Tommy Fleetwood posted a brilliant seven-under par 63 on Friday to tie Russell Henley atop the leaderboard at the midway point of the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Starting the day three shots behind, Fleetwood surged with four birdies over six holes on the back nine and recovered from a bogey at the 16th to finish strong with consecutive birdies, reaching a total of 13-under 127.

Henley, who held a two-shot lead after the opening round, shot a four-under 66, closing with back-to-back birdies to share the lead with Fleetwood. The pair hold a two-stroke advantage over Cameron Young, who climbed the leaderboard with an impressive eight-under 62, including six birdies on the back nine.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and American Patrick Cantlay are two strokes back, tied for fourth at 10-under following identical rounds of 66. Cantlay recovered from a bogey-bogey start to post four birdies over his final three holes, capped by an eagle at the 18th. World number one Scottie Scheffler stands alone in sixth at eight-under despite a challenging round featuring three bogeys.

Fleetwood praised the rain-softened conditions at East Lake, noting ample scoring opportunities but emphasizing the importance of maintaining accuracy off the tee. "If you start losing it a little bit off the tee and you’re in the rough, it obviously becomes a lot more difficult to score," he said. He produced a precise performance, hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation.

The Englishman, a seven-time DP World Tour winner, has narrowly missed out on PGA Tour victories recently, including a near-miss at the St. Jude Championship and a tie for fourth at the BMW Championship last week. "I think I’m playing really good golf," Fleetwood added. "Best possible scenario, put yourself in contention. Play well, put yourself in contention, and go from there. I love the buzz when I am in contention. I’m just excited for the opportunity again."

Henley, who dazzled in round one by sinking putts totaling 207 feet and shooting 61, continued to perform well on the greens, making a long 14-footer for birdie on the last hole to finish strongly. "I hit my driver awesome," he remarked. "I hit a lot of shots today that were really good shots that maybe didn’t end up quite close enough or maybe gave myself a little bit of an awkward birdie putt. But still feel like I putted it well, hit my lines really well, and just hit a bunch of fairways. That’s what you’ve got to do around here."

Meanwhile, Scheffler struggled with three bogeys in a round that did not reflect his normally consistent form despite maintaining his streak of 19 sub-par rounds. Highlighted by an excellent approach shot on the final hole that stopped just one foot from the pin, Scheffler expressed frustration with the day's outcomes. "It’s just one of those days where it seemed like I wasn’t getting rewarded for what I was doing," he said. "My game definitely doesn’t feel off but you look at 18, end up a foot off the fairway. Seventeen I have to chip out sideways, 14 I felt like I hit a god shot in there and it kicked right into the bunker … Just wasn’t as sharp as I needed to be."