Shane Lowry struggles with second successive 72 at Wells Fargo Championship

A tale of very different outcomes for the two Ryder Cup pals.

For Tyrrell Hatton, his liking for tough, American parkland courses was again demonstrated with a brilliant second-round 65 that saw him leapfrog his way up the leaderboard to share the 36-holes clubhouse lead in the Wells Fargo Championship with Nate Lashley and Wyndham Clark on eight-under-par 134.

However, for Shane Lowry, his European sidekick at Whistling Straits in 2021, it proved to be a different story after another frustrating round at Quail Hollow where he needed a final hole birdie – rolling in a six-footer on the ninth, his finishing hole – for back-to-back 72s for 144, two over, and out of the weekend action.

While Lowry, who hasn’t managed a top-10 on the PGA Tour since his tied-fifth finish in the Honda Classic back in February, managed just two birdies to go with three bogeys on his scorecard, Hatton – a runner-up in The Players earlier this season – was on fire in a round highlighted by an eagle three on the par-five seventh to go with five birdies and two bogeys.

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Having started on the 10th, and turned in 34 strokes, Hatton reserved his fireworks for the closing stretch that saw him finish birdie-eagle-par-birdie from the sixth aided by a 25-footer for his eagle and a 30-footer on the last.

“They’re not the type of putts that you hole consistently, so to finish the round that way, I’m obviously very pleased with that. It’s nice to see some putts go in,” said the 31-year-old Englishman.

Asked if there were any reasons he tends to play well on difficult courses, Hatton responded: “I have no idea. I guess with my mental approach from the outside looking in, you’d suggest that they wouldn’t be great for me, but I always try my best and this week and a tough golf course is no different.”

Hatton has six career wins on the European Tour – including the flagship BMW PGA Championship as well as a Rolex Series success in the Turkish Airlines Open – but his only win so far on the PGA Tour came in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2020.

Overdue another win on the US circuit, the world number 18 (with three top-10s stateside so far this year) is eyeing this as a genuine opportunity.

“Tomorrow’s a new day, you have new feels, [just] try and get comfortable again and go out there and try our best.”

Indeed, a number of players made significant moves on the leaderboard with US PGA champion Justin Thomas also navigating his way to the business part of proceedings in the tournament which is one of the PGA Tour’s $20 million prize fund designated events. Thomas added a 67 to his opening 68 for 135 to lie just one stroke behind Hatton and company.

Tommy Fleetwood, who had fired an opening round 65, found life more difficult as a second round 71 saw him reach the midpoint on the 136 mark.

“I felt really comfortable out there, drove it really, really, really good, put the ball in play a lot and gave myself a chance to score, it just didn’t quite happen ... I played really well. I feel like if you do that, then your chances are going to come and you can take them [over the weekend],” said Fleetwood.

Rory McIlroy, a three-time winner of the event, made the cut right on the mark of one under after carding a two-over 73 that included three straight bogeys on the front nine.

Needing a par on the 18th to make the weekend, McIlroy was forced to use all his shot-making skills and balance after his drive left him precariously close to the brook that runs down the left-hand side of the par-four. He made the front of the green and navigated a tricky two-putt to get the job done.

Séamus Power carded a one-under 70 to move to three under and will also like to push up the leaderboard on Saturday.

On the DP World Tour, Matthieu Pavon retained his place at the top of the leaderboard in the Italian Open at Marco Simone where the Frenchman – seeking a breakthrough win on the circuit – shot a 70 for a midway total of nine-under-par 133, two shots clear of Adrian Otaegui and Julien Gurrier.

All three Irish players in the field failed to survive the cut, with Tom McKibbin suffering a quadruple-bogey eight on his penultimate hole in a nightmarish homeward run of 43 strokes in a second round 79 for 149. Gary Hurley (72 for 146) and John Murphy (81 for 1520 also missed out.

“I made some mistakes. Nothing really big but when you miss something here it feels like it is really tough to get the up and down done, so I dropped a few shots. I was a bit tired in the end also after a poor night yesterday, so I to finish my round under par today I am really happy,” said leader Pavon.

In the UAE Challenge in Abu Dhabi on the Challenge Tour, Scotland’s Craig Howie posted a course record 66 for nine-under-par 135 to claim a two strokes lead at the halfway mark.

Conor Purcell was best of the Irish after adding a 74 to his opening 68 for 144 (in tied-28th) with Ruaidhri McGee (tied-40th) and Paul Dunne (tied-52nd) also making the cut.