On twist to that famous line from Alfred Lord Tennyson, Tommy Fleetwood says it’s better to come close and lose than to not have a chance to win at all. At least that’s how he saw his disappointing finish at the Travelers Championship in June when he frittered away a three-shot lead over the final four holes to open the door for Keegan Bradley.
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And that’s his attitude heading into Sunday’s final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Fleetwood has another chance to break through for his first PGA Tour title, carrying a one-stroke lead over fellow Englishman Justin Rose at TPC Southwind in Memphis. With a third-round one-under 69, Fleetwood survived a topsy-turvy day to post 14-under 196, though the finish harkened back to the Travelers when he bogeyed the final hole while Rose scrounged out a birdie from the rough for a two-shot swing.
Rose, who nearly ruined the Masters for Rory McIlroy before losing in a playoff, has a chance to send Fleetwood home winless for the 162nd time after his four-footer at the 18th gave him a 67.
Meanwhile, poised to ruin everyone else’s day is World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is only two behind thanks to a 65. The FedEx Cup points leader birdied two of his last three holes, including a seven-footer at the home hole, to cast his large shadow over the final 18 holes as he goes for his fifth win of the year.
But back to Fleetwood, who led by three after 36 holes, fell two behind Rose early in the third and then got his act together, only to end on a bogey for the second straight day after missing his lone fairway of the day. Ranked 15th in the world, Fleetwood clings to the notion of better to have lost and loved it than … well, you get the picture.
“Yeah, I just think I would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all,” he said. “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.
“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,” added Fleetwood, 34, who has won eight times abroad. “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 might be my day, it might not, but being there is the most important thing, and I’ll continue to try and do that.”
Fleetwood has six runner-up finishes, and his 42 top-10 results are the most of any player without a win on the PGA Tour since they began keeping statistics in 1983.
Rose, 45, has 11 tour wins, the last at Pebble Beach two years ago, and he won the FedEx Cup title in 2018, so he understands how big Sunday’s final round will be, which makes his pairing with Fleetwood in the final group both welcome and difficult.
Scottie Scheffler watches a tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Stacy Revere
“There’s a lot at stake tomorrow,” said Rose, who entered the week 25th in the points standings and can stamp his ticket to the Tour Championship with a win or high finish. “If you win, clearly tons at stake. Whatever happens tomorrow, either of us is going to have to just hang in there, keep having as best day as we possibly can because there’s just lots to play for. We want to come out and win. We want to come out and play great. That’s objective A. But if you’ve got to resort to plan B, we’ll be out there, we’ll be playing in good spirits, we’ll have our heads down, work as hard as we can, shake hands and give each other a hug on 18.”
Winning takes on a different meaning as it relates to the overall FedEx Cup points standings. The top 50 at the completion of the tournament advance to next week’s BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland and, more importantly, afford exemptions into all of the 2026 signature events.
Chris Kirk is attempting to keep his season alive for the second straight week. At nine-under 201, Kirk is tied for sixth and is projected to rise from 61st to 48th in the points race. Last week, he finished T-5 at the Wyndham Championship and was the only player to move inside the top 70 after starting the final regular season event 73rd. Kirk shot 66 on Saturday, as did Rickie Fowler, who also sits at 201. He hovers near the bubble, projected to finish 49th after arriving at TPC Southwind 64th.
On the opposite side of the equation, Jordan Spieth has work to do in the final round after a second straight 70 and one-under 209 total has so far cost the three-time major winner a projected six spots, from 48th to 54th. It would mark the second straight year Spieth, coming off wrist surgery last year, will have fallen short of the second leg of the playoffs.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
