England’s Tommy Fleetwood poses with his FedEx Cup Tour Championship trophy at East Lake in Atlanta, after winning his first PGA Tour title on Sunday. Image courtesy PGA Tour/X.
By Rahul Banerji
It took 164 starts and 18 holes of nerveless golf for Tommy Fleetwood to win his first PGA Tour title, at the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday.
The Englishman, who has picked up fans by the thousands through a summer of heartbreak, emerged with the tour’s richest prize at the East Lake Club by a three-shot margin over Russel Henley and Patrick Cantlay of the US.
The 34-year-old had some help along the way. Cantlay opened with a bogey and a double, while world number one Scottie Scheffler saw his opening tee shot slip out of bounds.
The tournament favourite recovered quickly but a tee shot into water on the back nine finally ended his chances even as Fleetwood closed with a 2 under par 68 for an 18 under 262 total.
At the end, Fleetwood (64-63-67-68) had thousands of fans around the 18th green, all chanting, “Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!” He calmly tapped home the winning putt, removed his cap, looked at the sky and finally let his emotions show.
“I’ve been a PGA Tour winner for a long time, it’s just always been in my mind,” Fleetwood, who recorded a career-high 27 birdies at East Lake, said later. “A lot of close calls, but I’ve always enjoyed the challenge.
Job done
“This wasn’t the most comfortable I’ve been. I feel like I’ve had a great attitude throughout it all. … I’m so happy I got it done. I’m glad we did it together,” he added, referencing his fans.
Before Sunday’s magical finish, it had been a tough year for Fleetwood. He saw a one-shot lead turn into a one-shot loss at the Travellers Championship when he took three putts from the front of the green.
At the FedEx St Jude Championship, the long-haired Englishman let slip a two-shot lead with three holes to play. In 163 previous tour starts, Fleetwood had 30 top-five finishes, including six this season alone.
It was clearly a matter of time, and faith in himself. Besides a $10 million cheque, the victory also brought two trophies, the FedExCup, and the “Calamity Jane” replica putter for the Tour Championship.
Fleetwood set out on Sunday tied for the lead with 2021 FedEx Cup winner Cantlay (64-66-64-71). The American bogeyed the first hole and then three-putted for double bogey on the second to fall four shots behind.
Quick response
Cantlay came at him again after the turn, cutting the deficit to one shot but Fleetwood responded with two quick birdies and never looked back. Henley (61-66-69-69) carded 13 straight holes without a birdie and never put any serious pressure on the leader.
For his part, Scheffler (63-69-66-68) found water on the back nine to slip into a tie for fourth place alongside fellow US golfer Cameron Young and Canada’s Corey Connors on 14 under 266.
Down the order, American-Indian Akshay Bhatia closed his season on a high note with a closing 2 under 68 to seal a share of 13th place and a cheque of $570,000.
Also read: Heartbreak again for Fleetwood as Rose prevails in St Jude playoff
Discover more from Tee Time Tales
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.