Brilliant Tommy Fleetwood surges into share of lead at Tour Championship

An outstanding 63 saw the Englishman move level with Russell Henley at the top of the leaderboard in Atlanta

Tommy Fleetwood, of England, hits from the 18th tee during the second round of the Tour Championship golf tournament (Mike Stewart/AP)

Tommy Fleetwood edged closer to a maiden PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, carding a second-round score of 63 to take a share of the lead into the weekend.

The Englishman picked up eight birdies and dropped just one shot on Friday to improve to 13 under par at East Lake.

He shares a two-stroke lead with American Russell Henley, while Cameron Young carded a 62 to sit third on the leaderboard.

"All I can do is keep learning," Fleetwood said as he bids to break his PGA Tour duck after a series of near misses. "I actually feel like I've played very, very well when I have led the tournaments and been in contention.

“It's just I might have not got things right right at the end. It's not like I've crashed and burned. It's just that I've not quite finished things off. The people that win the most are the guys that are in contention the most. That's where I want to be. I keep going. I love the buzz when I am in contention, and I'm just excited for the opportunity again."

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre scored a flawless 66 to remain in the hunt on 10 under par.

Fleetwood and MacIntyre came close to winning in the opening two events of the season-ending FedEx play-offs.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy sits alongside Irishman Shane Lowry on seven under par after scoring a three under 67.

PA