‘I'll finish it off at some point': Golf's nearly-man Tommy Fleetwood eyeing greatness at East Lake
Rory McIlroy's Masters triumph
served as the finest example of a moment when golf observers want a player to win. This, after all, is supposed to be a non-tribal environment aside from the weekend every two years when
Europe face USA
and people on either side of the ropes take leave of their senses.
Golf's next pursuit of the holy grail belongs to
Tommy Fleetwood
. Defeat from positions of strength at the Travelers and St Jude championships threw up an unwanted statistic. In 163
PGA Tour
starts, Fleetwood is yet to emerge victorious. As striking as that raw number – Fleetwood's talent is such that one assumes he should have claimed a batch of trophies in the
US
– is the fact people are willing him to end his drought. Fleetwood is relatable, likeable, popular. He also has no objection to the discussion presently whirling around him.
'I'm not going to feed you lies and say, 'Oh, in Memphis I thought I did everything great, or Travelers I didn't do anything wrong',' he said. 'Of course I got things wrong down the stretch and it didn't happen for me.
'You learn from those experiences. I would rather you be questioning me about not finishing tournaments off than not questioning me at all about anything. So I've obviously shown a lot of really good stuff and put myself in great positions.
READ MORE
'I just want to put myself there again. I want to give myself another chance. I'll finish it off at some point. I'll get it right and I'll get it right more than once. But being there is actually the hard part, in a way.
'I don't feel like I have to rattle off all the good stuff. I just need to be aware of it, know that I'm doing the right things and know that there's still things that I can get better. I use the disappointments as motivation and I use the good stuff as confidence boosting.'
At East Lake this week, another PGA Tour season will conclude. Scottie Scheffler will look to press his dominance of the game by lifting the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup.
Just as fate eventually smiled on McIlroy a two-hour drive away in April, could it finally be Tommy's time? His reliability and close-shave history is emphasised by six runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour, the same number of thirds and 44 top 10s.
He is the 10th-ranked player in the world. 'Best-case scenario coming down the stretch at East Lake with a chance to win,' Fleetwood said. 'Whether I get it right or not, whether it happens or not, whether someone plays better or not, I'll talk about that at the time. But I would love to get there and give myself that chance again.'
I've thrown the odd club in the water when I'm out there and maybe feel a bit better for a while
—
Tommy Fleetwood
In short, the 34-year-old has not been burned by falling short. 'It's funny really, you walk off the course on Sunday last week and I was happier with a fourth-place finish than I was with a third in Memphis,' Fleetwood said.
'It's a strange game that way. I am very happy with the consistency of my golf and the level I've been playing at. Golf is a crazy game. You never know what you're going to turn up with week in and week out, but this year has been a very good year.'
Fleetwood knows how to get over the line. He has done it eight times elsewhere in the world. Fleetwood has also been successful when involved in tight scraps. The nature of recent events, as opposed to core results, is what has brought his situation into sharp focus. He missed out on a playoff in Memphis by a shot, having led by two with three holes to play.
At the Travelers, Keegan Bradley usurped Fleetwood after the Englishman three-putted the 72nd hole. Fleetwood was clearly dejected during post-tournament media duties at, both but there was no raw moment, no smashed club, no fist through a window. Yes, the smile had vanished but not for long.
'I get disappointed and I get angry,' Fleetwood said. 'I've thrown the odd club in the water when I'm out there and maybe feel a bit better for a while. But I'm not that great at being angry. It just doesn't suit me. I just kind of let it go. I work really hard on letting things go, moving on. Not that much great comes from those moments of anger.
'But like I say, like anybody, I get disappointed, I get frustrated, I get angry. I doubt myself. Of course I do. It's all part of being a professional athlete and part of trying to chase your dreams and accomplish great things against unbelievable golfers.' - Guardian
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Irish Examiner
37 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
McIlroy left to laugh as circus act birdie on 18th rounds off opening 66 at East Lake
More Rory McIlroy drama in Georgia. Events at the final hole of the opening round of the Tour Championship barely compared with what played out at Augusta National in April but these were still moments of McIlroy box office. No wonder he stood laughing with arm aloft. McIlroy found himself in a greenside bunker in two at the par-five 18th. He caught his attempt from the sand trap far too cleanly, the ball flying over the flag and rebounding from a grandstand. The bounce was favourable; McIlroy had 17ft left for a birdie. The putt found the bottom of the cup, much to the amusement of McIlroy and his playing partner Scottie Scheffler. McIlroy's 66 at East Lake leaves him five shy of the first-round lead after Russell Henley's stunning 61. This was a fine day for Keegan Bradley, were he not in the midst of the toughest choice of his professional career. Henley will play under Bradley for the United States in the Ryder Cup next month. Scheffler continued his excellent form with a 63, including a back half of just 31. The 64s of Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas were notable with that trio likely to receive captain's picks from Bradley. The key dilemma surrounds whether Bradley is also going to select himself, thereby becoming the first playing captain in a Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer in 1963. Bradley's 70 here hardly added to the conversation. The 39-year-old did not hang around for media duties. Significant in this debate is what Bradley's peers will tell him to do. The mood music suggests they want Bradley on this team. 'Yeah, I would,' said Thomas when asked whether he would pick Bradley. 'It is a lot [to handle both jobs]. I think Keegan would say the same. I don't think he would say it's easy by any means. But myself, whatever other [vice-]captains, automatic qualifiers have all the faith in the world that whatever he decides to do is going to be in the best interest of the team.' Morikawa outlined the trickiness of the scenario: 'I think he's got one of the most difficult decisions anyone has ever had to make. He has put more hours than we could even ask and know about into this Ryder Cup and he still has played great golf. He is one of the best Americans as of right now. But I truly do not know where his head sits and I don't want to be in that position. 'If you lose, every reason is going to come up. At the end of the day, we lost in Rome because we played bad golf and they played great golf. That's what it comes down to.' There are European colours on the leaderboard. On what was a benign Atlanta day, with preferred lies allowed, Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre joined the 64 club. Ludvig Åberg signed for a 66. 'I think the course was as forgiving as we're going to get it,' Fleetwood said. 'But actually probably the biggest takeaway is how good everyone is at golf that's here. I think the scoring is unbelievable. I'm sure we could talk about the fact that we had soft conditions and they were receptive but you've still got to play and you've still got to hit the shots.' It was announced on the eve of this tournament that Cantlay would be among players on a new committee aimed at reshaping the PGA Tour. Tiger Woods will chair the group. 'Tiger asked me to be on the committee, so I said yes,' said Cantlay when asked his reasoning for being involved. With insight like this, what could go wrong. The Guardian
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, August 22nd: On college football and climate, fish kills, and wagging the finger
Sir, – Am I the only one horrified at the prospects of two American college football teams, and their supporters, flying to Dublin to open their football season in the Aviva tomorrow? Am I the only one equally horrified that this event is being sponsored by Aer Lingus and facilitated by others? At a time when the scientific evidence of the impact of carbon emissions on the global climate is staring us in the face, and as Ireland continues to live through a self-declared 'climate emergency', we choose not only to allow this madness, but to encourage and facilitate it through our national airline. Have I missed something here? Are my concerns and observations unreasonable or ill-informed? READ MORE I think not. Ireland is already at the bottom of the list on climate action among other EU countries. We are way off our legal targets for reducing carbon emissions by 2030 – and getting further away by the day – and facing a potential fine of €26 billion for missing these targets, and what do we choose to do? Invite thousand of American to Ireland for a match they should play at home, party and have the craic. Every individual in Ireland needs to reflect on our impact on the climate, as does every company, corporation, public service body, charity and sporting organisation, rather than leaving this challenge to others in the mistaken belief that we – individually – are only having a tiny impact on the climate. There are eight billion people on the planet and I think I can safely say that eight billion tiny impacts go to make up one fairly substantial one. I can only call on Aer Linguto take their heads out of the sand, to accept that they have responsibilities to the planet and to future generations, and to cancel this event permanently from 2026 onwards. – Yours,etc, GARY DOYLE, Straffan Co Kildare. Working in Qatar Sir, – We worked in Qatar alongside Dr Paddy Davern for three years as colleagues in the Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service – a GP and paramedic (' He put a gun to my head: An Irish GP on his traumatic years treating Qatar's elite ,' August 16th). Like Paddy, we both cared deeply about the wellbeing of all healthcare providers, and were greatly perturbed by the harms we witnessed and personally experienced in our professional roles. In our senior roles we were daily confronted by colleagues and patients with burnout, depression, PTSD, and substance use problems. There was little attempt to promote wellbeing or support mental health. We are grateful for Paddy's searing honesty and bravery in coming forward and speaking up about some of his experiences and the personal costs. He is fortunate to have a loving family, peer support, a good treating GP and psychologist able to support him not only through the PTSD but also the lengthy medical complaints process. Paddy was liked and respected by all his colleagues. He is an experienced, astute, compassionate and professional GP with a deep understanding of principles and medical ethics. He was well known for standing up for the less powerful, the 'underdog' – perhaps part of his Irish DNA and shared by Australians. His actions stood in contrast to many who believed it was better to be feared than respected. He assisted many of us – fellow doctors; staff; exploited workers in overcrowded housing; housemaids in private homes; female paramedics repeatedly being exposed to sexual abuse or assault. Like many of our colleagues we found it impossible to adapt to the classist hierarchies; bullying; lack of accountability and transparency; homophobia; misogyny; and racism. Add to this a difficult physical environment, poor housing and interminable obscure bureaucracy. Many of our colleagues from countries like Australia left before their contracts were up. We came back to Australia traumatised. For both of us, it has taken years to recover, but it has also given us a greater focus and determination to help colleagues who have their wellbeing compromised by being health professionals. Unlike in more developed democratic countries, Qatar has no legal protections for workers. So before you go, ask yourself: Is the tax-free salary really worth it? Are you happy to be treated as a second-class citizen, and daily witness others being treated as even lower humans? How will it impact your own health and that of your family? And know where to get help if you need it. – Yours, etc, Dr AMEETA PATEL, Chair, Doctor's Health Service NSW, CRAIG CAMPBELL, NSW, Australia. Wagging the finger at Ireland Sir, – How refreshing to finally read a terrific and honest opinion on Ireland's position in the world when it comes to politics, Nato and present day wars (' Ireland is turning into chief 'finger wagger' on the world stage ,' Finn McRedmond, August 20th). She is so bang on when she refers to Michael D Higgins, Micheál Martin et al as finger-waggers. They have absolutely zilch power when it comes to preventing or making peace on the world stage. Outside of the Irish media, their comments do not get as much as a word or a line in any international TV news station or newspaper. Even Conor McGregor made bigger headlines in US newspapers and CNN in March when he met Donald Trump after Mr Martin smiled when chastised and sat motionless and still while Trump berated him. Until such time that Ireland pays its fair share for defending Europe like the rest they should keep their grubby little fingers clenched together. – Yours, etc, SEÁN McPHILLIPS, College Point, New York. Sir, – Bravo Finn McRedmond for calling out the collective delusions of Ireland's (mostly leftist) peaceniks. These delusions are of moral superiority if not grandeur, though the outrage is curiously selective, being absent when human rights abuses are committed by such luminaries as Fidel Castro or Bashar Al-Assad. Here in Malta people are aware of the moral component of foreign policy but have a realistic view of what a small neutral nation can achieve. In today's world, that is 'even less than ever'. Refusing to submit to this collective delusion does not mean that one is 'complicit in genocide' as Ireland's more excitable campaigners maintain – in fact it would be better to reserve one's energy and diplomatic and political capital for modest but achievable results, instead of indulging in the 'ecstasy of sanctimony'. The onslaught in Gaza will not be affected one iota by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen or any other Eurocrat; and any national politician who bases a political campaign on such windmill tilting needs a reality and ego check. – Yours, etc, Dr ALEX HARTINGTON, Sliema, Malta. Sir, – Finn Mc Redmond's column is always terrific – but today's was a cracker. A sobering dose of realism. – Yours, etc. DON HORGAN, Dublin. Paper trails Sir, – Following Tony Corcoran's observation that he instinctively avoids taking the top copy from a pile of newspapers, instead rummaging below for a pristine copy, a few correspondents have noted they do the same (Letters, August 19th and 21st). I'm inclined to think this is universal human behaviour, something evident if you ever watch a child selecting bread from a sliced pan. – Yours, etc, BRIAN O'BRIEN, Co Cork. Sir, – As a follow-up to some of your recent correspondents comments on selecting a newspaper, I was reminded of an occasion when I was holidaying in the Lake District. I went into a newsagents to check some sports results. I had only opened the paper slightly when I was advised that the paper cost £1 if I wished to read it. That was me put in my place. – Yours, etc, FERGUS MADDEN, Dublin. Picking a president Sir, – Why are we always looking at the usual political suspects for the role of president? I would rather look outside the usual troupe of political grandees and seek to have someone who has worked to promote charitable works, business interests, or who has been to the forefront of causes that promote common values and integration. Why can't we, as the voting citizens of this State, decide on who we want and not who is imposed upon us? My preference, for example, would be for Fergus Finlay, who has worked tirelessly in the charity sector and who is worldly wise. What better champion could there be for the highest office in this State and who else could, or would, command the respect of everyone, both here and abroad. – Yours, etc, CHRISTY GALLIGAN, Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Sir, – I read with some dismay that, in his analysis of Heather Humphrey's suitability for the presidency, Harry McGee considers it a weakness the fact that the aspirant once requested two reporters outside her constituency office to 'f**k off' (' Strengths and weaknesses of FG's two Áras hopefuls, ' August 21st). I am not entirely sure what the elided letters might be, but if my guess is correct, I would regard her request (in the high modh díreach style) as indicating a distinct strength for the presidency. – Yours, etc, JOHN DUFFY, Foxrock, Dublin 18. Sir, – I am puzzled. In your article by Harry McGee, you tell us early on that Heather Humphreys is a Presbyterian. However, despite reading and rereading the text about the other hopeful, Seán Kelly, I can find no reference to his religious affiliation? Buddhist? Shinto? Or God forbid, he is a Catholic, which brings with it, no merit at all, in your eyes. – Yours, etc, T GERARD BENNETT, Bunbrosna, Co Westmeath. Fish kills and rivers and lakes Sir, – Imagine for a moment if the equivalent scale of poisoning that wiped out fish in Cork's Blackwater River this week instead struck a number of golf courses. Take a minute and picture every green on those courses rotting overnight. The outrage would be immediate, the response urgent, and the calls for accountability deafening. Yet when it is our rivers and lakes – living ecosystems, vital parts of our heritage, and the backbone of local communities – the response, penalties, and corrective action, if any, seems limited, and no real efforts appear to be put in place to prevent recurrence. This is not the first incident of fish being wiped out in a river or lake – and like previous events, it highlights the absence of a real prevention policy or decisive action. During Heritage Week we rightly celebrate our history, traditions, and landscapes. But what does it say about us if, in the same breath, we cannot muster the same urgency to protect the rivers and ecosystems that form the very foundation of that heritage? Heritage is not only about castles, crafts, and stories – it is also about living systems. The salmon, the trout, the rivers themselves: these are threads of heritage too. If we neglect them, then the celebration of Heritage Week rings hollow. As an award-winning landscape photographer, an associate member of the Irish Professional Photographers and Videographers Association (IPPVA) and an avid fly fisher since my teenage years, I have witnessed and photographed both the beauty and fragility of our waterways. They deserve the same respect, protection, and urgency we demand for any other part of our heritage. These repeated incidents put livelihoods, wildlife, and heritage at risk and we should not accept them as inevitable. – Yours, etc, TONY G MURRAY, Naas, Co Kildare. Spot the dog warden Sir, – There is an estimated 520,000 dogs in Ireland and each of those dogs will produce 'droppings' each and every day of their lives. That is an awful lot of dog poo. And yet, according to Kate Byrne's article ('No fines issued for dog fouling in 14 local authority areas last year,' August 20th), there were only 48 fines for dog fouling last year. No fines were issued in Cork and Dublin cities alone. Perhaps dog owners in both these cities are 100 per cent compliant and pick up after their dogs. But, a quick look at the streets of Dublin and Cork shows that this is clearly not the case. I don't know how many dog wardens we have in the country, but I have never seen one. Perhaps like many others they work from home? – Yours, etc, THOMAS G COTTER, Co Cork. A Rose by any other name Sir, – Can the age limit be removed for participants in the Rose of Tralee competition and I can then be a participant in this Lovely Ladies competition. – Yours, etc, GERALDINE GREGAN, Clarecastle, Co Clare. Ragwort and leafy Dublin Sir, – Frank McNally's Irishman's Diary entry on ragwort (An Irishman's Diary, August 21st) brings me back to my childhood in the Dublin suburb of Terenure (which The Irish Times catechism of cliche now requires me to describe as 'leafy'). Leafy or not, the local Garda station (and, if memory serves correctly, the library) used to prominently display a poster warning of the dangers of ragwort, which in the 1950s appeared to rank just below godless communism as a threat to our nation. When I returned to live in Ireland in the 2010s I was struck to see how this once noxious weed had proliferated in rural areas, apparently without destroying the livestock industry, and now it has even appeared in my garden in equally leafy Dundrum. I was delighted to see Frank mentioning the Irish name 'buachallán buí'. There is a jig commonly referred to in music collections and sessions as 'An Buachaillín Buí', but I once heard Séamus Ennis remark that its correct name is 'Na Buachalláin Buí' and explain that it meant ragwort. Maybe fellow musicians will believe me now. – Yours etc. ROGER O'KEEFFE, Dundrum, Dublin.
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Scottie Scheffler outguns Rory McIIroy on day one in battle for Tour Championship
Henley, who has already qualified for Keegan Bradley's US Ryder Cup team, made 207 feet of putts to lead by two from Scheffler, who shot 63 to McIlroy's 66. European Ryder Cup qualifiers Robert MacInytre and Tommy Fleetwood and US wildcard hopefuls Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and Justin Thomas shot 64s to share third as McIlroy's 66 left him tied for eighth. Henley was impressive but Scheffler was his usual relentless self as he bids to sweep the three playoff events and retain the FedExCup in what is a winner-takes-all affair in Atlanta this year. Battling each other for PGA Tour Player of the Year honours, it was Scheffler who had the better of the early exchanges as he birdied the second and third to move swiftly to two under. After making birdie at the par-five sixth, he watched McIlroy make eagle from 30 feet there and then birdie the seventh from seven feet to close the gap to two strokes. The world No. 1 then birdied the 10th to go three ahead and after McIlroy followed a birdie at the 11th with a three-putt bogey the 14th, there was still just a shot between them as both made twos at the short 15th. There was a chance of a two-shot swing in McIlroy's favour at the 16th but Scheffler made a 26-footer for par and the Holywood star left a 13-foot birdie chance on the lip. In the end, the two-shot swing came at the 17th, where Scheffler brushed in a 27-footer to get to six under as McIlroy bunkered his approach and made bogey to slip back to three under. McIlroy and Scheffler both found sand at the 18th but as the American got up and down, the Masters champion caromed off the grandstand behind the green and made the resulting 17-footer for birdie to stay in touch. Shane Lowry made two birdies and two bogeys in a level par 70 where he battled a lukewarm putter after also three putting the 14th. The Offaly man was tied for 23rd with the likes of US Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley and European wildcard candidate Harry Hall.
