Ultimately, Tommy Fleetwood will be fine. He has millions of dollars, a loving family and the most luxurious head of hair in professional sports. We don’t want to go on too much of a tangent, but what a mane that guy has. He’s in his mid-30s and could be a shampoo model. Put this guy on every Head & Shoulders ad! Ahem… anyway, unfortunately for Fleetwood, he couldn’t finish the job at the Travelers Championship (despite a lead going into the 72nd hole) and remains winless on the PGA Tour after 159 events.
In that time, the Pom has constantly been in the mix, with six runner-up finishes, five third-place finishes and 42 top-10s (more than any other player). Just this season, Fleetwood has five top-10s, including three top-four finishes in his past six events. It’s not as if he can’t win – he has 10 professional victories, including seven on the DP World Tour – but it’s just not happening for him on the PGA Tour, which brings us to this debate:
Is it more impressive for a tour pro to have five top-10s in a season but no wins or one win and no other top-10s?
Our staff, unfortunately winless on the PGA Tour, thought it over and had plenty of takes. Here’s where we stand.
Joel Beall, senior writer: Five top-10s reveal more about a player’s true performance than any single victory – they expose his game and it’s ceiling, how his consistency holds across different courses and conditions, how his game translates from familiar territory to foreign soil. Yet the fact that someone as talented as Fleetwood has never captured a PGA Tour victory illuminates an intangible quality required to outlast 155 competitors (or 70 in signature events) across four days, something that defies measurement or analysis yet remains undeniably real. Top-10s can accumulate through fortunate breaks, favourable conditions or momentary hot streaks – they can slip through back doors when the stars align. But victories demand something more elemental, more complete. They require a player to seize his moment when it matters most, to close the door when others falter, to transform potential into a trophy. A win stands immutable in the record books, immune to revision or diminishment – and that distinction separates the good from great, even if the great is only 72 holes.
Alex Myers, senior writer: As hard as it is to win on the PGA Tour, there have been fluky one-hit wonders like Derek Ernst winning the 2013 Wells Fargo Championship. And then never being heard from again. Five top-10s in one season means you really played well for a significant chunk of the season.
Claire Lacher, brand and design lead: A tour pro to have five top-10s in a season but no wins, because it proves that they are consistently strong and have the skill to finish at the top even if it wasn’t their day to make it to No.1. I think the other way leaves open the door to say you might have had luck on your side.
Dave Shedloski, contributing editor: Let’s just do the maths, with the understanding that winning a golf tournament on the PGA Tour is damn hard. There are 46 tournaments on the tour this year. That’s 46 chances to win – though no one plays in all 46 events. So figure 20-25 chances to win and you have to beat Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy at some point to do that. But if you play 20-25 events, you have 20-25 chances to land in the top 10. And it might spill over to a few more if there’s a T-10 situation. And let’s face it, the amount of pressure to win compared to finishing top 10 is nowhere near the same. And the backdoor top-10 is the ultimate no-pressure move. Five top-10s is nice. But it can’t compare to a trophy.
Photo: Ben Jared
Greg Gottfried, web producer: As Ricky Bobby once said (and every single one of my school friends quoted for months on end), “If you’re not first, you’re last.” Although it’s unbelievably impressive to qualify for a PGA Tour event, let alone finish in the top five, I’m leaning towards a win ultimately mattering more than a handful of strong finishes. Finishing 72 holes atop the scrap heap is what will be remembered. Plus, it’ll be remarked upon incessantly if you never finish the job, à la Fleetwood. Hot-button sports-debate shows are a pox upon society, but I can’t argue with the common refrain that you need to win. I’m sure Fleetwood’s doing OK, but I would wager that he would trade all of these runners-up for one win on tour. Just to get the monkey off his back.
E. Michael Johnson, equipment editor: I have some personal experience here. I own five club championship runners-up and no wins. My club’s board lists winners and runners-up, so my name is up there five times. Anyone looking at that board is likely to think that’s a better accomplishment than a one-off win. But this isn’t club golf we’re talking about. We could also use some context. Did you win the Masters or the Puerto Rico Open? Are your five top-10s being runner-up at the four majors and the Players, or a bunch of T-9s at lesser events? But I digress. Assuming those scenarios are the extremes, it’s interesting because of the word “accomplishment”. Obviously, every tour player wants the win for the exemption and the Masters invite. Or just ask Fleetwood. However, 36 players had a win in 2024 and 34 had five top-10 finishes. By the stats, pretty close. Still, closing out a win counts for something in the area of accomplishment. The call here is when you take down a field of 150, that’s a lot more to be proud of than cashing cheques for consistency.
Christopher Powers, staff writer: The language here is key – more impressive. Smart framing by the great Greg Gottfried. If the question was what is simply better for your career overall, it’s obviously the W and no other top-10s. Depending on where it comes, it might just get you into all the majors, the Players, the Tour Championship, etc. There’s a reason they are always referred to as “life-changing” for the first-time winners. There’s no need for another stray T-9 to show you had a career-altering year. But the more impressive feat is clearly the five top-10s with no wins, because it’s a stronger body of work over the course of an entire season than just lucking into one victory and, presumably, sucking the rest of the year. Plus, you’ll then go into the off-season with the “due for a win next year” label. As good as gold.
