The Merseyside golfer has ended his search for a win on the PGA TourDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter
23:51, 24 Aug 2025
Team Europe’s Tommy Fleetwood shakes hands with Team USA’s Tiger Woods at the 2018 Ryder Cup(Image: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Tiger Woods has congratulated Tommy Fleetwood after the Southport-born golfer won his first PGA Tour event on Sunday. Fleetwood, 34, finally ended his long wait for a maiden PGA Tour victory with a three-shot success at the Tour Championship in Atlanta to be crowned FedEx champion.
Fleetwood has long been a household name in the sport and was runner-up at the US Open in 2018, but none of his 10 professional wins had occurred in America. He now has a title on the PGA Tour at the 164th time of asking, pocketing $10m in the process.
After recent near misses at the BMW Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship, Fleetwood entered the final day with a share of the lead alongside Patrick Cantlay, and a solid two-under-par proved enough to clinch the title at East Lake.
The majority of the heavy lifting by the Englishman had occurred on Thursday and Friday, with an opening-round 64 followed up with 63 to become joint leader going into the weekend.
A format change at this year’s Tour Championship, with the starting-strokes format scrapped, meant the winner of the tournament would be FedEx champion.
Fleetwood had been fifth in the list behind Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy in second and leader Scottie Scheffler but put himself in contention with a score of three-under-par on Saturday to set up a tantalising opportunity ahead of his final round.
Tommy Fleetwood has won the Tour Championship(Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
A birdie at the second hole represented a fine start, and even though it was followed by a bogey three holes later, Fleetwood regained his composure to secure back-to-back birdies before the turn.
When Fleetwood produced a bogey to start his back nine, nerves looked set to take over, but he kept his cool to send down another birdie on the 12th.
A fifth birdie of the round at the 13th once again opened a three-shot gap to Cantlay, who would soon bogey again to leave Fleetwood almost home and dry.
Fleetwood dropped a shot at 15, and despite Corey Conners’ extraordinary eight-under 62, there would be no denying him.
A simple putt for par on the final hole was followed by Fleetwood letting out an enormous roar as he toasted his first PGA Tour win at the 164th time of asking.
Many people were delighted for Fleetwood winning his first event. Among them was golf legend Tiger, who is no stranger to a PGA Tour win, claiming 82 over his career – as well as 41 on the European tour.
Paying Fleetwood congratulations, Tiger said: “Your journey is a reminder that hard work, resilience, and heart do pay off.
“No one deserves it more. Congrats Tommy Fleetwood.”
