TIME TO SHINE

With strong recent form on the PGA Tour and a runnerup finish to his name last time at Portrush, could Tommy Fleetwood finally add the Claret Jug to his CV this July?

- Words Michael Weston

Tommy Fleetwood was going along nicely. He wasn't threatening the leaders, but his game looked in decent enough shape to suggest that better weeks were just around the corner. “What's missing?” Sir Nick Faldo was asked. The six-time Major winner, back doing some punditry for Sky Sports during The Masters, didn't hesitate in giving his response. “He needs to be able to play a fade,” he replied, or words to that effect.

The man from Southport is one of only five players to have finished in the top five of all four Major Championships since 1995 without having won one (Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Jeff Maggert and Lee Westwood are the others). Fleetwood was also pipped to the Gold Medal by Scottie Scheffler at the 2024 Olympic Games. A few shots here and there and his very good CV would be a very special one indeed.

It is the Silver Medal in Paris that Faldo picks out to make his point. Fleetwood, who had birdied the par-3 16th, found himself tied at the top with Scheffler. On 17, he pulled his tee shot and made bogey after a clumsy chip. On 18, the ideal shot to find the flag was a fade. It wasn’t easy by any means, not with water at the front of the green. A draw took it long and left. Fleetwood had to settle for Silver.

Having won three Open Championships and three Green Jackets, Europe’s most successful ever golfer knows what separates the good players from the very best. For Fleetwood, is it really as simple as being able to produce more fade shots? Surely you can’t become a top-ten player in the world without being able to shape the ball from left to right?