It never crossed my mind that Tommy Fleetwood wouldn’t eventually win on the PGA Tour – never in a million years. If it wasn’t this week, it certainly would have been sometime in the future.
He wasn’t going to be one of those guys who came close too many times without success. It was going to happen sooner or later, but I can’t think of a better time to win than this one! You win two trophies in one here and get a first prize with a lot of zeros in it.
Fleetwood has played extremely well all year long and had many great finishes, but to finally get the hardware was the thing that he was looking for. He has gone through all this before and this is obviously the step up.
He played with passion, he played with heart and – at the end of the day – he got what he deserved. He was not perfect but was strong enough and tough enough to outlast this field and win his first championship in style.
I feel so much for him because of what he did out there. It was not easy – it was hard-earned. Whenever he kind of got out of position, it seemed like it didn’t bother him. He got it right back into position and he took care of business.
He didn’t get off to a great start in the final days of the Travelers Championship or the FedEx St Jude Championships, which he lost. The start here at East Lake was massive as it put him at ease right away.
Fleetwood’s journey to FedExCup glory
Fleetwood broke the mould with the birdie at the second, when everyone else had made par, which settled him down. He got off to a good start and even the bogey on the fifth was not a big deal, because he had the sixth and seventh right behind it.
Fleetwood was playing in the final group alongside Patrick Cantlay, who ended tied-second
He didn’t have much room for error at the eighth, but he got it spot on with his distance control wise and put himself in a great position to save par. I didn’t sense any panic or any doubt from Fleetwood.
Fleetwood was walking tall – he didn’t seem to be bothered by the bad shots and wasn’t overexuberant about the good shots. He was more exuberant about the par saves, which he then had to make on a couple of other occasions.
At the 12th he put it six feet below the hole and walked that one in, then took advantage of Cantley’s misstep at the next to make another birdie and pull further ahead.
I don’t think there’s anything that he would have faced that would have been then that scary or that intimidating than the tee shot at the 15th. It’s not a guarantee once he finds land that he’s still going to win it, but that went a massively long way to him.
Watch the moment Tommy Fleetwood completed Tour Championship victory and claimed the FedExCup
He leaned on his putter all week long, which I think he has been doing with more confidence throughout the FedExCup Playoffs. The whole body of work was about as solid as you can get.
‘He’s just getting started’ – more to come from Fleetwood?
I’m so proud to know him and I’m so proud to call him a friend. I told him something back in 2012 when I was playing on the DP World Tour and when I first met him. I’ll keep that between me and him, but I meant it and I still believe it.
Tommy Fleetwood gave his reaction to Sky Sports after finally ending his long wait to win a PGA Tour title
Now he has this victory, I think it’s going to be a landslide for more of them. These are going to come fast and furious. He’s going to be in the contention more, he’s going to be right in the mix for everything and he’s just getting started.
I still can’t think of a single golf course or conditions that he can’t handle. He can adapt to any golf course at any situation – far easier than some players – and his game isn’t one-dimensional.
Augusta is right up his alley, as good a ball striker he is, as good a putter as he’s turned into and with the short game he offers. The PGA Championship also suits him, no matter where it’s played on.
He has said more than once that The Open is the one he wants to win more than anything else. Then the US Open next year is at Shinnecock, where he shot 63 in the final round the last time it was there.
I think he has always believed that he can win a bunch, he just had to get past the first one. The first one is always tough, the longer it goes, but going forward – when he puts himself in that position – he can lean on what he did here.
Watch Tommy Fleetwood in PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Ryder Cup action live on Sky Sports. Fleetwood will be part of Europe’s Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black from September 26-28, live on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour and more with no contract.
