“I can't imagine sort of what it's like” - Tommy Fleetwood can’t fathom Tom Kim’s pressure of having to win an Olympic medal to avoid military term
Tommy Fleetwood said that he couldn't imagine what was going on in Tom Kim's mind, who was looking to avoid the military term by winning the 2024 Olympics gold. He mentioned it was hard to say anything on this without having experienced it himself.
On Friday, August 2, Tommy Fleetwood made a huge surge on the leaderboard, shooting 7-under 64. He is now tied with Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele at 11-under to share a 36-hole, two-stroke lead. Kim is also not far behind, as he fired 68 to aggregate at 8-under.
During the post-round interview, Fleetwood was asked about Kim's situation.
"Not really, no," he said on fathoming Kim's pressure of winning the medal. "Obviously I guess where we're from, we don't grow up even having to think about that or know that that's coming. So I think -- I don't know how Tom would feel about it or people have gone in his position in the past and whether they are, you know, very ready for whatever the circumstance is.
"It's hard, really. Without having any experience of it, so I don't know. But definitely, I can't imagine sort of what it's like," he added.
As for Tommy Fleetwood, he is in a strong position to win another medal for Great Britain. For the uninitiated, Justin Rose had won the gold in the 2016 Olympics.
"7-under is a really good one" - Tommy Fleetwood reflects on his round at the Olympics
Following the second round, Tommy Fleetwood said he hadn't felt comfortable with his swing all week, but he was doing enough correct things to keep the ball in play. He mentioned he was doing the right things, and his confidence was building with each good shot.
"It's coming," he said. "It's closer and I hit some beautiful iron shots and I think I definitely had a good sort of idea of what I was doing with the golf ball throughout the day, and especially today, I think like when I had to get up-and-down, or I had to make a par save, I did it.
"And when you have rounds like to today, obviously 7-under is a really good one, you have to make those as well," he added.
Tommy Fleetwood is paired with fellow leaders Xander Schauffele, and Hideki Matsuyama for the third round of the 2024 Olympics golf men's event. The trio will tee off on Saturday, August 3 at 6:39 am ET.