\u201cI would love to just go and sulk somewhere, and maybe I will do,\u201d Fleetwood said then. \u201cBut there\u2019s just no point making it a negative for the future really, just take the positives and move on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did plenty of things well enough this week to win, I didn\u2019t do that, it hurts. [But] when it calms down, the most stupid thing to do and the worse thing to do would be to make a week like this a hindrance to what you do going forward. 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.\u201d <\/p>\n
As if he spoke it into existence, Fleetwood is back in that terrifying position this week in Memphis, Tenn., at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Fleetwood opened with rounds of 63 and 64 at TPC Southwind<\/a>, and backed it up with a one-under 69 on Saturday. He will take a one-shot lead over good friend Justin Rose<\/a> into Sunday\u2019s final round, with Scottie Scheffler<\/a> lurking two shots back. <\/p>\n Sunday will be another opportunity for Fleetwood to snap his PGA Tour 0-for streak. There will be pressure and nerves. He welcomes them because he\u2019s already done what he set out to do. <\/p>\n \u201cI played well last time,\u201d Fleetwood said Saturday when asked about what he learned at Travelers. \u201cI came very close. I led the tournament for such a long time and it didn\u2019t happen, and I said then, yeah, there\u2019s an element to me, sort of it\u2019s taken me a long time to win out here, and I still haven\u2019t done it, but best possible scenario at that Travelers straight away was can I put myself in that position again sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just another opportunity for me to go out and try and have the best round of golf I can, enjoy being in that position. 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\u2019ll continue to try and do that.\u201d<\/p>\n It was then that Fleetwood was confronted with the question of perspective \u2014 about the optimism that seems to flow so freely and is never dammed up, no matter the heartbreak. <\/p>\n The Englishman smiled and looked upward before revealing something about himself \u2014 something that will serve him well Sunday, whether he bests his good friend Rose and holds of Scheffler or not: a perspective that calms the mind and soul and allows for disappointments to be turned into a productive force even while the hurt is still fresh. Something few possess in golf, let alone life. <\/p>\n \u201cProbably,\u201d Fleetwood said, when asked if he\u2019d always been an optimist. \u201cI think so. Yeah, I just think I would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all. So either way, like, it\u2019s a good thing. Yeah, it hurts when it doesn\u2019t happen for you \u2026 Obviously, it\u2019s not my favorite time, like walking off the 18th at that point. But I practice so hard at my game, and I work so hard and I enjoy being out here for days like this, Sunday going tomorrow. All the times when you\u2019re in 40th place going into Sunday, 30th, 20th, you might have a great day and you might feel good, but it\u2019s just not the same as being in contention.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I say, I just look forward to the opportunities and continue to give myself a chance, chasing my dreams, and whether they happen or not tomorrow or the next week or the week after, that\u2019s another story. But I\u2019m looking forward to it nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood will arrive at TPC Southwind on Sunday ready for an 18-hole walk toward his dreams. Perhaps Sunday will be the day everything aligns for Tommy Fleetwood. But if not, Fleetwood, the eternal optimist, will absorb the hurt, shake it off and use it to move toward what comes next \u2014 toward the dreams that one day he\u2019ll catch and hold in the palm of his hands. <\/p>\n Because for those with a believer\u2019s soul, there is no other way to see it.<\/p>\n \n Tommy Fleetwood makes birdie on 16 at TPC Southwind\n <\/p>\n Josh Schrock<\/p>\n Josh Schrock is a writer and reporter for Golf.com. Before joining GOLF, Josh was the Chicago Bears insider for NBC Sports Chicago. He previously covered the 49ers and Warriors for NBC Sports Bay Area. A native Oregonian and UO alum, Josh spends his free time hiking with his wife and dog, thinking of how the Ducks will break his heart again, and trying to become semi-proficient at chipping. A true romantic for golf, Josh will never stop trying to break 90 and never lose faith that Rory McIlroy\u2019s major drought will end (updated: he did it). Josh Schrock can be reached at josh.schrock@golf.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seven weeks ago, Tommy Fleetwood let his first career PGA Tour win slip through his fingers as Keegan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,622,82],"class_list":["post-59367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/03-19-24-HOSTING-FNIC-004.mp4.03_09_11_21.Still001-1.jpeg\")
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