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The 147th Open Championship - second-round leaderboard -6 Z Johnson (US), K Kisner (US); -5 T Fleetwood (Eng), P Perez (US), X Schauffele (US); -4 R McIlroy (NI), E van Rooyen (SA), M Kuchar (US), T Finau (US), Z Lombard (SA); -3 J Spieth (US), R Fowler (US), K Chappell (US) Selected others: -2 D Willett (Eng); -1 M Southgate (Eng), E Pepperell (Eng), B Koepka (US); Level J Day (Aus), T Woods (US), P Mickelson (US) Full leaderboard

England's Tommy Fleetwood says he would choose The Open if he had to pick "one tournament in my life to win" after moving into contention at Carnoustie.

The world number 10 shot a six-under-par 65 on Friday to sit five under, one behind joint leaders Zach Johnson - the 2015 Open champion - and Kevin Kisner.

He would be the first English winner since Nick Faldo in 1992.

"It would be very special. I can't lie about it," said Fleetwood. "I've never been anywhere near before."

Fleetwood, 27, began his second round on Friday at one over par, but surged into contention with a superb display in wet conditions on the Scottish links, joined on five under by Americans Pat Perez and Xander Schauffele.

He is aiming for his first major title after coming close at the US Open last month, where he fell a shot short of champion Brooks Koepka despite a scintillating final-round 63 - the joint-lowest score in the tournament's history.

Fleetwood, who is the course record holder at Carnoustie, put himself into contention at the halfway stage of his home major with a superb round which did not feature a single bogey.

Last year was the first time in four attempts he had avoided missing the cut at The Open, going on to finish tied 27th on his local course, Royal Birkdale.

But he remains cautious about his chances over the weekend at Carnoustie, despite pushing himself among the front runners.

"We're only halfway through the tournament, unfortunately," said Fleetwood, who has won four European Tour titles in his career.

"There's no point thinking about the end game. Thirty-six holes is a long time.

"Today's been a round where I've put myself back in the tournament and I've just got to move on from there really.

"If I can hit it like I did today, then obviously I'm going to have a lot of chances coming in over the weekend and we'll see where that takes me."

McIlroy ready to 'go down swinging'

Rory McIlroy, the 2014 Open champion, is a shot behind Fleetwood at four under and the Northern Irishman said he was prepared "to go down swinging" by adopting an aggressive approach over the weekend.

The four-time major champion was in second position going into the final round of the Masters in April but a two-over 74 on the final day dropped him out of contention - and he acknowledged regret at not being more aggressive then.

"Sunday at Augusta was a big learning curve again for me, because even if I hadn't won that tournament, but I went down swinging and aggressive and committing to every shot, I would have walked away a lot happier," he said.

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"So I'm committed to making sure, even if I don't play my best golf and don't shoot the scores I want, I'm going to go down swinging, and I'm going to go down giving it my best."

He added: "I feel like there are low rounds in me. If I can get on a run or get off to a fast start in the next couple of days, I definitely see something like a 66 or a 65. I think I'm capable of that."