Rising star Matthew Fitzpatrick fired a flawless seven-under-par 65 in sunny conditions at the Bro Hof Slott Golf Course on Friday morning to top the leaderboard at 11-under-par at the Nordea Masters.
The 21-year-old, who opened with a 68 on Thursday afternoon, made the most of the favourable morning conditions in Sweden. He started his round on the tenth with a birdie and rolled three more in later to go out in four-under-par 32 that included no bogeys.
His back nine was also devoid of any dropped shots as he added a further three birdies to sign for his splendid round and sit three shots clear of second placed Nicolas Colsaerts.
Fitzpatrick, who was the low amateur at the 2013 Open Championship as well as the 2014 US Open, has had a disappointing season compared to last year where recorded ten top-10 finishes including a win at the British Masters and a second place finish at the European Masters.
His 2016 season has consisted of only one top-10 finish, that coming at the Masters where he tied for seventh. His 14 starts have been littered with no fewer than six missed cuts, including three in a row. It must noted though that world number 45 has tried his hand on the PGA Tour this season, and struggled with a best performance excluding the Masters of only tied 27th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Sheffield-born golfer’s European Tour adventures this season have also only produced a best finish of tie 16th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, although excluding this, his next best is only a tie for 45th at the Dubai Desert Classic.
His blistering hot form in Sweden shown so far will hopefully be his turning point this season, as he looks to stay in the worlds top-50 ranked players as well as reach the heights of last season again.
