Europe’s Ryder Cup hero followed his scintillating opening 64 with a three-under 69 as Fleetwood fired a bogey-free 64 to lead on 12-under at a tight Delhi Golf Club as Rory McIlroy flirted with the cut before finishing strongly to shoot 69 and trail by six.
“I got off to a bit of a slow-ish start,” admitted Lowry, who turned in level par but came home in three-under to share second place with American Brian Harman.
“Not much happened on the front nine, and then I made a stupid bogey on the par five (18th) from the middle of the fairway.
“Quite frustrated around the turn, but I felt like I finished well, and I played some nice golf on the way in.
“The course is there for the taking if you hit good shots, but if you hit it offline, it’s very, very tricky. I’m happy with my two days’ work.”
While he won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with McIlroy last year, Lowry is chasing his first individual win in more than three years.
But he has no plans to change his strategy at a claustrophobic venue where accuracy from the tee and solid mid-iron play are key.
“No, I think you need to play this golf course the way you see it,” Lowry insisted.
“There are a lot of holes where you’re not hitting much off the tee, and you’re trying to get it in play, and that’s why I think it suits me.
“There’s a lot of mid-irons out there, which is a strength of my game. Play to my strengths this week, and hopefully I can be dangerous this weekend.”
McIlroy was one over for the day and flirting with the cut line after back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th.
But while he made four birdies in his last six holes for a second successive 69 that left him six shots behind Fleetwood on six under, he has no plans to change his conservative strategy and put his driver in the bag.
“I don’t think so,” McIlroy said. “If I’m struggling to hit fairways with my two-iron, I’m not going to hit it with my driver.
“Same strategy. Just have to hit it a little closer with my second shots and not miss as many putts.
“If I can just sort of sharpen everything up a little bit and give myself a few more birdie looks over the weekend, maybe I’ll be able to claw my way back closer to the leaders.”
Fleetwood enjoyed playing alongside Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald and Lowry, who he believes will be a factor come Sunday.
“Yeah, unbelievable three-ball,” Fleetwood said. “Because you’re so comfortable with each other, you do your own thing. It’s always a bonus when you’re with two guys that you’re really close with.
“Shane actually told me about the draw, and I was really pleased. It has been a great two days.
“I feel like if I’m playing with Shane for the next two days, I’m doing something right, probably.”
Conor Purcell birdied two of his last three holes for a 69, but missed the two-under-par cut by a shot and will now have to go to the Qualifying School to retain his card.
Winning a DP World Tour card by making the top 20 in the HotelPlanner Tour rankings is the goal for Max Kennedy and Liam Nolan.
Only the top 45 in the Road to Mallorca standings after this week’s Hangzhou Open qualify for the Rolex Grand Final in Mallorca in two weeks.
But while Kennedy fired a four-under 68 to move up to 29th on six under, he was projected to fall to 46th in the standings.
Poland’s Lukas Nemecz leads by two shots on 14-under from Spain’s Sebastian Garcia.
But with Tom Lewis and Victor Pastor in a nine-man logjam tied for third, they can push Kennedy out of the top 45 and deny him his trip to the Grand Final.
While 37th-ranked Nolan missed the three-under cut by a shot after a 70, he was still projected to fall just three spots to 40th and still make the season finale.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire’s two-over 74 left her 16 shots behind leader Sei Young Kim on level par heading into the weekend at the LPGA’s BMW Ladies Championship in Korea.
