by Tyrrell Hatton lived up to his pre-tournament favourite status with a superb second round performance at the Betfred British Masters.
Hatton exploited ideal conditions for early starters with eight birdies and just one bogey to add a 65 to his opening 69 at the Belfry.
That gave the Ryder Cup star, who is competing after appealing sanctions imposed on him by the DP World Tour for playing LIV events without permission, a halfway total of 10 under par and a one-shot lead over Spaniard Jorge Campillo, who shot a 67.
“We always say we left something out, it’s never perfect, is it? But I’m more than happy to have shot seven under par today,” Hatton said.
“Ultimately it’s the first job done to qualify and give ourselves a chance before the weekend and I’m happy with where we are.
“It was nice to see some putts go in. I made a few good putts for par, especially on my second hole of the day, the 11th.
“I made my first putt from eight feet out and you don’t want to start the round with a three-putt at the beginning. I made a good putt there and a nice one on the next one for birdie that got us going.
“I missed a few more courts, so it would be nice if I couldn’t do it over the weekend. I just have to keep giving myself opportunities.
“If you hit the ball well here, there are quite a few holes where you play with wedges and you can give yourself a good chance of scoring quite low.”
Frenchman Tom Vaillant is two shots off the lead after dropping a shot on the 18th in his 67, with South African Thriston Lawrence a shot behind.
