Fleetwood wins Tour Championship for first PGA Tour title

ATLANTA — Tommy Fleetwood’s lengthy nightmare is over.

Following so many close to misses, the English golfer lastly picked up his first PGA Tour victory Sunday after posting a 2-under 68 to complete 18 underneath within the Tour Championship, three strokes forward of Russell Henley and Patrick Cantlay at East Lake Golf Club.

It was Fleetwood’s 164th profession begin on the PGA Tour, and his lengthy wait, whereas agonizingly painful and irritating at instances, was properly value it. He collected the FedEx Cup and $10 million for profitable.

“It’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight,” Fleetwood mentioned. “It’s different when you actually have to prove it.”

Though Fleetwood, 34, had received seven instances on the DP World Tour and three different instances all over the world, he had but to elevate a trophy in a PGA Tour occasion — till Sunday.

“It shows how great of an attitude he has towards the game, how resilient he is,” Rory McIlroy mentioned after posting an even-par 70 to tie for twenty third at 6 underneath. “If he gets it done today, that would be amazing. I think we’d all love him to.”

It’s not that Fleetwood wasn’t shut beforehand. His 30 top-five finishes and not using a victory had been essentially the most on the PGA Tour up to now 100 years, in line with ESPN Research. His $33.4 million in profession earnings had been essentially the most for a golfer who hadn’t received on tour.

“I never really felt like it wouldn’t happen,” Fleetwood mentioned. “But there’s always doubt there.”

Two of Fleetwood’s shut calls got here up to now two months. At the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, on June 22, he led by a shot going into the 72nd gap however three-putted and misplaced to Keegan Bradley by one.

“I’m upset now,” Fleetwood mentioned on the time. “I’m angry. … It hurts.”

At the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis two weeks in the past, Fleetwood had a two-shot lead with three holes to play within the first leg of the playoffs. He went 1 over down the stretch. Justin Rose beat J.J. Spaun in a playoff, whereas Fleetwood tied for third.

“Winning on the PGA Tour was a step that I really wanted to take,” Fleetwood mentioned. “You don’t need anything, but I wanted it. I wanted to do it. It sort of completes the story of the near misses.”

It wasn’t almost as dramatic Sunday. After Fleetwood made a bogey on the tenth gap to chop his lead over Cantlay to 1 stroke, he carded birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to return up three. Fleetwood had a three-stroke lead on the 18th gap.

Cantlay’s bogey on the par-4 sixteenth all however ended his comeback possibilities.

Fleetwood grew to become the primary golfer to seize his first victory within the Tour Championship at East Lake. Chad Campbell received the 2003 Tour Championship at Champions Golf Club in Houston.

World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, who was making an attempt to develop into the primary golfer to win the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons, had bother from the beginning Sunday.

On the opening gap, Scheffler badly pulled his tee shot down the left facet. His ball bounced as soon as and shot underneath a fence and out of bounds. He made a bogey to fall to 11 underneath, 5 pictures behind Fleetwood.

After one other bogey on the par-4 fifth, Scheffler picked up 4 birdies to get again into the combo. But then catastrophe struck when he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 fifteenth. A double-bogey 5 knocked him out of the hunt.

Scheffler posted a 2-under 68 and tied for fourth at 14 underneath, his 14th consecutive top-10 end, which tied Jack Nicklaus (1977) for the longest streak up to now 50 years.

Corey Conners, who carded an 8-under 62 on Sunday, and Cameron Young (66) tied for fourth as properly.

“I battled all week to give myself a chance,” Scheffler mentioned. “I wasn’t as sharp as I would have hoped to have. I had a good first round, but outside of that didn’t really play my best the first few days. Still gave myself a shot. Just needed a few better swings.”

Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, began the ultimate spherical three strokes behind Fleetwood and Cantlay. But he could not get a lot going, both. Bradley was additionally a sufferer of the difficult fifteenth gap when he pushed his tee shot proper into the water, resulting in a double-bogey 5.

Bradley will announce his six Ryder Cup captain’s picks Wednesday. He referred to as the potential for selecting himself the “biggest decision of my life.”

“No matter what decision that I make here, I could have gone the other way easily, no matter what,” Bradley mentioned. “The only thing I care about is on Sunday of the Ryder Cup, that we win the Ryder Cup. Then I’ll know I made the right decision.

“Until then, I will not know. It’s going to be fairly wild. Whatever choice we make, we will must reside with it. I like the fellows on our staff. They’re all enjoying nice. It’s simply actually one thing else. It’s superior.”

There hasn’t been a playing captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer led the Americans to a 23-9 rout at East Lake in 1963. Bradley is ranked No. 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and only Scheffler has more victories on tour over the past year.

“Nobody desires to win the Ryder Cup greater than Keegan Bradley,” said Maverick McNealy, who is 10th in points and tied for 23rd at 6 under this week. “I do know he will make the choice that is greatest for the staff. At the top of the day, it comes right down to who performs the perfect golf.”