I played like a DEMON

Fleetwood banished doubts to triumph at East Lake

- BY CRAIG SWAN

TOMMY FLEETWOOD admits he had to overcome doubts and demons to crack the US code.

The English star's resilience and refusal to accept second-best shone at East Lake as he made his maiden success on American soil a special one by landing the FedEx Cup.

Fleetwood didn't just win a tournament. He scaled a personal hill that had become a mountain. The 34-year-old's recent and painful near misses at the Travelers and the FedEX St Jude added to the challenge.

In 163 previous efforts, Fleetwood had fallen short. Despite 30 top-10 finishes and seven DP Tour wins, he'd never triumphed Stateside.

At times it must have felt like hed never cross the line and the Southport star had to fight off such emotions.

Fleetwood said: "It's easy for anybody to say they are resilient, that they bounce back, have fight. It's different when you have to prove it.

"I've clearly got things wrong in the dire moments of tournaments and I might have made the odd dodgy decision, put a bad swing on it.

"But I've had to have mental strength in a different way. I've had to be resilient in terms of getting myself back in that position, no matter how many times it doesn't go my way, no matter how many doubts might creep in.