Tommy Fleetwood of England ended a summer of heartache with the richest prize on the PGA Tour, winning the Tour Championship on Sunday for his first tour title to capture the FedEx Cup and its $10 million reward.
Fleetwood got plenty of help at the start when Patrick Cantlay began bogey-double bogey and could never catch up. Scottie Scheffler hit his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and still was a threat until a tee shot into the water ended his hopes on the 15th.
Through it all, Fleetwood held his nerve. He closed with a 2-under 68 for a three-shot victory over Cantlay (71) and Russell Henley (69).
“I’ve been a PGA Tour winner for a long time, it’s just always been in my mind,” Fleetwood said. “A lot of close calls, but I’ve always enjoyed the challenge.”
His first PGA Tour victory came with two trophies — the FedEx Cup and the “Calamity Jane” replica putter for the Tour Championship.
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley was within one shot of the lead on the front nine but wound up with a 70 to tie for seventh. He said he was “dead tired,” and now has to decide whether to use one of his six captain’s picks on himself. He announces his picks Wednesday.
“The only thing I care about is on Sunday of the Ryder Cup, that we win the Ryder Cup,” he said. “Then I’ll know I made the right decision. Until then, I won’t know. It’s going to be pretty wild.”
But this day, this moment, belonged to Fleetwood, enormously popular around the world for coping with so many close calls with a refreshing perspective and joy for those who beat him.
An eight-time winner around the world, no stranger to big stages at the Ryder Cup or his silver medal at the Olympics last summer, Fleetwood was constantly reminded of his failure to win on golf’s strongest circuit.
He saw a one-shot lead turn into a one-shot loss at the Travelers when he took three putts from the front of the green and Bradley made birdie. Fleetwood let a two-shot lead with three holes left get away from him at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to start the postseason.
For all the hurt, he never lost hope.
“Tomorrow might be my time, it might not,” he said Saturday evening before his third try going into the final round with no one in front him. “But I’ll still have a great time doing it.”
It was his time, and he had a blast.
Thousands of fans surrounded the 18th green at East Lake to watch the 34-year-old from England, all of them chanting, “Tommy! Tommy! Tommy!” Justin Rose, who rallied past him to win two weeks ago, and Shane Lowry stuck around to share in his big moment.
Fleetwood removed his cap when he tapped in for par, looked to the cloudy sky and let those long locks flow as he let out a yell.
Finally, Fleetwood.
“This wasn’t the most comfortable I’ve been,” Fleetwood said with a smile. “I feel like I’ve had a great attitude throughout it all. … I’m so happy I got it done.”
He started the final round tied for the lead with Cantlay, the FedEx Cup champion from 2021, searching for his first win in three years. Cantlay made bogey on the first, three-putted for double bogey on the second and suddenly was four behind.
Cantlay never went away, however, and a two-shot swing on the 10th — Fleetwood made bogey from the left rough, Cantlay made a 5-foot birdie — narrowed the gap to one shot. The next three holes were pivotal.
Cantlay failed to get on the green from a bunker on the par-3 11th and made bogey. Fleetwood birdied the next two holes with wedges to the 6-foot range, and Cantlay could only match one of them.
The last big hurdle was the 218-yard 15th to a peninsula green, where Fleetwood went in the water Saturday and made double bogey. This time he managed a bogey and didn’t miss a step the rest of the way in finishing at 18-under 262.
Cantlay was two back with three to play when he missed the 16th fairway and made bogey.
“It’s always good to have a chance on Sunday and to be right there,” he said. “I’ve been there plenty of times, and any time you get in that spot, it’s a real pleasure.”
Henley went 13 straight holes without a birdie and couldn’t put any serious pressure on him.
Scheffler’s start was even more shocking. His tee shot went left and disappeared under a fence, out-of-bounds. Then, he got up-and-down from 201 yards to salvage a bogey. He ran off three birdies in four holes to finish the turn, making a 40-foot birdie putt on the par-3 ninth.
But he missed a 5-foot birdie on the 10th, and his hopes ended with a 5-iron that went into the water on the 15th for double bogey. He closed with a 68.
There’s no doubting the best this year. Scheffler won five times, including two majors. He finished the season with 21 consecutive rounds in the 60s, and he has gone five straight months, finishing no worse than fifth. He was trying to become the first back-to-back FedEx Cup champion.
“I battled all week to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said. ” I wasn’t as sharp as I would have hoped to have. I had a good first round, but outside of that didn’t really play my best the first few days. Still gave myself a shot. Just needed a few better swings.”
Cameron Young also lingered for much of the final round and shot 66 to tie for fourth with Scheffler and Corey Conners (62), strengthening his bid to make his first Ryder Cup team before home fans in New York.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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