Dubai, Jan 21: Tommy Fleetwood has been part of the conversation when it comes to the Majors of late. He has come close to a maiden Major – he was runner-up at the US Open in 2018 and then The Open in 2019, besides another fourth place at 2017 US Open.
Fleetwood, who won his first European Tour title in 2013, that is three years after turning professional, took four more to add that at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2017. He won twice in 2017 as he added the Open de France and also emerged as Race to Dubai champion. In 2018 he won in Abu Dhabi again and in 2019 he won the Nedbank Challenge and also challenged for the Race to Dubai again.
Now the focus, apart from winning tournaments, is also the Majors.
On the eve of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Fleetwood who has begun the year well with a runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi, commented on the various venues for the Majors in 2020 and whether he has the ability to win a Major.
He said, “I hope so (winning a Major). I’ve been very close. Things could have gone either way in one or two majors in the past.
I haven’t played St. George’s(2020 The Open in July), ever, and I’ve never played Winged Foot(2020 US Open in June), but I know they are obviously very classical U.S. Open and an Open venue.
I played Harding Park(2020 US PGA in May) – I played that in the match play and enjoyed it. Actually played well that week and obviously Augusta is Augusta.”
He admitted, “The majors are the toughest tests and that’s it. They challenge every part of our game. They challenge your mental side. They challenge patience and if you’re up there with a chance to win, they challenge how ready you are to go on and win those events. Unfortunately it’s not happened for me yet, but like I say, hopefully my career is progressing in the right way to eventually become a Major Champion.”
“Those are really the events that change your life or change your career. They can definitely add to your career. Any time they come around, like I say, it’s a test, really, because everybody wants to win those ones. You can put so much emphasis on, which is actually right, and some people are better at winning than others.”
On where he went wrong last year, he added, “I think last year, preparation, I got a couple of things wrong; disappointed but you learn, and hopefully I’ll be better at that this year.”
But at the same time, he is positive about getting that elusive Major. He concluded, “You’re talking about second-place finishes in the last couple events in the UAE or second-place finishes in the in majors, the positive thing is they’re second-place finishes, I’m up there plenty of times, and hopefully it’s just a matter of time and eventually it will be my time and I would love to get one whenever that is.”
