Tommy Fleetwood had one hand on the trophy at TPC River Highlands, and the other hand already halfway into a celebratory pint with ‘Finno’. But as golf so often reminds us: joy is temporary, Fleetwood is fragile and Keegan Bradley is always lurking.
Tommy played great all week and led most of Sunday, overcoming a rough start to re-establish his grip on things with a mix of poise and precision. Three bogeys in his opening four holes had seasoned golf fans nodding knowingly and saying “see, told you he’d crumble”, but he steadied the ship with birdies on 11 and 13, and with three holes to play, he stood two clear. He just needed to hold it together.
But it’s Tommy. We’ve seen this before. It’s all in his head. If this was a DP World Tour Event he’d have stepped on the gas and ran away with it. But it isn’t. It’s stateside and the scars of past disappointments run deep. Still, a two shot lead with three to play, and nobody around him looking like they could make a charge. Jason Day briefly threatened but stalled. Russel Henley was right there until a late bogey looked to have ended his chances. It was finally going to be Tommy’s moment.
Then came 16. Then came 18. And then came Keegan bloody Bradley.
😵 The Gut Punch
Fleetwood, 159 events deep without a PGA Tour win, bogeyed 16 and walked up 18 needing just a par after a perfect drive that split the fairway. One of the best iron players in the game, all he had to do was hit the centre of the green and two putt to guarantee himself a playoff at worst, and to put pressure on Bradley to make something happen. We’ve seen this movie before though.
A horror movie for those of us who root for Tommy. The hesitancy, the uncertainty of club selection, the tension was clearly too much for him. We saw the same thing at the Canadian Open a couple of years back. He addressed the ball with a 9 iron, then backed off and pulled out a wedge. His decision or Finno’s? Only they know, but it was a terrible one as he didn’t even reach the green.
Even worse, his putt from the fringe was so tentative that he didn’t even get inside Bradley’s ball marker. Not only was he having to putt first, he was going to show Bradley the line. His six-footer looked to hit a spike mark and lipped out. A brutal, barely believable end, but it wasn’t about that missed putt, it was about the two terrible shots that preceded it and which put him in that situation. A complete and utter choke.
Meanwhile, Bradley…
Keegan birdied the final hole with the sort of clinical inevitability that makes you question whether sport has any heart at all. The US Ryder Cup Captain is in better form than virtually all of the players in his team not named Scheffler. He’ll qualify comfortably and has a decision to make. Can he play and captain the side? Unlikely, so what will it be? We say “Give it Blockie ’til end of season.”
🎙️ “It Hurts” – Tommy Speaks
Tommy’s post-round comments said it all:
“I’m angry… it’s the worst way it could go.”
“Played great for 71 holes, and then it just… happened.”
He should be angry. He should be angry about whatever it was that led him to not even hit the 18th green from the middle of the fairway with 150 odd yards in. He should be angry about the timid approach putt that left him outside of Bradley’s ball marker. He should be angry that once again he’s failed to get over the line when in a great position. There is so much goodwill towards Tommy, everyone likes him and wants him to get that first PGA Tour win, but he can’t get out of his own way. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating in equal measure.
🧘 Dignity in Defeat
Despite the devastation, Fleetwood faced the media with total class, as always. No excuses, no tantrums. This is why we all love him. He’s one of the good guys. Maybe even the best guy.
Golf Twitter saluted him. Journalists called it a “graceful heartbreak.” But that doesn’t change the result on the leaderboard.
📉 A Winless Wonder
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0 wins on PGA Tour.
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42 top 10s!!
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Now holds the record for most top 10s without a win.
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$2.7 million slipped through his fingers like a slippery ProV1 on a sloped TPC green.
🥶 Keegan Bradley: Ice in the Veins
Let’s not pretend this wasn’t impressive. Bradley may have been shown the open door by Fleetwood, but he kicked it in and then ransacked Tommy’s place, stealing everything and then spray painting “USA” on the living room wall. His closing 67, capped with that final birdie, was the work of a seasoned assassin. That’s now 7 PGA Tour wins for the man with the weirdest pre-shot routine in history. He won this with nerves of tungsten, even if the entire golfing world wanted Tommy to finally lift one.
🎯 Bang Average Moment of the Week
Through gritted teeth it has to be Keegan’s shot into 18 that set up the winning birdie. Tommy opened the door for it by missing the green completely with a wedge, but Bradley seized the opportunity and the victory. Keegan’s just got that dog in him hasn’t he? If Tommy has any dog in him, it’s a Labradoodle.
📅 Final Thought
Fleetwood deserved that trophy but deserved doesn’t count for anything in golf. It’s the cruellest of sports and it does not do sentiment.
Bradley has the killer instinct that has so often been proven to be absent in Fleetwood. Bradley has nerves of steel, Fleetwood has nerves of candyfloss. If he were a football team he’d be Tottenham Hotspur. There’s just something very “Spursy” about Tommy. Even Spurs eventually got one though, so maybe Tommy can too? He just needs to find himself going head to head with a Manchester United, then he can just about drag himself over the line.
What next? Well Tommy goes again. And so do we, still waiting for the golf gods to show a sliver of mercy to one of the game’s good guys. We’ll continue to root for him no matter what, but belief is in increasingly short supply.
Next stop: Portrush. Let’s try this again. 🫣
