Tommy Fleetwood has spoken about his goals for the 2026 season ahead of the Dubai Invitational.
Fleetwood is playing in the DP World Tour event this week alongside Rory McIlroy and several other European stars.
He is currently third in the Official World Golf Ranking after an excellent 2025 season, highlighted by a victory at the Tour Championship.
The Englishman has now shared whether he thinks he is as good as the top two in the rankings, Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy.
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Tommy Fleetwood wants to catch Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy
Fleetwood admitted in his press conference before the Dubai Invitational that catching Scheffler and McIlroy is on his mind this year.
However, the 34-year-old is humble enough to realize that they are clearly better golfers than he is at the moment.
“I would love to [challenge them]. There is a clear gap; those two guys are definitely the best golfers in the world,” Fleetwood said.
“I’m just one of the players in the pack behind that has some catching up to do there. Look at every aspect of my game, where I can improve, where I can pick up the smallest amount of shots on those guys. But it’s an amazing challenge, if you think of it like that…
“Challenging the top two players in the world, I’m not going to say that that’s something that I’m not focused on and not interested in. Of course you are, and you want to see where you can get to, but that’s a long road ahead. That’s not going to happen next week or in a couple of months.
“So I have to really just stick in, work on my game. I think it’s an amazing opportunity. I really think Scottie and Rory already are, but definitely when we look back at this time, going to be very high up there in the greatest players of all time.
“To be the next guy at this current time, that could change next week or in a month, whatever that may be. I just think it’s very, very cool and very special, and I just love the fact that I am sort of in the mix.”
What specific part Tommy Fleetwood’s game do you think he must improve if he is to ever win a major?
Tommy Fleetwood reflects on beating Rory McIlroy at the 2024 Dubai Invitational
Even though Fleetwood is not yet on the same level as Scheffler and McIlroy, he has beaten them on several occasions.
Indeed, he outperformed McIlroy in the 2024 Dubai Invitational, clinching a one-shot victory.
Fleetwood reflected on his “amazing” success against his European Ryder Cup teammate two years ago.
“I played really well here last year, two years ago, even. I enjoyed playing with Rory in that last round,” he added. “Any time you get to test yourself against one of the greatest of all time is always a lot of fun.
“It’s a great finish. I think it was a good reminder that anything can happen, that you just have to stick in. I felt like I had control of the tournament on the back nine, and Rory came through.
“Tristan had an amazing round, and things went my way. It was just a reminder that you have to keep going and play until the very end. And winning is always cool. I had the family there. It was amazing.”
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