It was another painful finish for Tommy Fleetwood on Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Trying to claim his first PGA Tour title in 162 starts, the 34-year-old Englishman had a two-shot lead with three holes to play at TPC Southwind, only to finish par-bogey-par and miss out on a playoff with Justin Rose and J.J. Spaun.
Yet on Monday, Fleetwood took to social media to thank his supports and send them a message that he’s not ready to give up the fight.
With every disappointment I truly know I’m closer and closer and even more determined than ever that I will get this done. The support I’ve received is invaluable and hugely appreciated, we’ll get there together!@JustinRose99, your win is inspiring, congratulations my friend!!… pic.twitter.com/Q4X5w8zgLE
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) August 11, 2025
Despite winning seven times on the DP World Tour, most recently at the 2024 Dubai Invitational, Fleetwood can only claim near-misses on the PGA Tour. This was his 43rd top-10 finish, a span in which he’s had six runner-up finishes and six third-place showings, while missing only 24 cuts.
Fleetwood’s struggles became a “thing” in the minds of many golf fans at the 2020 Honda Classic. That’s when NBC analyst Paul Azinger raised the specter of a mental block going on for Fleetwood, who had a one-shot lead entering the final round but shot a closing 71 at PGA National, with a bogey on the final hole, to finish third.
“A lot of pressure here, you’re trying to prove to everybody that you’ve got what it takes. These guys know, you can win all you want on that European Tour or in the international game and all that but you have to win on the PGA Tour,” Azinger said.
Fleetwood nearly broke through at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open. He earned a spot in a playoff with Nick Taylor, only to watch him roll in a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth extra hole to become the first Canadian to win the national open in 69 years.
More recently, Fleetwood looked like he was about to claim the title at the Travelers Championship in June, holding a one-shot lead on the final hole at TPC River Highlands and sitting less than 150 yards from the green in the fairway after a perfect tee shot. But his approach missed short of the green, and he couldn’t get up and down to save par, while Keegan Bradley made a birdie to claim victory.
Tracy Wilcox
It was a gutting finish, but Fleetwood remained optimistic in the aftermath. “I’m upset now, I’m angry,” Fleetwood said. “When it calms down, look at the things that I did well, look at the things that I can learn from. So I did plenty of things well enough this week to win, I didn’t do that; it hurts. When it calms down, the most stupid thing to do and the worst thing to do would be make a week like this a hindrance to what you do going forwards.
“I obviously played great, I put myself in a great position, I was leading the tournament for 71 holes. I just want to make sure that I can put myself in this position as soon as possible again and try and correct what I did this time. But like I say, right now I would love to, you know, just go and sulk somewhere and maybe I will do that, but there’s just no point making it a negative for the future, really. Just take the positives and move on.”
Fleetwood took a similar stance on Sunday night. “I’m obviously going to be disappointed. I said last time, there’s a lot of positives to take, as much as I don’t really … I won’t feel like that right now,” a dejected Fleetwood mustered. “I’m just going to look at what I feel like I could have done and how close it was. You know, we move on. There’s another week that’s next and I’ve just got to reflect on today and obviously keep pushing forward and try and put myself in that position again.”
The fact Fleetwood had himself back atop a leaderboard so quickly after the Travelers performance, and in such a high stakes event as the first FedEx Cup Playoff championship, speaks to the Englishman’s resolve. Some on social media are questioning if the scars these finishes are leaving might be too difficult for Fleetwood to overcome, hinting that a maiden win that seemed inevitable at one point might not be the case.
Give Fleetwood credit, however, for putting as positive a spin on it as he can. It’s feels like the only way he can keep from letting all the doubters get their way.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
