Tommy Fleetwood will have yet another chance to win his first event on the PGA Tour this week, with the Englishman sitting at the top of the Tour Championship leaderboard after two rounds.
Fleetwood has been in sensational form at East Lake, and how typical would it be if his first win on the PGA Tour came at the Tour Championship – the tournament with the biggest prize pot in golf.
However, he has plenty of top quality players slotted in behind him, including Keegan Bradley who fired a round of 64 on day two at East Lake.
Fleetwood wished Bradley luck ahead of the Ryder Cup earlier this week, before the Tour Championship started.
And on Friday, the US Ryder Cup captain sent a message to the 34-year-old Englishman.
Bradley raved about Fleetwood’s ability as a golfer and his mentality, and now the European Ryder Cup star has responded to the American.
Tommy Fleetwood responds to Keegan Bradley’s comments at the Tour Championship ahead of the Ryder Cup
Bradley finished his round early on Friday, and sat down with Smylie Kaufman to discuss all things Tour Championship and of course, the Ryder Cup.
As Fleetwood was playing a shot during the live broadcast, Bradley offered high words of praise for the Englishman.
Sky Sports commentator Nick Dougherty told Fleetwood that Bradley said one of the things he truly admires about him is that even when he has had a near miss, he is constantly there time and time again.
Fleetwood responded: “It means a lot. I just want to continue to work and try and be one of the best golfers in the world and compete with these guys week in and week out. I suppose when you have had enough near misses you learn that there is always another week coming up, there is absolutely no point in letting things have a negative impact on what you’re doing next week because every week starts again. I think I try to see the positives in everything while letting the negatives motivate me. I try to have that mindset and that’s what I would want to tell my kids. That’s how I would want them to look at it, so I have to be the one to show them that.
“There has been plenty of near misses, especially recently and I think every time it happens I think the best possible scenario is that I put myself in that position again. If I win, amazing, if I don’t, I don’t. I would rather have been there and not got it done and learn from that experience and come back again. I will be that much smarter and much more experienced and more motivated.
“It’s lovely words from Keegan. I enjoyed playing against him down the stretch at the Travelers. I think he’s an unbelievable player and he is going to be a great captain so I am one of the lucky guys who gets to go against that American team as captain. That’s very nice to hear from him.“
A top-notch response from Fleetwood indeed. The Englishman deserves a win at East Lake this week more than anyone else, and he’d be a hugely popular winner.
Keegan Bradley says he ‘felt bad’ about what he did after beating Tommy Fleetwood at the Travelers
Bradley got the better of Fleetwood at the Travelers Championship back in June.
After holing the winning putt, the Ryder Cup captain went crazy and celebrated with real passion.
However, Bradley admitted that he felt bad for doing that right in front of Fleetwood.
“It was a cool moment. To be honest with you, I know I’m supposed to be this like macho competitor. I really did feel for Tommy, like I really did. In the days following it was a weird feeling because I did really feel for him. I felt a little bit bad when I looked back at how crazy I went.“
Those comments from Bradley about Fleetwood prove how classy he is.
However, when the Ryder Cup begins, there is no way Bradley will be as friendly to Fleetwood at Bethpage Black as he was just after the Travelers.
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