Tommy Fleetwood is coming off his first ever PGA Tour win and a Ryder Cup victory in 2025, but didn’t start off the 2026 season exactly how he would have liked
Tommy Fleetwood finished at T-25 at Dubai Invitational(Image: Getty Images)
Tommy Fleetwood was amongst two of his former Ryder Cup teammates at the Dubai Invitational, but finished down on the leaderboard at T-25.
Fleetwood had an outstanding 2025 season, earning his first PGA Tour win and coming home with a Ryder Cup victory.
On the DP World Tour’s first event of 2026, Fleetwood didn’t perform like we’ve seen in 2025, as Fleetwood posted a seven-over par 78 at the exact venue he hoisted a trophy at just two years ago.
Fleetwood tried to bounce back and in the third round, shooting a 66. “Golf’s hard,” said Fleetwood after the third round.
READ MORE: Bo Nix out of NFL Playoffs as Sean Payton drops stunning bombshell after Bills winREAD MORE: Indiana star’s brutally honest opinion shows just how far Hoosiers have come entering CFP final
“Every now and then it’s very humbling. Yesterday was one those days where… I get down on myself more than anyone, but when you look over it, I scored the absolute worse I could and everything I could do wrong – I did wrong. But I wasn’t terrible, if you know what I mean? It was an accumulation of doing everything wrong at the same time.
“Yeah that was really disappointing especially after I felt like I battled really hard Thursday and had a good finish,” Fleetwood added with a laugh.
“Today I even played the first three holes well and I was one over through three. I couldn’t have been any worse and then eventually I got it going.
Nacho Elvira won the 2025 Dubai Invititational(Image: )
“Just happy to play well. I felt like my swing was better today even though I wasn’t on it yesterday but I felt like I was better today and a lot closer I had a lot more good iron shots. I played much and still felt like I left just some scruffy stuff like had a few chips in the rough and stuff.
“But, overall, I’m happy I put a good round in after yesterday.”
Nacho Elvira topped the leaderboard, earning the first win of 2026 on the DP World Tour at 10-under.
READ MORE: Bills star breaks down in tears after hearing what Josh Allen said about lossREAD MORE: Miami QB Carson Beck takes subtle dig at SEC after playoff disappointment
“It means the world,” said Elvira after the win. “Tell me on Tuesday I’m gonna be winning this and I would never believe you. It’s a dream come true, especially having a family here. I always dream of my kids walking up to me with a win and I mean after this, nothing compares to this.”
Elvira carded a 10-under par 69 and benefitted from dramatic final-hole mishaps by Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. The 190th-ranked player in the world did what the two Ryder Cup stars couldn’t and kept out of the trouble down No. 18 and earned par.