Tommy Fleetwood not putting pressure on himself to achieve PGA Tour dream
Tommy Fleetwood has set up a golden chance to chalk up his first PGA Tour title in his 162nd start as he takes a one-shot lead into the final round of the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.
Tommy Fleetwood admits he is going with the flow as he looks to fulfil a childhood dream and finally win for the first time on the PGA Tour.
Fleetwood, 34, takes a narrow one-stroke lead over his compatriot Justin Rose into the final round of the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.
This week's tournament marks the first of three Playoffs events in the FedEx Cup.
Fleetwood, a proven seven-time winner on the DP World Tour and former Race to Dubai champion, came closest to winning on the PGA Tour two months ago at the Travelers Championship when losing out to US Ryder Cup Keegan Bradley on the 72nd hole.
That marked the sixth runner-up finish of Fleetwood's PGA Tour career.
Eight weeks later the door is once again open for Fleetwood, who leads Rose by one shot on 14-under par with 18 holes to play in Memphis.
A certain World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is then lurking a further shot back in solo third on 12-under par.
Position | Player | Score |
1 | Tommy Fleetwood | -14 |
2 | Justin Rose | -13 |
3 | Scottie Scheffler | -12 |
4 | J. J. Spaun | -11 |
4 | Andrew Novak | -11 |
Fleetwood, who is making his 162nd start on the PGA Tour this week, not only has six second-place finishes to his name but also a whopping 42 top-10 finishes, which is the most of any player without a victory on the circuit since 1983.
When pressed by a reporter as to what he has learned most from his recent near-miss on the PGA Tour that he can take into the final round, Fleetwood admits all he can keep doing is giving himself a chance to win.
"I played well last time. I came very close," Fleetwood told reporters after carding a third round of 69 at TPC Southwind.
"I led the tournament for such a long time and it didn't happen, and I said then, yeah, there's an element to me, sort of it's taken me a long time to win out here, and I still haven't done it, but best possible scenario at that Travelers straight away was can I put myself in that position again sooner rather than later.
"It's just another opportunity for me to go out and try and have the best round of golf I can, enjoy being in that position. The more I put myself there, the more chance there is of it happening, and just go out and keep learning from every experience. But tomorrow [Sunday] might be my day, it might not, but being there is the most important thing, and I'll continue to try and do that."
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Fleetwood added he's always been something of a "natural optimist" in life.
"I just think I would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all.
"So either way, like, it's a good thing. Yeah, it hurts when it doesn't happen for you and that sort of streak, if you like, and people talk about it more and more, that goes on. Obviously it's not my favorite time, like walking off the 18th at that point.
"But I practice so hard at my game, and I work so hard and I enjoy being out here four days like this, Sunday going tomorrow, and all the times when you're 40th place going into Sunday, 30th, 20th, you might have a great day and you might feel good, but it's just not the same as being in contention.
"As I say, I just look forward to the opportunities and continue to give myself a chance in chasing my dreams, and whether they happen or not tomorrow or the next week or the week after, that's another story. But I'm looking forward to it nonetheless."
Fleetwood entered the FedEx Cup race at ninth in the standings heading into the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Should he go on to win for the first time on the PGA Tour tonight then he is projected to jump all the way up to second behind Scheffler.
Andy Roberts first joined GolfMagic on a month's work experience back in April 2011.
Andy has now assumed the role of GolfMagic Editor since 2015.
