ATLANTA — As he stood on the 16th tee at East Lake on Sunday, Tommy Fleetwood found himself in both the enviable and dreaded position of leading the Tour Championship by two shots with three holes to go.
That’s typically a position of strength, but in recent times, Fleetwood—a popular, positive Englishman with a resume worthy of success—could not get to the finish without an excruciating turn of events, costing him a coveted first victory on the PGA Tour.
But Sunday played out differently. In the final event of the FedEx Cup playoffs and season, Fleetwood, 34, prevailed, shooting a final-round 68 to finish three shots ahead of Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley at the Tour Championship.
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The victory meant that with his first win in 146 starts on the PGA Tour, Fleetwood also won the FedEx Cup, which this year came with a $10 million first prize from the $40 million purse.
“I’ve said countless times, when it does happen, we’ll all do it together,” said Fleetwood at the awards ceremony, fighting back tears after an emotional final nine that saw him as a big crowd favorite.
Fleetwood inexplicably had failed to win on the PGA Tour prior to Sunday despite bona-fides that suggest otherwise.
He had posted six runner-up finishes, 12 top threes, 30 top fives and 44 top 10s. He had won seven times on the DP World Tour and next month will make his fourth appearance for the European side at the Ryder Cup. He moved to seventh in the Official World Ranking, another sign of his world-class status.
“You just keep learning,” Fleetwood said. “This was probably the most uncomfortable I’ve been given all that was on the line. I think I’ve had a great attitude during it all. I was a bit erratic at times. I felt like I lost my swing a little bit and I was really proud of how I found my swing again on like the 11th or 12th hole.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done before. Whether I won or not, I’d still be proud of my career and knowing I have a long way to go. Hopefully this is just one win and the first of many to come. You can’t win a lot if you don’t win the first one.”
Fleetwood had infamously dealt with some brutal close calls.
As far back as 2018, he had an 8-footer for birdie on the final green at Shinnecock Hills for a then-major-championship record 62 to tie Brooks Koepka at the U.S. Open that he missed.
Two years ago, he was felled in a playoff when Canadian Nick Taylor holed a 70-footer for a victory in a sudden-death playoff to win his national championship in Canada.
In June, he led by two with three to play but made a couple of questionable decisions and was passed by a final-hole birdie by Keegan Bradley.
And just two weeks ago, he let that same lead slip over the final holes at the FedEx St. Jude in Memphis, where Justin Rose defeated J.J. Spaun in a playoff.
“I enjoyed it while it lasted in a sick way,” he said. “I’ve been proud of the strength I had to keep coming back. I’ll look back and it and be able to tell people that. I’m really, really pleased that I get to talk to kids or aspiring golfers or aspiring sports people and I can genuinely talk about showing resilience. All of those things and the skills you have to use to put yourself there again and try and do it again. I proved it can be done.”
Fleetwood is a popular winner throughout the game. Tiger Woods sent out congratulations via social media. Several of Fleetwood’s potential Ryder Cup teammates stayed to watch him finish, including Rose, Shane Lowry and Harry Hall. U.S. Ryder Cup captain Bradley was also there.
After finishing his round and while Fleetwood appeared on his way to victory, Rory McIlroy spoke of Fleetwood being too good for a victory not to be in his future.
“I think it shows how great of an attitude he has towards the game, how resilient he is,” McIlroy said. “Look, everyone knows ... if he gets it done today, that would be amazing. I think we'd all love him to.
“But if for some reason he doesn't, I think we all know it's only a matter of time. He's playing so well. He's been so consistent for so long.”
Fleetwood joined Bill Haas in 2011 as the only players to win the FedEx Cup while making the Tour Championship their first and only victory of the season.
That was made possible this year by a format change that allowed any player who made the top 30 and advanced to the Tour Championship to win it by simply capturing the tournament. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who will undoubtedly be the PGA Tour Player of the Year and led the points race through the regular season and last week’s BMW, tied for fourth.
Fleetwood will now head home to Europe, where he is scheduled to play the BMW PGA Championship in two weeks followed by the Ryder Cup at Bethpage.
“I’ve been a PGA Tour winner for a long time,” he said. “It’s just always been in my own mind. A lot of close calls. But I’ve always enjoyed the challenge.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tommy Fleetwood Never Lost Faith Through Agonizing Losses and Is Now a Winner.