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Mark SchlabachAug 24, 2025, 11:03 PM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Senior college football writer ATLANTA — Tommy Fleetwood<\/a>‘s long nightmare is over.<\/p>\n Following so many near misses, the English golfer finally picked up his first PGA Tour victory Sunday after posting a 2-under 68 to finish 18 under in the Tour Championship, three strokes ahead of Russell Henley<\/a> and Patrick Cantlay<\/a> at East Lake Golf Club.<\/p>\n It was Fleetwood’s 164th career start on the PGA Tour, and his long wait, while agonizingly painful and frustrating at times, was well worth it. He collected the FedEx Cup and $10 million for winning.<\/p>\n “It’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight,” Fleetwood said. “It’s different when you actually have to prove it.”<\/p>\n Though Fleetwood, 34, had won seven times on the DP World Tour and three other times around the world, he had yet to lift a trophy in a PGA Tour event — until Sunday.<\/p>\n “It shows how great of an attitude he has towards the game, how resilient he is,” Rory McIlroy<\/a> said after posting an even-par 70 to tie for 23rd at 6 under. “If he gets it done today, that would be amazing. I think we’d all love him to.”<\/p>\n It’s not that Fleetwood wasn’t close previously. His 30 top-five finishes without a victory were the most on the PGA Tour in the past 100 years, according to ESPN Research. His $33.4 million in career earnings were the most for a golfer who hadn’t won on tour.<\/p>\n “I never really felt like it wouldn’t happen,” Fleetwood said. “But there’s always doubt there.”<\/p>\n Two of Fleetwood’s close calls came in the past two months. At the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, on June 22, he led by a shot going into the 72nd hole but three-putted and lost to Keegan Bradley<\/a> by one.<\/p>\n “I’m upset now,” Fleetwood said at the time. “I’m angry. … It hurts.”<\/p>\n At the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis two weeks ago, Fleetwood had a two-shot lead with three holes to play in the first leg of the playoffs. He went 1 over down the stretch. Justin Rose<\/a> beat J.J. Spaun<\/a> in a playoff, while Fleetwood tied for third.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n “Winning on the PGA Tour was a step that I really wanted to take,” Fleetwood said. “You don’t need anything, but I wanted it. I wanted to do it. It sort of completes the story of the near misses.”<\/p>\n It wasn’t nearly as dramatic Sunday. After Fleetwood made a bogey on the 10th hole to cut his lead over Cantlay to one stroke, he carded birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to go back up three. Fleetwood had a three-stroke lead on the 18th hole.<\/p>\n Cantlay’s bogey on the par-4 16th all but ended his comeback chances.<\/p>\n Fleetwood became the first golfer to capture his first victory in the Tour Championship at East Lake. Chad Campbell<\/a> won the 2003 Tour Championship at Champions Golf Club in Houston.<\/p>\n World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler<\/a>, who was trying to become the first golfer to win the FedEx Cup in back-to-back seasons, had trouble from the start Sunday.<\/p>\n On the opening hole, Scheffler badly pulled his tee shot down the left side. His ball bounced once and shot under a fence and out of bounds. He made a bogey to fall to 11 under, five shots behind Fleetwood.<\/p>\n After another bogey on the par-4 fifth, Scheffler picked up four birdies to get back into the mix. But then disaster struck when he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 15th. A double-bogey 5 knocked him out of the hunt.<\/p>\n Scheffler posted a 2-under 68 and tied for fourth at 14 under, his 14th consecutive top-10 finish, which tied Jack Nicklaus<\/a> (1977) for the longest streak in the past 50 years.<\/p>\n Corey Conners<\/a>, who carded an 8-under 62 on Sunday, and Cameron Young<\/a> (66) tied for fourth as well.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n Bradley, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, started the final round three strokes behind Fleetwood and Cantlay. But he couldn’t get much going, either. Bradley was also a victim of the tricky 15th hole when he pushed his tee shot right into the water, leading to a double-bogey 5.<\/p>\n Bradley will announce his six Ryder Cup captain’s picks Wednesday. He called the possibility of choosing himself the “biggest decision of my life.”<\/p>\n “No matter what decision that I make here, I could have gone the other way easily, no matter what,” Bradley said. “The only thing I care about is on Sunday of the Ryder Cup, that we win the Ryder Cup. Then I’ll know I made the right decision.<\/p>\n “Until then, I won’t know. It’s going to be pretty wild. Whatever decision we make, we’re going to have to live with it. I love the guys on our team. They’re all playing great. It’s just really something else. It’s awesome.”<\/p>\n There hasn’t been a playing captain in the Ryder Cup since Arnold Palmer<\/a> led the Americans to a 23-9 rout at East Lake in 1963. Bradley is ranked No. 13 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and only Scheffler has more victories on tour over the past year.<\/p>\n
\nAuthor of seven books on college football
\nGraduate of the University of Georgia<\/p>\n