One of the most likable guys on tour, Tommy Fleetwood, currently shares the lead for the PGA Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
This isn’t new to Fleetwood. He’s held or shared the lead after 36 holes seven times on tour, tied with Beau Hossler for the most in PGA Tour history. His 7-under on Friday was an incredible round, as Fleetwood has been one of the most consistent players this year.
He’s 10th in points and has been playing his best golf of the year since the playoffs started, finishing third and fourth, respectively, at the first two legs of the championship.
Unfortunately for Fleetwood, he hasn’t been able to finish at any of these events, specifically in the first round of the playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, missing a short par putt on 17 to finish one stroke out of the in-tournament playoffs.
That wasn’t even the first case of disaster down the stretch this year for Fleetwood. In June, he bogeyed two of the last three holes to lose the Travelers Championship to Keegan Bradley. It’s been one heartbreak after another for Fleetwood in 2024.
Going into the weekend, he is the favorite to win at +225, but Russell Henley is tied with him in strokes and sits just behind at +240. The public seems heavy on Fleetwood to finally get the monkey off his back.
Fleetwood has earned more than $33 million over his career, so it’s hard to feel too horrible for him. Still, with such a likable personality, it will be tough for fans at East Lake to root against him. I’m not sure what Fleetwood needs to change in his game to finally finish, but something eventually has got to give.
Maybe after Saturday, he needs to go out for a few drinks to calm his nerves, because all the talent is there. Hopefully, he has a solid third round and can keep world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at arm’s distance. Scheffler is currently five strokes back but still has the third-best odds to win at +500. If he picks up a stroke or two Saturday, I’m not sure even a clutch Fleetwood would be enough to stop him.
Hopefully, when Sunday afternoon rolls around, Tommy Fleetwood’s first PGA Tour win will be the $10 million Tour Championship itself.
