CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- We should call him "Friday" Fleetwood because the second day of The Open and England's Tommy Fleetwood have history.
On this particular Friday he carded a bogey-free 6-under-par 65 which vaulted him up the leaderboard, sitting pretty on 5-under 137 heading into the weekend and in contention for the first time in his five Opens.
It has, however, been different in the past. Very different.
Indeed, it was on the Old Course in St. Andrews in 2015 that then 24-year-old hit rock bottom. The Englishman's early ascent in the European game had been swift and pain-free, rising through the amateur ranks and the Challenge Tour to come a European Tour winner.
But Friday in the auld town hurt him badly. "I can literally pinpoint my game starting to go," he said at the end of last year. "I shot 3 under in the first round and I loved the place. I always play well there. I thought, 'This is a really good chance to do well in a major.'
"Second day, I couldn't hit it. I was horrendous, and from that day it was a downward slope and I can literally picture it happening. It all went downhill for a year. I couldn't see myself making a cut."
That was not just his third Open appearance, it was also the third time he had posted a Friday 76 and, inevitably, the third time he had missed the cut.
He recorded just one top-10 finish in the next 12 months and the turnaround only began when he was reunited with his old coach Alan Thompson and recruited best friend Ian Finnis for the bag.
Initially the resurrection was slow, but the momentum built. He won the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship and Open de France last year, on both occasions defying nonexistent course form. All the while he was beginning to prove himself on the world stage.
It began with solo second in the 2017 WGC Mexico Championship, continued with fourth in that year's U.S. Open and then he headed home, to his birthplace Southport and specifically Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
But again the number 76 was to haunt him, only this time he posted it on Thursday. The hometown hero was facing more Friday frustration. He needed something spectacular just to make the cut and this time he finally did it: he tore apart his personal Open log book and carded 69 in the worst of the wet and windy weather. "One of the best rounds I've ever played," said Fleetwood when he was asked about it again earlier this week at Carnoustie. "It was a big thing. The first time I'd made a cut in an Open."
Twelve months on he again woke to grey skies. Rain was forecast and he needed an umbrella, something he rarely carries.
"We stole one," he joked. "No, not really. We were given one. A nice yellow Open Championship one."
He needed it as the clouds closed in, the drizzle soaked the unprepared to the skin and tested the patience of playing partner and former Open champion Henrik Stenson, but Fleetwood was unconcerned.
He needed only 26 putts as he threaded a bogey-free lap of the course which was completed with a 16-foot birdie putt on the final green. It prompted cheers from the galleries whose fondness for "Our Tommy" is not far short of the Southport locals last year.
Afterwards, he was reluctant to compare it with his course-record 63, completed perhaps inevitably on a Friday during last October's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
"It was pretty good, but it's not a course record," he said. "A very strong round of golf. A lot of good golf shots."
He has transformed his Friday fortunes in the Open and the opportunity to contend appeals to the man who closed last month's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills with a stunning 63 that earned second place behind Brooks Koepka.
"Winning [The Open] would be very special," he said. "I can't lie about it. If I could pick one tournament in my life to win, it would be The Open. I've never been anywhere near before, but we're only halfway through the tournament. There's no point talking about the end game. Today I've put myself back in the tournament."
Three years ago he was a promising youngster who had lost his way. Since then, he says has come a long way "as a golfer and a person." Now he is a husband, a father and a lock for a Ryder Cup debut. He also boasts a fan in Rory McIlroy.
"When Tommy first came out on Tour, a little bit like me, he could only hit the ball right to left," said the Northern Irishman after joining Fleetwood near the top of the leaderboard with a second successive 69.
"Now he can hit it both ways and it makes a massive difference. He's a very, very solid player. He's winning a lot and he's been putting himself in the mix. The more you do that, the more experience you gain, and from there, it's only a matter of time."
At the start of the week Fleetwood noted that "there have been some horror stories on this golf course." But Carnoustie has also witnessed illustrious tales of spirited comebacks and courageous redemption. This weekend, the name Tommy Fleetwood might be added to them.