August 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nSuppose performance psychology research can add to what we already know. In that case, it\u2019s that facing the lingering thoughts of those repeated close-calls prompts a uniquely human response \u2014 with an oftentimes unfortunate result. The more we try to prevent an unwanted outcome, the harder it is to pursue what we want to achieve freely.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not as if Fleetwood hasn\u2019t won golf tournaments and doesn\u2019t have the skill required to outlast the best players on the PGA Tour. He has seven victories in Europe. He\u2019s the No. 4-ranked player on DataGolf.com and a top-10 ballstriker in the world. It\u2019s the final moments \u2014 the closing stretch en route to a PGA Tour trophy \u2014 that has proven to be Fleetwood\u2019s Achilles\u2019 heel. Fleetwood has 29 top-5 finishes on the PGA Tour, including at all four majors. According to The Athletic contributor Justin Ray, that\u2019s 11 more top-5s than any other player without a PGA Tour win over the last 40 years.<\/p>\n
One of those finishes came just last month at the Travelers Championship, where Fleetwood stumbled late and lost to Keegan Bradley. In that event, Fleetwood shot 66-65-63-72. This weekend, he shot 63-64-69-69. In both final rounds, Fleetwood opened with a bogey.<\/p>\n
Davis Love III won 21 times on the PGA Tour, but he also finished second 30 other times, No. 17 on the tour\u2019s all-time list. Love, now 61, is aware of that statistic. Reflecting on Fleetwood\u2019s most recent close-call, the major champion recalls that more of his victories on the PGA Tour resulted from come-from-behind surges than sleeping on a 54-hole lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen (Fleetwood) bogeys the first hole, what\u2019s the first thought that\u2019s going to pop into your head? It\u2019s \u2018Oh no. Here we go again,\u2019\u201d Love says. \u201cIt\u2019s not a golf swing or golf mechanics issue. It\u2019s just a mental thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Love, who also worked with Rotella throughout his career, can relate to Fleetwood\u2019s pursuit \u2014 all golfers can, at varying degrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody has the same problem. It\u2019s expectations,\u201d Love says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re trying to get your card or your FedEx Cup points to make the top 50, or you\u2019re Tiger Woods trying to win your 100th tournament. It\u2019s a mental battle to not play for something other than one shot at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every time Fleetwood gets into contention, he\u2019s battling the challenge of his own tournament history. The headlines, the statistics \u2014 the frenzy is impossible to ignore, and every time it happens again, the task can feel more difficult, as Fleetwood admitted on Saturday evening, knowing he\u2019d begin the next day with Rose, Scottie Scheffler and Spaun right behind him, chasing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all. So either way, it\u2019s a good thing. Yeah, it hurts when it doesn\u2019t happen for you and that sort of streak \u2014 people talk about it more and more that goes on,\u201d Fleetwood said.<\/p>\n
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Fleetwood\u2019s bogey on 17 took him out of the lead in Memphis. (Andy Lyons \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
When a cycle like this emerges, it can often be traced to a player attempting to prevent their past failures from playing out again in the future. Raymond Prior, a performance psychologist who has worked with multiple major champions, likens this to sinking in quicksand. The more you try to flail around, trying to stop the worst-case scenario from playing out, the easier it is to get swallowed up.<\/p>\n
An athlete\u2019s brain naturally strives to protect itself from repeated failure in a high-pressure environment. If a golfer tells himself he absolutely cannot lose a tournament again, it\u2019s likely he will begin to operate with anxiety \u2014 this is how the brain was designed to warn us of potential hurt or danger.<\/p>\n
Prior once worked with a player who played in the final pairing on Sunday nine times throughout a single golf season. He lost every time. \u201cWhat was behind the anxiety was trying at all costs to avoid the same experience: Trying and failing and being the player who can\u2019t close.\u201d Prior says.<\/p>\n
Whereas another player fought the same cycle, but worried if they finally won, they might not be able to win again. \u201cIn this case, playing through anxiety protected the player from having to deal with what comes with trying. And perhaps not being able to maintain success,\u201d Prior continued.<\/p>\n
These anxieties can stem from varying sources, but only Fleetwood knows his inner experience.<\/p>\n
For the Englishman, the swing is there. The skills are undeniable, and the close-calls indicate a level of elite play that other players work lifetimes to achieve. His future will be about acceptance, awareness and figuring out how to face his internal status quo \u2014 whatever that may be \u2014 head on.<\/p>\n
(Top photo: Andy Lyons \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n