On the sixth fairway of Bethpage Black on Sunday, one spectator demanded a ‘Travelers’ from Tommy Fleetwood.
That assumedly American fan was, of course, hoping for a repeat of Fleetwood’s collapse at the Travelers Championship just three months ago. They got their wish on a tense final day of the Ryder Cup.
Leading the charge, it had been suggested the Englishman could be the one to retain the cup for Europe with the chance to seal the mere second point that Luke Donald’s side needed from the second match out against Justin Thomas.
And, at 2-up thru four, Fleetwood looked set to deliver on that expectation. Yet, as he and Thomas concluded their shootout on the 18th green, his match was just yet another strip of red on the leaderboard amid the European bloodbath.
But, despite the undoubted gratification of his heckler, to say that Fleetwood collapsed would be unfair. Just like his many past near-misses on the PGA Tour, the result doesn’t show the full story. Fleetwood was a talisman for Europe throughout the week and he spearheaded their victory.
Before Sunday, he had already assumed the top spot for the highest career winning percentage among the 51 European players to appear in at least 10 Ryder Cup matches.
Tommy Fleetwood was arguably the best player of the Ryder Cup – despite his singles win
Fleetwood failed to seal an unblemished record at Bethpage Black on the final day
Through the first four sessions, Fleetwood had emerged from the Bethpage bear pit unblemished, going 4-0 – the only player to do so.
He had the chance to join the history books, teetering on the edge of becoming just the second player to win five matches at one Ryder Cup on away soil. Only Tony Lema has accomplished the feat at the 1965 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale.
Only two other players have replicated the 5-0-0 record, including Fleetwood’s Parisian comrade, Francesco Moliniari, in 2018. Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson was the last to do so during the American’s slaughter of Europe at Whistling Straits.
While Thomas ultimately dashed Fleetwood’s shot at a slice of Ryder Cup history, his lone loss doesn’t detract from his talismanic impact. Fleetwood the best player to tame the Bethpage beast this week. But that should come as no surprise.
This year, behind probably only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the unstoppable Fleetwood has a claim to one of the best players of the hour.
Fleetwood is coming off an impressive season. He has clinched 12 top-20 finishes on the PGA Tour this year, including a tied-second finish at the Travelers, tied-third at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and a tied-fourth at the BMW Championship. Yet that maiden victory on the PGA Tour, despite countless in Europe, had continued to elude him.
In 163 starts on the PGA Tour, he had been the runner-up six times, third in a further half-dozen, and on 30 occasions he was top five.
But tribulations of a restless prince-in-waiting finally met their end last month. His grit and determination finally paid off in the Tour Championship title – and its $10million payday.
The European suffered his first loss of the tournament in his shootout against Justin Thomas
The delighted Englishman lifts the Tour Championship trophy aloft at East Lake, Atlanta
And that relentless grind was on display again on Sunday. Unlike at East Lake, it didn’t result in a win, but no one could fault his tenacity as he dueled Thomas all the way to the last.
‘I’m just trying my hardest,’ rang out across the 15th fairway on Sunday. It was a nod to seven-year-old Frankie Fleetwood’s now-iconic quote at The Masters in April. And as the saying goes, like father, like son.
Despite the occasional – and comical – taunt, the partisan New York crowd mainly refrained from the vitriolic abuse that had been aimed at Europe’s stars during the beer-stained embarrassment of Saturday’s second day.
McIlroy had been targeted with particularly vile insults, forcing officials to call in extra security to the Northern Irishman and Shane Lowry’s fourballs clash.
Meanwhile, Fleetwood found himself embroiled in a fiery bust-up of his own. As the tempestuous Ryder Cup threatened to boil over on day two, tensions were ignited in Fleetwood and Justin Rose’s match against Bryson DeChambeau and Scheffler with even their caddies entering the fray.
Earlier in the week, the notorious New Yorkers attempted to rattle Fleetwood with verbal attacks on his wife and their 23-year age difference.
Fleetwood and his wife Clare (second left) had been the subject of vile taunts on Friday
On Sunday, the only mention of wives came from the European supporters, who, so enamored with the swashbuckling, long-haired Englishman, that they serenaded him with claims that they would let him do unmentionable things to their own wives.
There was also no threat of a heated greenside spat. Thomas has arguably shown the most sportsmanship of the American camp. He repeatedly tried to keep a lid on the highly-charged atmosphere as he silenced fans every time Fleetwood addressed his ball and encouraged them to celebrate in a more sporting way.
Donald said Saturday evening that the rabid atmosphere had only helped to fuel his players’ dominant display. Maybe that’s what worked against Fleetwood’s favor on Sunday. The tepid atmosphere failed to light a fuse under Fleetwood because in every other match, he was simply explosive.
For a player who had developed an unfortunate reputation for allegedly crumbling under pressure and failing to get over the line, Fleetwood has thrived under the pressure of the Ryder Cup.
