Tommy Fleetwood will surely get his first PGA Tour win very soon, but will it be at the Tour Championship on Sunday? Recent history tells us that it won’t be, unfortunately.
Fleetwood is tied for the lead heading into the final round of the Tour Championship on Sunday.
We’ve been here before, haven’t we? Fleetwood leads having played some exceptional golf all week before Sunday rolls around and he morphs into a completely different player – one who seems to be afraid of winning.
This time at East Lake could be different though. It feels different.
Rich Beem thinks Tommy Fleetwood will win the Tour Championship by shooting a round of 67 or better in Atlanta on Sunday.
It’s weird, isn’t it? Fleetwood could easily go out and shoot a 67 at East Lake on Sunday but it also wouldn’t be a shock if he posted a 72.
That said, there are only so many times he can knock on the door without the golfing gods allow him to enter.
Tommy Fleetwood praises one part of his game at the Tour Championship
Fleetwood has held the lead through 54 holes at three separate tournaments this season, including this week in Atlanta.
He hasn’t converted any of those leads, so he will be desperate to get over the line at East Lake on Sunday.
In order to do just that, he will need to hole his fair share of putts.
After his round of 67 at East Lake on Saturday, Fleetwood addressed the media.
He responded when asked if there was a specific moment during his round when everything clicked for him.
Fleetwood said: “Not really. I think I got on a really good run with my putting. I thought 5 was a great bounce-back. I hit a really good tee shot and a good shot into the green and a good putt, so I played that hole well. 6, I hit two good shots in. But then again, 7 sort of a poorish tee shot, got away with it, holed a long putt.
“I just think it was never a round that really flowed for me, but it was difficult. I think it was damp conditions, wasn’t cold by any means but obviously different air and windier, and I just found it a bit more difficult today.
“But the one thing I was really happy with was my putter. I felt like when I was on the green, talk about flow, things were going really well. Felt like I was reading them great and in a really good rhythm, so that was good.“
Fleetwood was then asked about his switch to a mallet putter back in April, and whether his stroke has changed because of it.
He said: “No. Honestly, so it was a Hilton Head, and I felt like I was putting pretty good really at the start of the year, but it was a little bit inconsistent, but I was still putting okay.
“I got to Hilton Head and I just felt like trying a different putter just for something different, something different to look at. I knew I was stroking it well, I was putting okay, but just a different energy about my putting.
“Got on the putting green with James, with TaylorMade, and we tried a bunch of different putters, and I ended up with a Spider, which I’ve never played before. A certain way that the lines worked for me that we’d drawn on that helped me line up and then hit the putt, and that’s been great.
“But I always feel like I do a lot of good things on the greens. I’ve worked with Phil for a long time. I’m lucky with the team behind me, and the Spider has definitely been a massive help since changing at Hilton Head. I think my putting stats have been really good, and I feel really good on the greens.“
The confidence emanating from Fleetwood when talking about his putting is hard to ignore. Maybe the final round at the Tour Championship will be different from what has happened in the past.
Tommy Fleetwood’s Tour Championship stats and what they mean for the final round
Fleetwood has putted exceptionally well at East Lake this week.
The Englishman’s work on the greens has been the cornerstone of his success so far.
Here are his stats over the first three days of the Tour Championship:
| Stats | Fleetwood’s rank |
| Strokes gained off the tee | 10 |
| Strokes gained approach | 12 |
| Strokes gained around the green | 15 |
| Strokes gained putting | 1 |
| Strokes gained total | T-1 |
One thing is clear and obvious to see; if Fleetwood is going to win the Tour Championship on Sunday, he needs to putt well.
The good news is that he is quite clearly very confident with his putter in hand at the moment.
Hopefully he putts aggressively from the very first hole on Sunday. If he rolls his putts two or three feet past the hole during the early part of his round, it will be a very good sign.
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