Tommy’s golf opera finds its final act! Fleetwood gets Indian Golf’s biggest cheque | Golf News
New Delhi: Let it roll. Tommy Fleetwood found himself at the centre of his own rock opera. The clamour for the Merseysider’s attention grew across the DGC arena as he reeled in birdie after birdie when it mattered while clutch par putts ensured he stayed in the spotlight.Rory Who? As McIlroy disappeared early, completing his star turn with a birdie on the last for a forgettable 71, the Fleetwood show went on with a controlled performance. A deserving winner of the inaugural $4 million DP World India Championship with a 7-under 65 final act for a 22-under crescendo.New Zealander Daniel Hillier stole the lead role briefly with his high notes on the front nine. The man from the harbour city of Porirua drilled in 7 birdies in 10 holes but the pencil-mustachioed Kiwi was relegated to a character artist in the bigger picture, losing himself and his hopes in the 14th-hole forest. His composure deserted him with a double bogey, and a dropped shot on the 15th sent him tumbling from a challenging 20-under to a distant 17-under. A further stumble on the 18th relegated Hillier to a tie for ninth, and a heap of sighs.It is a lesson golf can teach you, and Fleetwood has had his share of disappointments. It’s all about fine margins, and one day you are going to be on the right side of it. “It was interesting because when I broke my PGA Tour duck at the Tour Championship, I really felt I didn’t do that much different to the times that I had lost. I think I learned from each experience, and today was going to be another one of those. I might have won, I might not have; I could have done exactly the same things and got beaten. I think just being in that position more and more is something that I’m really proud of.”Trophies come when you constantly knock on doors. “I know form doesn’t last forever, but I’m trying to make myself the most consistent player I can be. Just being in contention time and again, feeling those nerves and having to play down the stretch with a chance at winning is what we all want to do.”One great bonus was being able to share this winning moment with his son Frankie, who is now a budding social media star. For working-class hero Tommy, family comes first, and his No. 1 position on Sunday may have inspired by his brown-haired angel. It was the eight-year-old’s random sentence that had triggered this dream.“We were at home last week and we were driving the buggy. I think we were playing golf together, and he just made a passing comment, ‘Do you know what you’ve never done?’. He said ‘You’ve never won a tournament when I’ve been able to run on to the 18th green’.”It was something the father had to jot down, and provide. “The quote was there, and that was something that would drive me.” So maybe it was destiny, manifestation; maybe it was Fleetwood’s ability to reset every day.On Saturday, the 34-year-old had found himself rushed and that took a toll on his putting over a five-hole stretch, handing Keita Nakajima a two-stroke lead.Sunday was a different. As haze descended on the Capital as is customary during Diwali time, Nakajima did well with his steady bogey-free three-under round. But it wasn’t enough.“India one of my favourite countries. Maybe win next year,” the former World Amateur No. 1 promised in broken English.Despite an unforced error on the 2nd, which set him three strokes back, Fleetwood lit his set of crackers from the 4th hole. “Today I got my run from there. I birdied 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, and I managed to make things happen.”He betrayed an occasional glance at the leaderboard. “I saw Dan had a good start so people had started off fast. It’s one of those things; you never know when everyone is going to move up. You just have to keep focusing and not force things.”
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His pressure par putt on the 11th kept him going through the back nine. Nakajima rallied on the 12th. Tommy’s putter restored the two-stroke gap on 14th and reached a high on the 17th, but Nakajima was equal in his reply.There was hushed anticipation as Fleetwood stepped up to the 18th tee box; he softly blew into his fingers as if to create that last moment of magic, a surge of calming energy to not get too comfortable with his two-stroke cushion.There would be no last temptation for the ‘fairway Jesus’, just regulation play. A tap-in winning par-putt released the emotions of Fleetwood, his family and the adoring crowd.
