Tommy Fleetwood gives early verdict of his 2026 Masters chances

Tommy Fleetwood had a predictable response when asked if we could see him wearing a green jacket soon.

The Englishman, 34, has undeniably had the best year of his career and appears to be reaching career-defining form. 

Fleetwood went into the Ryder Cup in New York brimming with confidence after holding his nerve to claim his maiden PGA Tour title at the Tour Championship in August. 

The win came on his 164th attempt and he was even lauded with personal messages from Tiger Woods and LeBron James.  

Then he was the top points scorer at Bethpage Black as Europe held on to secure a dramatic 15-13 away victory. 

Over the weekend, Fleetwood made his son Frankie's dream come true by adding more silverware to his trophy cabinet at the inaugural DP World India Championship. 

Is the sky the limit for Fleetwood? It certainly seems that way.  

The top-ranked Scottie Scheffler is the favourite to land his third Masters title next April but an unburdened Fleetwood could be dangerous at Augusta National. 

Fleetwood wants to finish 2025 before setting next season's goals.

"It would be nice," Fleetwood said of winning the green jacket. 

"I imagine those things all the time, it's just about making it a reality. Yeah, absolutely [I would love to win]. 

"When the season finishes you look at sort of targets and goals for the following season. I still have two tournaments to go. 

"I still have things that I want to complete in those two tournaments that I'll strive for, and then when eventually we get that done with, we'll look towards 2026 and see what we can do."

Fleetwood's performances in the majors this year were a mixed bag. 

He missed the cut at the US Open and finished in the top 25 at The Masters and The Open. At the PGA Championship, he ended up 41st on the leaderboard. 

Fleetwood added: "I did say the two things that disappointed me this year were my major performances and where I stood in the DP World Tour rankings. Those are things that I'll look at for next year.

"For us all as golfers, those are the events. Those four events a year, those majors, mean so much that we try and prepare for and play our best. I'll be always trying to make my game be able to suit those."

Fleetwood will now turn his attention to the ABU Dhabi HSBC Championship over 6-9 November. 

The DP World Tour Championship will be played a week later. 

Rory McIlroy currently leads the Race to Dubai Rankings and is bidding to win the order of merit for the seventh time in his career. 

Why Tommy Fleetwood will be eyeing up 2026  - analysis

Momentum is a funny thing in golf and right now it is very much with the Englishman. 

Fleetwood has been knocking on the doors at the major championships for a while and in truth has been unfortunate not to have won one. 

Fleetwood finished one stroke behind Brooks Koepka at the 2018 US Open after carding a sizzling 63 in the final round at Shinnecock Hills. 

The major returns there next June. 

Fleetwood also secured a tie for second place at the 2019 Open, finishing just two strokes behind Shane Lowry. 

It's worth noting Fleetwood has also posted top five finishes at both The Masters and PGA Championship. 

At 33, Fleetwood has now hit the sweet spot. 

He's hones his mental toughness through past heartbreaks and has demonstrated that he has the patience and ability to close out tournaments when the pressure cooker turns up. 

Tommy Fleetwood to win a major in 2026?

He absolutely will, in my opinion.