Andy Sullivan was thrilled to produce some good golf in front of his father as he produced a stirring finish to his second round at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
The four-time DP World Tour winner hails from Nuneaton, less than a 30-minute drive from this week’s host venue The Belfry, and gave the home crowds plenty to cheer in cool and breezy conditions.
After opening the week with a one-under-par 71, Sullivan played the front nine in level par before a bogey at the tenth dropped him back to level par for the tournament, only for him to click into gear with five birdies in his closing seven holes of the day.
That propelled the 2016 Ryder Cup player firmly into contention heading into the weekend as he aims to end a near three-year wait since his last victory at the English Championship.
Despite feeding off the energy of playing on home soil, Sullivan admits there was one person in particular who he was hoping to impress.
"My dad is getting older and older all the time, so I don't know how many more times I'm going to get to play in front of him where he's going to be able to come," he said.
"So it's nice for him to be out there and to witness some good golf, as well."
Sullivan registered two top 20 finishes in his opening four starts of the year before his best result of the campaign so far came at the Korea Championship Presented by Genesis, where he finished in a tie for tenth in April.
The Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo is the first of three events, along with Made in HimmerLand and the Genesis Scottish Open - the third Rolex Series event of the season - which offers three spots into the field for The 151st Open for those who are not already exempt.
That is likely to be another source of motivation for Sullivan, who registered his best Major Championship finish of tied 12th at The Open in 2012 at St Andrews, as he looks to continue to put on a show for his fans.
"It was good," he added. "Felt the momentum and obviously having a home crowd behind you is nice, local crowd and quite a few out there today, so it's good when you get the roars going and you get them going, you feel like your energy is up today."
