Cameron Young opens up five-shot lead as Alex Fitzpatrick charges at Doral

The American fired an eight-under 64 on Thursday as the PGA Tour made its long-awaited return to the Blue Monster Course at Trump National Doral in Miami for the first time since 2016. He followed it up with a composed five-under 67 on Friday to open up a five-shot lead at the halfway mark of the tournament.

Fellow Alex Smalley sits in second place on eight under under, five shots adrift, alongside Canada's Nick Taylor and Jordan Spieth, while Gary Woodland is a further shot back in solo fifth.

England's Alex Fitzpatrick was one of the standout movers of the day, surging 31 places up the leaderboard into a tie for sixth at six under after an impressive 66.

Fresh from his breakthrough victory at the Zurich Classic alongside his brother Matt, Fitzpatrick carried that momentum into Friday, producing a flawless, bogey-free round to stay firmly in contention.

"The text messages and stuff has slowed down, but the overwhelming feeling of like joy and happiness is yet to go away," Fitzpatrick said.

"I think for me, this year, it's going to be a whirlwind and no matter what happens it will be a success. I can't believe how many people have come up to me and congratulated me...players and caddies and staff. It's been incredible."

He endured a roller-coaster opening round on Thursday, mixing five birdies with five bogeys to card an even-par 72, before finding his rhythm on Friday with a flawless, bogey-free display featuring six birdies.

"I think the nice thing is it feels like I'm doing the right things with my golf game. I'm working towards the right things," Fitzpatrick said.

"It's exciting. I feel like my game has been good for a while now. I think for a few months it didn't really translate on the golf course how I would have liked, but it's really taken a turn the past two months. I feel in control of my ball, which is nice. So, hopefully I keep hitting fairways and hitting greens and we'll see what happens this weekend."