Sky Sports pundit details what he’s told Tommy Fleetwood about his putting after day one of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

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Tommy Fleetwood is leading the way after day one of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links Golf Club.

The Englishman made eight birdies and an eagle on his way to a ten-under-par 62. Dane Thorbjørn Olesen is one back at nine under, and LIV star Tyrrell Hatton is at eight under. Joaquin Niemann is six under, and Rory McIlroy is five under after posting a solid 68 on day one.

Fleetwood, however, caught the eye on Thursday. The Englishman has a new Taylormade putter in the bag, and the new flat stick appears to be working.

It’s not just the new putter that could be making an impact; Sky Sports pundit David Howell has revealed he’s lent a helping hand to the 33-year-old.

David Howell helps Tommy Fleetwood with his putting

Speaking during Sky Sports’ first-round coverage of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Howell revealed that he’s offered advice to Fleetwood, who is also under the guise of putting guru Phil Kenyon.

“To be honest with you, it was really about keeping his head still,” Howell revealed on Sky Sports.

“He’s been working on with Phil Kenyon; when he rocks backwards, he hits them out of the toe. I just gave him a couple of suggestions as to how to improve that. I’m sure he went away and thought we don’t know what we’re on about. He got some advice from Phil Kenyon; that’s probably the way it works.”

Fleetwood identified his putting as a weakness at the start of the PGA Tour season, and the work appears to be paying off. The Englishman finished third at both the Alfred Dunhill and Spanish Open.

Tommy Fleetwood’s DP World Tour putting statistics

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Despite performing well in recent weeks, Fleetwood has still lost strokes on the greens in his past three events.

At the Alfred Dunhill, Fleetwood lost 0.74 strokes to the field with the putter and eventually finished three shots behind Hatton and Nicolas Colsaerts. Throughout four rounds, those -0.74 strokes lost is the difference between winning and finishing inside the top five.

At the Spanish Open, Fleetwood lost two shots on the greens during the entire tournament. Had the Englishman managed an average strokes gained putting in Spain, he would’ve finished in second place alone.

Finally, Fleetwood lost nearly 3.5 strokes with the putter during the BMW PGA Championship. Clearly, improvement is required, and the fruits of his labour could well be starting to show in Abu Dhabi.