line I forgot about the pace of it, and it was a bit disappointing to leave it short. I knew what I had to do on that hole, and hit two good shots in, but I was a bit unlucky that the approach span back down the slope.
“But it’s been a great day and I can’t have any complaints about a 60.”
Fitzpatrick has had three top-three finishes in his last eight events but added: “I’ve been shaking off a bit of rust. I didn’t play golf at all last week, I just had a break from it. Then this week I was keen to get going and start playing again.
“I feel like I’m ready to win. I’m getting closer and playing well. Hopefully it’s only a matter of time, and I’ll keep working on the same things and keep working hard.”
Irish Open winner Kjeldsen carded six birdies and no bogeys to finish 12 under par, one shot ahead of Ormsby — who added a 68 to his opening 61 — and England’s David Horsey, who shot a 66 as he looks to add to his victory in Denmark event three weeks ago.
“It was really good yesterday and you guys always talk about how it’s hard to follow a good round with another one, and I suppose the statistics show that it is,” Kjeldsen said. “I didn’t really have a number in mind or anything. I just kept playing my game and I managed to roll in a few putts again which was nice.
“I’ve played with Matt (Fitzpatrick) before and he loves this kind of golf course as well, so I’m not surprised to see him do so well today. You have to shape shots and every tee you stand on it looks so inviting. It’s nice to have that feeling, where every hole you can’t wait to play it.”
Former Open champion Lawrie could only add a 71 to his opening 61 after three birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey seven on the seventh.
