Golf analyst makes shock Tommy Fleetwood 18th hole putt revelation after PGA Tour heartbreak

Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has rushed to the defence of Tommy Fleetwood by declaring his seven-foot putt for par "clearly hit something that caused it to dart right and miss" at the Travelers Championship. 

Fleetwood, 34, held a commanding three-shot lead entering the final round of the eighth and final $20m Signature Event of the PGA Tour season.

The Englishman held a two-shot lead with three holes to play but finished bogey-par-bogey to lose by one shot to Keegan Bradley.

Fleetwood, who led by one shot heading down the par-4 18th, took three putts from the front edge of the green some 40 feet away from the pin.

The Englishman's first putt came up seven feet shy of the cup, and just short of where Bradley, 39, had stuffed his approach shot to six feet.

Fleetwood's par save missed on the right, and it left the stage clear for Bradley to roll his birdie putt home for an eighth PGA Tour title and his second Travelers title in the last three years. 

One-time PGA Tour winner Chamblee, however, believes Fleetwood was left to rue a bad break with his par putt. 

Chamblee considers the putt hit a mark in the green, which veered the ball off to the right. 

Fleetwood, who finished T2 with Russell Henley, was seeking a first PGA Tour title in his 159th appearance on the circuit.

He has now amassed an active record of 42 top 10 finishes without a win on the PGA Tour, including six runner-up finishes. 

"Tommy Fleetwood’s short putt on the 18th hole of the @TravelersChamp clearly hit something that caused it to dart right and miss," tweeted Chamblee.

"On the @GolfCentral set last night, after he won, Keegan Bradley told @RichLernerGC and me that Fleetwood’s putt “broke” more than he thought, but that he —from almost the exact same line—played less break because he believed his read over what he had just seen. 

"I feel bad for Tommy, but you’ve got to hand it to Keegan for the shots he played at the last and the belief he showed in an incredible reversal of fortune."

PGA Tour caddie Kip Henley is another that considers Fleetwood was hard done by with his par putt. 

Fleetwood admitted he was "angry, upset and gutted" to have thrown away a golden chance of winning a first PGA Tour title. 

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