Tommy Fleetwood insisted he is ready to write a fresh chapter of golfing success after ending his wait for a victory in the United States after 11 years.
Fleetwood’s three-stroke win at the Tour Championship in Atlanta came in his 164th start on the PGA Tour. While determined to enjoy the moment, the 34-year-old from Southport has no plans to rest on his laurels. Fleetwood had been probed time and again about his series of near misses in the US.
“The guys that win the most are in contention so much, they’re up there all the time,” Fleetwood said. “That’s where I want to be. I want to be up there. It’s taken me a while to get this done, to get this first win. I’ve never looked at it as just trying to win once. I’ve always had the mindset that I want to win multiple. I want to win plenty. It’s just that the first one seems to have taken a long time.
“The next one might take a long time; I don’t know. But I’ve always had the mindset that I just want to be one of the best players in the world, I want to keep putting myself in contention. I always felt like it would probably happen.
“It completes the story of the near misses and it has a crescendo to what has been building towards the back end of the season. But when I go home, I’m just going to start practising again. I’m going to start working again and I’m going to look towards the next tournament.”
Tommy Fleetwood with his caddie Ian Finnis. Photograph: Kevin C Cox/Getty Images
Fleetwood is likely to move to sixth in the world. He collected a cheque for $10m at East Lake. Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley were nudged into second place as Fleetwood’s closing 68 left him on 18 under par. The Englishman’s victory was a hugely popular one throughout golf.
“I think it’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight,” Fleetwood added. “It’s different when you actually have to prove it. There’s different types of mental strength. I’ve clearly got things wrong in the dire moments of tournaments and I might have made the odd dodgy decision, might have put a bad swing on it. But I’ve had to have mental strength in a different way. 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.
“Think the right things, say the right things to yourself, say the right things outwardly, and I am really pleased that I can be proof that if you do all the right things and you just keep going that it can happen.”
Tiger Woods was amongst those to praise Fleetwood in the immediate aftermath of his victory. “Your journey is a reminder that hard work, resilience and heart do pay off,” Woods posted on social media. “No one deserves it more.”
Away from sporting superstars, Fleetwood has been identified by the public as a hugely relatable athlete. “I’ve always been very lucky that I make a great connection with people,” Fleetwood said. “If I could give my kids one piece of advice, there’s tons of advice but I always tell them to be a good person first and I’ve always tried to do that.
“My dad always told me that, even when I was a young, aspiring amateur golfer, professional golfer, he always said person first, golfer second. You’re a good person first. Whatever happens after that, you try to be a good golfer second. I’ve always tried to be that.”
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