England’s Ross Fisher shot a battling 68 in windy conditions at St Andrews to take a one-shot lead into the third round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Fisher started the day a shot behind first round leader Alex Noren, but he caught and overtook the Swede, who could only manage a 71 at Kingsbarns.
Fisher is starting to enjoy a rich vein of form. Just two weeks ago he lost a play-off in the Porsche European Open to Alexander Levy and now has his sights firmly set on his first European Tour victory since March 2014.
He said: “I’m delighted. This is always an event I really look forward to. I had a chance to win back in 2008 when I lost in a play-off with Robert Karlsson and Martin Kaymer. I just enjoy coming here. Hopefully I can keep it going.
“Not dropping a shot at Kingsbarns was a real achievement, then coming to St. Andrews, where the greens are going to be a little bit slower, I felt like I played well. I bogeyed the 11th, but I bounced back. To shoot 4-under, I’m very, very pleased.”
Fisher, who now plays the more difficult Carnoustie, is on 11-under-par, with another Swede, Joakim Lagergren, one shot behind and Noren a further shot back.
One of the rounds of the day was a 66 on the Old Course by Scotland’s Marc Warren, which lifted him into a tie for sixth, five shots behind Fisher. He said: “I had a poor start at Kingsbarns, so knew I had to play well today and thankfully I did. From start to finish I stroked the ball really well and managed to hole some good par putts and kept everything going.
“This is one of the best tournaments we play all year. The golf courses are amazing and it’s a very enjoyable week. The amateur partners I have had over the years have been interesting and good fun.”
Leaders in the Team Championship remain Adrian Otaegui and Frank Quattrone who improved their score to 21-under and now take on Carnoustie tomorrow.
