Tommy Fleetwood doesn’t curse often. He’s a gentle soul, too kind and perhaps too proper an Englishman, to let four-letter words escape often from his lips. But the occasion felt appropriate when he and life-long friend Ian Finnis shared the embrace they’d waited too long for.
“About (expletive) time,” the newly crowned FedExCup champion said. After 163 PGA TOUR events, 30 top-five finishes and a half-dozen runners-up, Fleetwood could finally call himself a PGA TOUR winner. And not just that. The FedExCup champion. By winning the season finale, he won it all. All 30 players in this year’s TOUR Championship started on even footing, and the week’s winner also would lift the trophy given for excellence over the entire season. Fleetwood peaked at the right time. He was the best player over the past three weeks not named Scottie Scheffler. Few had played better since the summer started. It’s just that his best had not been good enough. Until this week. A final-round 68 gave Fleetwood a 72-hole total of 18-under 262, good for a three-shot victory over Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay. “I think it's easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight,” Fleetwood said. “It's different when you actually have to prove it.” Fleetwood, 34, had won eight times worldwide before this week, including some of the DP World Tour’s biggest titles. He was a Ryder Cup stalwart. He was firmly ensconced among the game’s elite. But winning in the United States was the inescapable hole in his resume. That omission became especially glaring this year, as he continued to contend but suffered some of his most difficult defeats. The hardest may come at the Travelers Championship in June, which he led until walking off the final green. Keegan Bradley wrested the title away by making a 6-foot birdie putt on 18 that was slightly shorter than the par attempt Fleetwood missed. Two weeks ago, Fleetwood led by two strokes with three holes remaining in the FedEx St. Jude Championship. His failure to birdie the par-5 16th or make a 7-foot par putt on the next hole left him a stroke out of the playoff won by Justin Rose. “I've had to be resilient in terms of putting myself back up there, getting myself back in that position, no matter how many times it doesn't go my way, no matter how many doubts might creep in,” Fleetwood said. Fleetwood knew he was playing well; The TOUR Championship is his sixth top-four finish since May. The only thing more impressive was the way in which he handled the heartbreak. He taught a masterclass in resilience that extends well beyond the course. Fleetwood spoke after every loss, never expressing anything but gratitude for the opportunity and optimism about the future. “Like any normal person, I get disappointed, I get sad, I get angry,” he said earlier this week. “But at the same time, … I think I have a good awareness that there’s no point making things a negative experience. You just have to learn from everything and try to do the best you can.” The experiences paid off at East Lake. Finnis listened to a podcast entitled “Process Over Prizes” and wrote the word “Process” in his yardage book as a reminder this week. It’s what hurt them at Travelers when they were indecisive over which club to hit for the final approach. No matter the situation, they resolved this week to stick to their routine and fight thoughts about the future. Even with a three-shot lead on the final hole, Fleetwood said he remained in a “mental cocoon” that kept him from soaking in the scene as fans flooded the 18th fairway and chanted his name. That cocoon wasn’t impenetrable, however. The doubts still crept in. But focusing on what he had done well on even some of his most difficult days allowed him to overcome the doubts. Fleetwood started Sunday with a par at the difficult first hole and a birdie at No. 2. He followed a bogey at the fifth with consecutive birdies on Nos. 6 and 7. Fleetwood was three ahead when he made the turn, but that advantage was just a single stroke after he hooked his tee shot on the 10th hole and made bogey while Cantlay made birdie. “You have to deal with those little demons that are in the back of your mind, and doubt creeps in,” Fleetwood said. “You remember what you got wrong, don't want to get it wrong again, and you have to force yourself to think of the positives.” He responded with birdies on 12 and 13 to regain his three-shot lead. The biggest remaining threat was the island 15th, a 215-yard hole that has never fit his eye. When his ball found land, victory seemed safe. A Cantlay bogey at the next hole allowed Fleetwood to enjoy a stress-free closing stretch. “The door was getting further and further open for me as the round went on,” Fleetwood said. Everyone from Tiger Woods to LeBron James posted congratulations on social media. The man who waited behind Augusta National’s 18th green to celebrate Rory McIlroy’s Masters win now got the opportunity to be the one who was celebrated. European counterparts like Justin Rose and Shane Lowry were waiting for Fleetwood, as was his stepson Oscar Craig, who cried on Fleetwood’s shoulder as they embraced on the green. “He keeps getting knocked down and keeps getting back up and coming back stronger,” said Lowry. Fleetwood preached the importance of positivity, saying earlier this week that it was vital to be his “own best friend.” The optimism he expressed in each press conference was not only a lesson for the listeners, but an opportunity to encourage himself. Fleetwood’s 30 top-fives and 44 top-10s before earning a first PGA TOUR victory are the most over at least the past four decades. The victory is a triumph for resilience, proof in the power of getting back up. Fleetwood was rewarded Sunday for that toughness. No longer will he sit atop the list “I've been a PGA TOUR winner for a long time,” Fleetwood said. “It's just always been in my mind.” Not anymore. | 
