It remains incredibly surprising that Tommy Fleetwood is still awaiting his first win on the PGA Tour, with the 34-year-old unquestionably one of the best players in the world for several years.
Tommy Fleetwood goes into the final round of the Travelers Championship with a golden opportunity to secure his first PGA Tour title. The Englishman boasts a three shot lead over the likes of Russell Henley and Keegan Bradley.
It will have come as a shock to some to see Fleetwood take such control of the tournament. While he was tied for the lead at the halfway stage, Fleetwood was in the penultimate group out on Saturday with Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas also on nine under par.
However, it was Fleetwood who shone in the third round. While TPC River Highlands has the potential to produce some incredibly low scores – thus, giving those further back some hope – you would imagine that the winner will come from those currently in the top four.
Brandel Chamblee suggests what has held Tommy Fleetwood back on the PGA Tour
Fleetwood is in an amazing position. And it seems that he could hardly find himself on a better course for his game.
Speaking on Golf Channel about his skillset, Brandel Chamblee explained what he believes to be the reason that he has not been able to get across the line on the PGA Tour – and why his issue is less of a problem this week.
“If you talk about what he’s been doing well this year, every aspect of his game is marvellous. And when you add it all up, there’s only six players strokes gained total who are better on the PGA Tour. Improvement there in strokes gained approach. But really has no real weaknesses other than, I would say, he’s not dominant in terms of distance off the tee. And to whatever degree he’s been held back, and I would say that this is what has held him back is his clubhead speed has decayed in an era when everybody’s trying to get longer and trying to get faster, his clubhead speed is now just shy of 115 miles an hour. That’s 125th on the tour. He’s 135th in driving distance, which makes it harder for him to beat up the par fives,” he said.
“Par five scoring average: 86th, par five birdie or better: 93. When you’re competing against Rory, who swings it 125 or Bryson DeChambeau, who swings it 130, Xander Schauffele: 123, Scottie Scheffler: around 120, you are giving up a lot of horsepower off of the tee. But when you come to a golf course like this, which is sneaky hard when you miss the fairways, not particularly difficult as it relates to par fives, just two of them and everybody in the field can get there in two, he’s leading the field in driving accuracy, he’s 69th out of 70th in driving distance, I’m not saying he’s short, but relative to those who are getting the lion’s share of victories at the top, he does give up a lot of horsepower, but it’s not hurting him here.”
Victory at the Travelers Championship would see Tommy Fleetwood’s underrated season receive the praise it arguably deserves
It has arguably gone under the radar just how good a season Fleetwood has had so far. While he has not won, his consistency has left him 16th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Three of his four top 10s this year have come in signature events, while his only missed cut of the season came at the US Open – where he was nine over par for two rounds and only just missed out.
A victory on Sunday is currently on course to lift Fleetwood into seventh in the FedEx Cup as the playoffs start to loom on the horizon.
There is also the small matter next month of The Open Championship, which returns to Royal Portrush this year.
The last time the major was held in Northern Ireland, Fleetwood ended up finishing second. So a victory this week could have a huge impact on his momentum.
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