Tommy Fleetwood Conquers the Tour Championship: The Sweetest Victory
Atlanta – After a long wait and multiple attempts, English golfer Tommy Fleetwood finally tasted victory on the PGA Tour. With a final round of 68 strokes, two under par, Fleetwood won the Tour Championship, surpassing Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay by three strokes at East Lake Golf Club. This victory, in his 164th PGA Tour appearance, represents a significant milestone in Fleetwood’s career. In addition to the prestigious title, he took home the coveted FedEx Cup and a prize of 10 million dollars.Despite his seven DP World Tour victories and three other international titles, Fleetwood had not managed to lift a trophy at a PGA Tour event until this Sunday. Rory McIlroy, who tied for 23rd, commented on Fleetwood’s perseverance: “It shows the great attitude he has towards the game, how resilient he is.” Fleetwood’s career on the PGA Tour was marked by several second-place finishes, accumulating 30 top-5s without victories, the most in the last 100 years, according to data. His earnings of $33.4 million were the highest for a winless golfer on the circuit. Fleetwood was close to victory on two recent occasions. At the Travelers Championship, he led by one stroke on the 72nd hole, but a triple-putt relegated him to second place. At the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he led by two strokes with three holes to go, finishing in third place. Fleetwood’s consistency translated into a resounding triumph. After a bogey on the 10th hole, he responded with birdies on the 12th and 13th holes, extending his lead. With a three-stroke lead on the 18th hole, victory was assured. Patrick Cantlay, with a bogey on the 16th hole, saw his comeback aspirations frustrated. Fleetwood became the first golfer to win his first title at the Tour Championship at East Lake. The 2003 tournament was won by Chad Campbell at Champions Golf Club in Houston. Scottie Scheffler, world number one, had a complicated start on Sunday, with a shot out of bounds on the first hole. Despite recovering with birdies, a double-bogey on the 15th hole took him out of the fight. Scheffler finished in fourth place, tied, extending his top-10 streak to 14 consecutive tournaments. Corey Conners and Cameron Young also shared fourth place. Keegan Bradley, captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, failed to get close to the leaders. Bradley will announce his Ryder Cup selections on Wednesday, and considered including himself as “the most important decision of my life”. Since 1963, there hasn’t been a player-captain in the Ryder Cup. Bradley, ranked number 13 in the world, could make a momentous decision for the team.It’s easy to say you’re resilient, that you recover, that you fight. It’s different when you actually have to prove it.
Tommy Fleetwood
