At the 164th attempt, Tommy Fleetwood finally cracked America — a $10m Sunday at East Lake that shut up the doubters and blew the doors off. Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick kept time-keeping like a hall monitor, and still watched Tommy run away with it.
Tommy Fleetwood finally cracked America — and not by accidently queuing for a Starbucks in Atlanta. At the 164th attempt, the 34-year-old delivered a $10m knockout at East Lake, proving that even nice guys can cash big cheques if they hang around long enough.
His first coach Norman Marshall called it a “floodgates” moment — polite code for “about time.” After six runner-ups and a museum’s worth of near-miss plaques, Tommy’s got a proper PGA Tour trophy to sit next to the Ryder Cup memories.
Meanwhile, Matt Fitzpatrick — the patron saint of pace-of-play complaints — spent another week writing a dissertation over the yardage book. The sermon didn’t help: Tommy still stuffed him. Fitz’s rounds take so long the highlights need an interval.
Fleetwood didn’t just win; he left America’s finest — Scheffler, Cantlay, Bradley — trailing like weekend hackers. He kept knocking, kept learning, and finally kicked the door in. Fitz is still fiddling with the handle and blaming the hinges.
- Facts box: First PGA Tour title; 12/12 rounds in the 60s through the FedEx Playoffs; $10m winner’s haul; East Lake, Atlanta.
- Mindset: “You don’t lose — you learn or you win.” This time he did both.
- Ryder Cup angle: Luke Donald just found his momentum guy; the US can keep the excuses.
“Fleetwood’s got the monkey off his back. Fitzpatrick? He’s still got a sloth on his.”
Call it a reset: Fleetwood’s finally over the line and pointing at the floodgates. If you’re keeping score at home, remember — playing fast is optional, finishing first isn’t.