Jackson: Tommy Fleetwood proved he is the most humble professional in golf

It took 164 attempts, but Tommy Fleetwood can now call himself a PGA Tour winner. After making his long-overdue breakthrough at the Tour Championship, he can also call himself a FedExCup champion!

The scale of his victory is seismic. We’re not talking about a run-of-the-mill regular Tour stop, with an average field on a friendly golf course. This was the season finale, with the top 30 players over the year competing for a $10million first prize.

The manner of his win at East Lake was just as impressive, finishing three shots clear of Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley. After so many near-misses and so much heartbreak, Fleetwood’s perseverance was rewarded in grand style.

There were times during the final round on Sunday that stung his legion of fans with a haunting familiarity. But this time, the setbacks were offset with positive responses, and even the shots that didn’t find the intended targets were purely-struck and fully committed.

After an encouraging start, Fleetwood made a mess of the fifth hole and did well to limit the damage to a bogey, and even his most ardent supporters would have been forgiven for thinking this could turn out to be another tale of “what might have been”.

But those fears were partially allayed by his demeanour as he strode to the sixth tee. The chin was up, the chest puffed out, and it was as if he was sending an “I’ll show you” message to any doubters.

Fleetwood birdied the next two holes, reached the turn two under for the round and in the outright lead. We had been here before, too many times, and when he pulled his drive into trouble at the 10th and could only punch back to the fairway, the doubts resurfaced.

He took his medicine, settled for bogey, steadied himself with a par at 11 and made back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th. Fleetwood had pulled away from the field and, although he bogeyed 15, he arrived on the 18th tee with a three-shot lead as the likes of Cantlay, Henley and Scottie Scheffler were unable to maintain their challenges.

The relief when he holed out for victory was understandable, but he did not go overboard with his celebrations. He proved, not for the first time, that he is probably the most humble professional in golf.

Moving forward, I am certain he will be in contention many more times in the near future. And when he is in the mix, whatever the event, he can look back on the final day in Atlanta for invaluable inspiration.

Sports psychologists will tell us it’s much easier, and more positive, to analyse what went right, rather than trying to learn from mistakes - whether they are technical issues or lapses in focus and concentration.

Former PGA champion Rich Beem was the on-course commentator for Sky Sports during the final round, and he noted something significant after Fleetwood’s back-to-back birdies on the front nine. He said the Englishman was walking with his head held high, and not looking at his shoes as he made his way to the next shot.

For me, that was a clue as to where Tommy’s mindset was. We all knew he had the talent to win big, as he has done on multiple occasions on the DP World Tour as well as the Ryder Cup. But getting over the line on the PGA Tour was a tough nut to crack, particularly after so many close calls.

Now he has lifted priceless silverware in the US, which met with the approval of the vast majority of home fans who chanted his name on the final green. Some have suggested the floodgates could open now for Tommy Fleetwood, with many expecting him to add multiple wins next season.

That might be the case, with the pressure of expectation unlikely to faze the 34-year-old. He’ll look at that differently to the pressure he faced while trying to bag his first PGA Tour win. Fleetwood’s level-headed approach will be a big factor, and he will keep his own expectations at a realistic level.

We will see Tommy Fleetwood win plenty more titles worldwide, and let’s hope a couple of those will be major championships. He’s cleared many technical and mental hurdles to get where he is now, and he is certainly not done yet.

Here’s a dream scenario. Having made such a stylish breakthrough on the PGA Tour, how about matching that in a major. Next year, The 154th Open will be played at Royal Birkdale, literally a stone’s throw from where he was born and bred in Southport.

Tommy Fleetwood, the Champion Golfer of the Year? You’d love to see it.