Fleetwood statement speaks volumes in quest for | Golf News

Tommy Fleetwood may still be looking for that elusive maiden PGA Tour victory, but his poise and preventing spirit have never been more evident.

Entering the ultimate spherical of the Tour Championship as co-leader, his mental strategy is as spectacular as his exact iron play.

Fleetwood, who endured heartbreak after surrendering a lead at the BMW Championship, revealed how his philosophy of “being your own best friend” retains him grounded: “I’ve caddied for my kids, and I know what I would say to them, and I think it’s all about being very clear with what you’re doing, having a great attitude, having a great frame of mind, make sure I’m telling myself all the right things and just commit to those things.”

The strategy is paying dividends. Fleetwood posted a decided 67 on Saturday, bouncing back after a devastating double bogey on the harmful fifteenth to birdie two of the closing three holes, sharing the lead with Patrick Cantlay, one of a number of Ryder Cup contenders, at 16-under.

His mental toughness comes from a marketing campaign marked by both anguish and reliability. Despite recording six second-place finishes and 30 top-10s across 163 appearances, a PGA Tour triumph continues to elude him.

Rather than dwelling on disappointment, Fleetwood maintains his outlook: “I want to put myself back there again… I’ll get it right. Being there is actually the hard part.”

Beneath the floor, modifications past his mental strategy are delivering outcomes. Earlier this 12 months, Fleetwood made the swap from a blade putter to a customized TaylorMade Spider mallet, that includes alignment-boosting milled strains.

The end result has been dramatically enhanced placing statistics and restored perception on the greens. “A certain way that the lines worked for me that we’d drawn on that helped me line up and then hit the putt, and that’s been great,” Fleetwood said.

“But I always feel like I do a lot of good things on the greens. I’ve worked with Phil for a long time. I’m lucky with the team behind me, and the Spider has definitely been a massive help since changing at Hilton Head. I think my putting stats have been really good, and I feel really good on the greens.”

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Currently, as Fleetwood brings this optimistic vitality into Sunday’s closing spherical, his consideration extends past merely securing victory. It’s also about embracing the expertise.

“There’s only 30 players this week… I’m having the time of my life out here…Tomorrow might be my time, it might not, but I’ll still have a great time doing it.”

The upcoming 18 holes signify a probability not only for his maiden PGA Tour triumph, but to cap off a marketing campaign of decided effort with success.

With FedEx Cup honors and $10 million prize money at stake, the weight of expectation is big, but Fleetwood’s psychological preparation might show to be his most beneficial weapon.