Some thought it would never happen. Heartbreak after heartbreak. Missed chance after missed chance, it seemed like the world placed a curse on British professional golfer Tommy Fleetwood preventing him from winning a PGA Tour event. When someone as good as Fleetwood builds up12 top three performances with 0 wins, many start to question if he has the ability to close a tournament. Fleetwood answered this question late Sunday afternoon when he hoisted the Tour Championship trophy to triumphantly grab his maiden PGA Tour victory.
Since the late 2000s, each PGA Tour season ends with a three event playoff that culminates in the Tour Championship located at historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. In 2025, the PGA Tour decided to return to the traditional stroke play format for the four round event, with a first-place prize of ten million dollars.
In the first round, Fleetwood carded an opening round six-under 64 to trail American Russell Henley by three strokes. Due to rain over the past week, the PGA Tour decided to play preferred lies everyday of the championship, which helped the scores. Others in contention after day one were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler — who shot a seven under 63 — and American Patrick Cantlay, who matched Fleetwood’s score.
Heading into the second round, the Fleetwood narrative began to take shape. He backed up his opening round 64 with a 63 to tie for the lead going into the weekend. However, this opportunity for Fleetwood was not his first of the season. Back in July, Fleetwood held the lead of the FedEx St. Jude Championship for much of the weekend before closing with a plus two, 72 to lose by one stroke. In order to capture his first PGA Tour event win after 164 starts, he needed to utilize the lessons from his past experiences. Henley, tied with Fleetwood going to the weekend, is having his best season ever at age 36. Ranked No. 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Henley finished inside the top 10 seven times this season, including a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Going into the weekend, Henley was not the only American trying to prevent the Englishman from his first PGA Tour victory. Both Cantlay and Scheffler were lurking in the background with Cantlay trying to secure a Ryder Cup spot and Scheffler searching for back-to-back FedEx Cup titles. Although he didn’t extend his lead, Fleetwood continued to play good golf on Saturday highlighted by seven birdies. Specifically, Fleetwood followed a water ball on 15 which led to a disappointing double bogey with back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17 to solidify his position going into Sunday.
Despite the pressure surrounding Fleetwood, it was his opponents who found themselves in trouble early. Cantlay, who entered the final round tied with Fleetwood at 16 under, started bogey, double-bogey. While he followed it up with a birdie on three, Cantlay’s start put him in too large of a hole to climb out of. Fleetwood’s opening nine 33 steadied any early nerves and sent a message to the rest of the chasers, but Scheffler continued to lurk in the shadows until hole 15 where, like Fleetwood yesterday, he dumped the ball in the water to drop from contention. Walking up 18 with a three shot lead, Fleetwood’s crowning moment had finally arrived. He missed an eight footer for birdie, but tapped in for par for his long-awaited first PGA Tour victory. Following the round, Fleetwood spoke with the media, emphasizing the fan’s perception of his story and the importance of never giving up.
“People have different ways of inspiring, and I guess that however big or small my inspiring story might be, it was just a story of perseverance and continuing to try and put myself in those positions. I think people have, I guess, found it very positive that I’ve constantly tried to just get back on the horse, just go again, just go again. Like I say, again, it’s almost easy to say now I’m really pleased that it’s happened now, but if it didn’t happen today, I would have said the same things. I would have said, I just want another chance; I’m just going to go back and work and I’m just going to go again. I’ve had the opportunity to prove that, that if you just keep going, it can happen,” Fleetwood said.
Fleetwood’s down-to-earth personality and humility make him a fan-favorite. His respect and willingness to talk to the media following his many close calls show his character, allowing fans to connect with him on a human level. Fleetwood shared how his father shaped his character following his final round victory on Sunday.
“My dad always told me that, even when I was a young, aspiring amateur golfer, professional golfer, he always said person first, golfer second. You’re a good person first. Whatever happens after that, you try to be a good golfer second. I’ve always tried to be that,” Fleetwood said.
Aside from Fleetwood, the other large story throughout the week centered on American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley. There was much fan uncertainty around who Bradley may pick, with many thinking he would choose himself due to his stellar play the last six months, which would have made him the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. In the end, he did not pick himself, instead opting to focus on the captaincy. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns will round out the roster. The Ryder Cup, a team event between USA and Europe held every two years, will be hosted at Bethpage Black in New York during the last weekend of September.