Tommy Fleetwood told a story about his 2023 Ryder Cup win that could explain why he hasn’t yet won on the PGA Tour.
Tommy Fleetwood holds unwanted records on the PGA Tour. He has the most top ten, top five and top two finishes without a win on the Tour.
He came close twice this season. Fleetwood lost the Travelers Championship on the final hole to Keegan Bradley, and he led the St. Jude Championship late on Sunday before Justin Rose took victory in Memphis.
The composure he lacked at the Travelers and St. Jude he had in buckets at the 2023 Ryder Cup, where he played an instrumental part in Europe’s humiliation of Team USA in Rome. But his revealing story says a lot about his mentality in high-pressure moments.
Tommy Fleetwood didn’t want the pressure of going out late in the Ryder Cup
Fleetwood was the ultimate hero of the 2023 Ryder Cup. He was selected to play a singles match against Rickie Fowler on the final day and secured the decisive half-point to win the tournament for Europe.
But in the build-up to the 2025 Tour Championship, Fleetwood admitted he didn’t want to be put in that position by captain Luke Donald.
He said, “I didn’t particularly want to go out number 11 in a way. It was late on, we were ahead, and I just didn’t feel like that was a spot I wanted to be in. But Luke told me afterwards why he wanted me there, and that it was a great thing.
“In the end, I was very grateful for the opportunity.”
With the trust of Donald, Fleetwood hit the drive of his life against Fowler. He drove the green on a 304-yard par four, putted his next shot close, so Fowler conceded the hole and the tournament.
Despite the steely composure he showed in Rome, Fleetwood appears to get the jitters down the stretch in tournaments. He led going into the final hole at the Travelers, but missed the green on his approach and made bogey.
He hit a series of uncharacteristic shots down the stretch at the St. Jude, and watched the tournament get away from him.
Fleetwood wanted to shy away from the moment in 2023, but was forced to step up by Donald. And the Englishman delivered. If he had the belief in himself that Donald showed in him, he may well be a PGA Tour winner by now.
It would be ‘funny’ for first PGA Tour win to be the Tour Championship, says Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood is among the top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings to tee off at the Tour Championship this weekend. Under the new format, the winner at East Lake will be crowned the FedEx Cup champion.
He’ll hope to put himself in contention for the win for the second time this postseason. Fleetwood said he thinks it would be funny to be crowned the FedEx Cup champion in his first win on Tour.
He said, “There’s so many unbelievable tournaments, I’m not going to be picky about which one I’d choose for my first win. This one would be a good one.”
Fleetwood continued, “I think it would be pretty funny if I won this week and had the FedEx Cup as well!”
He has already automatically qualified for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York alongside Rose and Rory McIlroy. As Europe looks to upset Bradley’s Team USA on their home soil, a momentum-building first win for Fleetwood would be a huge boost to the visiting team.