Tyrell Hatton leads British Masters by three at halfway

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Tyrrell Hatton holds a three-shot lead at the halfway mark of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports, but the Englishman has tournament host Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter leading the chasing pack at Close House, Northumberland

After finishing tied third on his last European Tour appearance in Switzerland, Hatton continued his recent return to form with a five under par second round of 65 to move to 12 under par for the tournament.

Former World Number One Westwood and Ryder Cup legend Poulter also returned rounds of 65 to sit three strokes back in a share of second place with another pair of Englishman, Ashley Chesters and Chris Hanson, who carded rounds of 66 and 67 respectively, and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson, the former European Number One, who signed for a 65.

Hatton will be hoping to convert his advantage into a second European Tour victory, having secured his breakthrough in last year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – a title he will defend next week.

Four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy followed his opening round of 67 with a second round 69 to move to four under par.

Player quotes

Tyrrell Hatton: “I'm happy with my morning's work. Obviously in a good position at the moment but there's nothing stopping the guys going out this afternoon and posting some low scores. So overall, very happy.

“It's just try and have a bit of fun out there. I feel like I've been sort of laughing a bit more, a bit more relaxed. I certainly think he's (Jonathan Bell - caddie) helped me do that but I think playing better certainly helps as well. So we had a good result in Switzerland and hopefully we can have another good one here.”

Lee Westwood: “Solid again. I obviously made a couple more putts than yesterday, hence five under, as opposed to four yesterday. I didn't really make too many mistakes. Just hit exactly where I wanted to most of the day.

“It was nice to stand on that first tee yesterday and see so many people here and see the course in great condition, and everybody looking forward to having a good day and supporting the tournament and obviously playing well. I haven't made a bogey yet this week. I guess it's nice for the host to be in contention.

“It's an honour. I think it shows that I've had a good career and I'm respected by the players. Obviously to get a great field like we did was a bit of a pat on the back, and I think it's a good initiative. I like it when an established player hosts a tournament. I think it brings a bit more to that tournament.”

Ian Poulter: “I'm playing well. It's nice to come over and play well. It's nice to be in contention and will be hopefully a nice weekend. Hopefully we get some decent weather. This morning was pretty miserable, I have to say. Brolly up-and-down all morning, and we got quite wet out there at times.

“I'm not sure what the keys were really. I'm hitting the ball pretty solid, so I'm going to give myself decent chances if I continue to have looks from kind of inside 15 feet. I feel like I'm hitting it how I want to hit it and putting it in play a lot. Giving myself plenty of chances, and when that happens, hopefully you get a few putts to drop and it adds up to a decent score."

Rory McIlroy: “It was a little bit of a struggle. I think we got the better of the conditions. We didn’t have to contend with the rain like the guys did in the morning, but the wind got up a little bit which made it a bit trickier.

“There was chances out there, I just didn't get off to a great start. I played okay on the way in, but I obviously need to go a bit lower on the weekend to have a chance.”

Second round scores

par 140 (2x70)

128 T Hatton (Eng) 63 65,
131 R Karlsson (Swe) 66 65, I Poulter (Eng) 66 65, L Westwood (Eng) 66 65, C Hanson (Eng) 64 67, A Chesters (Eng) 65 66,
132 G Storm (Eng) 65 67, M Ilonen (Fin) 64 68, L Slattery (Eng) 65 67,
134 G McDowell (Nir) 66 68, G Havret (Fra) 67 67, R Ramsay (Sco) 67 67, L Bjerregaard (Den) 67 67, P Dunne (Irl) 66 68, F Fritsch (Ger) 66 68, R Sterne (RSA) 69 65, J Stalter (Fra) 65 69, S Lowry (Irl) 68 66,
135 D Fichardt (SAf) 67 68, C Wood (Eng) 67 68, A Dodt (Aus) 66 69, G Bourdy (Fra) 68 67, G Coetzee (RSA) 63 72, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 66 69,
136 S Jamieson (Sco) 68 68, P Larrazábal (Spn) 68 68, P Waring (Eng) 68 68, R McIlroy (Nir) 67 69, D Brooks (Eng) 66 70, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 66 70, L Haotong (Chn) 67 69, D Willett (Eng) 69 67, B Stone (SAf) 69 67, R Rock (Eng) 68 68,
137 J Campillo (Esp) 70 67, L Canter (Eng) 69 68, T Lewis (Eng) 70 67, M Korhonen (Fin) 64 73, M Kaymer (Ger) 66 71, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 68, A Levy (Fra) 69 68, A Sullivan (Eng) 68 69, A Hansen (Den) 69 68, J Wang (SKor) 68 69, M Warren (Sco) 70 67, A Wall (Eng) 69 68, N Elvira (Esp) 70 67, W Ormsby (Australia) 67 70, S Chawrasia (Ind) 72 65, M Foster (Eng) 68 69, S Gros (Fra) 70 67, A Rai (Eng) 70 67,
138 D Drysdale (Sco) 71 67, J Carlsson (Swe) 65 73, F Aguilar (Chi) 67 71, S Gallacher (Sco) 69 69, E De La Riva (Esp) 70 68, D Horsey (Eng) 69 69, P Angles (Esp) 68 70, A Otaegui (Esp) 70 68, A Cañizares (Esp) 70 68, J Lima (Por) 71 67, O Fisher (Eng) 70 68, D Stewart (Sco) 71 67, D Lingmerth (Swe) 68 70, B Hebert (Fra) 70 68, J Donaldson (Wal) 70 68,
139 S Garcia (Esp) 70 69, T Jaidee (Tha) 69 70, J Quesne (Fra) 71 68, B Wiesberger (Aut) 70 69, N Kimsey (Eng) 71 68, B Rumford (Aus) 69 70, J Walters (SAf) 67 72, N Fasth (Swe) 67 72, G Stal (Fra) 67 72, R Langasque (Fra) 71 68, D Frittelli (RSA) 69 70, M Siem (Ger) 70 69, B Dredge (Wal) 69 70, N Bertasio (Ita) 69 70,
140 C Paisley (Eng) 73 67, J Lagergren (Swe) 68 72, N Colsaerts (Bel) 72 68, E Molinari (Ita) 70 70, S Lee (Kor) 70 70, A Quiros (Esp) 64 76, J Edfors (Swe) 70 70, M Carlsson (Swe) 68 72, R Karlberg (Swe) 64 76,
141 M Cort (Eng) 72 69, W Ashun (Chn) 73 68, M Armitage (Eng) 76 65, S Dyson (Eng) 71 70, D Im (USA) 72 69, R Fisher (Eng) 67 74, S Heisele (Ger) 69 72, J Olazábal (Esp) 70 71,
142 J Scrivener (Aus) 67 75, S Manley (Wal) 70 72, R Gouveia (Por) 67 75, J Smith (Eng) 71 71, R Knox (Sco) 74 68, J Fahrbring (Swe) 71 71, S Walker (Eng) 71 71, T Aiken (RSA) 72 70,
143 P Hanson (Swe) 71 72, S Brazel (Aus) 73 70, D Burmester (RSA) 73 70, D Perrier (Fra) 72 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 74, A Noren (Swe) 71 72,
144 A Knappe (Ger) 73 71, J Lupton (Eng) 72 72, M Manassero (Ita) 73 71, S Soderberg (Swe) 71 73, L Jensen (Den) 72 72, H Porteous (SAf) 70 74, R Bland (Eng) 72 72, B Ritthammer (Ger) 71 73, J Morrison (Eng) 70 74, P Peterson (USA) 72 72, M Jiménez (Esp) 71 73, R Williams (am) (Eng) 71 73,
145 S Hend (Aus) 72 73,
146 R Coles (Eng) 72 74, R Paratore (Ita) 74 72,
148 R Jacquelin (Fra) 72 76, N Holman (Aus) 73 75, M Fraser (Aus) 74 74,
** M Wallace (Eng) 69 RT, V Dubuisson (Fra) 72 RT,