Five-time European Tour winner Tommy Fleetwood heads to the PGA Championship without a worldwide trophy since November 2019; Englishman is still searching for a career-altering breakthrough on American soil
Tuesday 18 May 2021 12:26, UK
Who doesn't like Tommy Fleetwood? He possesses the longish hair of a rock star but the personality of a humble family man. He seems to have his priorities in order, doesn't take himself so seriously that he loses touch with his fans, and plays golf at a world-class level but with an ultra-cool vibe.
Not even holes-in-one phase him; witness his laid-back reaction at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, when he all but shrugged after an ace during his round-of-16 win.
"That's the coolest hole-in-one I've ever seen," said the television broadcaster describing the highlight.
Sure, during the Ryder Cup competition later this year in the United States, the Englishman won't be a cheering favourite since he'll represent the European team. Given that he and Italian partner Francesco Molinari were unbeatable at the 2018 Ryder Cup will make him even more of a target this time on unfriendly soil for him.
Really, though, no one actually enjoys rooting against Tommy Fleetwood. He's the cool dude you like hanging out with. He always has a smile on his face and you know you'll have one, too, just being in his presence. C'mon, it's Tommy Fleetwood! You know you'll have a good time.
And yet, because we want him to succeed, it's tough not feeling a bit impatient with him at the moment.
Although he's been a top-20 player in the world since 2017, he's yet to win on the PGA Tour. He's 0-for-69 in that span (and 0-for-81 in his career on the PGA Tour). He's knocked on the door a handful of times, including a runner-up finish to Brooks Koepka at the 2018 US Open. But still, through early May of 2021, he remains shut out of the winner's circle on American soil.
"I think anybody would be lying if they said winning over here is not like the next step for me," Fleetwood said recently in America. "Yeah, I haven't done it...In the grand scheme of things, like winning in America is something that I need to do and I've had chances and sometimes somebody's played better than me and there's sometimes where I've hit the wrong shot at the wrong time. It is what it is."
Speaking of major performances, he's also been shut out there, of course. He's made 22 starts in majors through the 2021 Masters, with three top-five finishes. But without breaking through, he'll enter this month's PGA Championship with that back-handed designation as one of the top golfers without a major.
Yes, he does have five wins on his native European Tour, but even that doesn't negate his current drought. His most recent win was the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in 2019. Since then, he's made 30 worldwide starts (through the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour) without a win of any sorts.
In January, he turned 30 years old. So while he still possesses that young hipster charm, he has now reached the middle-age portion of his professional career. He knows it's time to take the next step.
Looking back at 2020, Fleetwood bemoaned his failure to convert opportunities at The Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, as well as tournaments in Portugal and Scotland on the European Tour, into victories. He admitted during a post-year review of his play that he left shots out there that could've made the difference.
"It was a disappointing year on the golf course," Fleetwood wrote on his website. "There's no other way to say it. There's certain things I have struggled with, but on the positive side I know what I need to work on and it's nothing dramatic. I'm looking to make marginal gains that will mean I can play at my best more regularly and convert more victories."
Perhaps even Fleetwood is becoming a bit impatient. The good thing is, he's not losing hope. He remains confident that he will eventually return into the winner's circle.
But it's not simply a matter of when but at what tournaments. He's an elite player, and he knows that to maintain his status and to enhance his reputation, he must win the big events. That means focusing most of his attention on the majors, starting with the PGA Championship this week on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
"Majors are your career-changers," Fleetwood said. "And I think this year, I have planned the schedule a little bit more around the majors than in the last couple of years, so I'm going to try and prepare them in what I feel is the best way possible for me and then back myself to play well in those tournaments.
"But those, without question, are your career-defining tournaments; I guess that's something everybody always looks at.
"Yeah, I've had a couple of seconds, another top five. I've been in contention a few times after two rounds or three rounds, and I think what I want to keep doing is again, goes back to the word consistency, keep being up there and keep putting myself up there and playing well, and if I keep doing it for the right things, keep improving bit by bit then hopefully that's just a natural progress and I win a major."
Although he registered his second ace of the year at the Masters in April, he was not in contention, finishing T-46. But Augusta National has never served him well, as he's failed to produce a top-15 finish in five career starts there.
The PGA Championship has been even less kind, with last year's T-29 his best result in six tries. But perhaps the Ocean Course will be to his liking. Nine years ago when it last hosted a major, Rory McIlroy won by eight strokes at 13 under. Fleetwood was still two years away from playing in his first major.
He likes that the majors are played on generally tougher courses, and he's hoping Kiawah Island will be a difficult test.
"I think there's plenty of demanding golf courses on tour, and I think the standard of golf these days and the amount of players that are playing at such a high standard, so you get to these hard golf courses and you still have to shoot a score," he said. "But you get to the ones that are scorable and you have to go so, so low. I don't know. I enjoy the challenges the major championships bring."
The challenge for him - like any top golfer seeking to reach the next level - is to win one of those events. Long hair, a great personality, a fun-loving attitude - that's all good. But performances in golf's biggest events are the defining moments for a player and his career.
"There's been a lot of great golfers in the history of the game who haven't won a major," Fleetwood said. "I'm not going to say that I don't care because I really do, but you know, you have to keep things in perspective, and it's not always a given.
"But I'll definitely be trying my hardest."
