“Be a Good Person First” — Fleetwood’s Emotional Win & Message

Tommy Fleetwood is your 2025 FedExCup Champion — and he did it the hard way. After admitting he “lost [his] swing” mid-round (timing, transition, tempo), Fleetwood reset his rehearsals, trusted the process, and delivered clutch swings on 15–17—including the tee shot he “really dislikes” at 15.

He reflects on:

Turning weeks of near misses into a breakthrough victory

The mental resilience to keep knocking: “If you keep going, it can happen.”

Lessons from Travelers & Memphis and applying them under heat

Family & perspective (Oscar on the 18th green ❤️): “Person first, golfer second.”

Sticking with caddie Finno through the noise—and sharing the moment

Why winning on the PGA TOUR was a step he “wanted,” not “needed”… and what’s next

Watch the full champion’s interview and tell us: What was Fleetwood’s most clutch moment—15, 16 or 17?

Subscribe for more champion reactions and TOUR Championship 2025 coverage.

#TommyFleetwood #FedExCup #TourChampionship #EastLake #PGATour #GolfInterview #Finno

Good to go. All right. We’d like to welcome our 2025 FedEx Cup champion, Tommy Fleetwood, to the interview room here at the Tour Championship. Tommy, kind of a whirlwind finish. How are you feeling right now? Uh yeah, I’m good. I’m good. Um yeah, I I think um a mix of emotions from um you know, I uh yeah, proud, um relieved, uh happy. Yeah, there’s there’s a ton of emotions that uh that that uh that I’ll probably be feeling. It doesn’t sink in for a while. Like winning doesn’t sink in for a while, but um what an amazing day. Yeah. Awesome. With that, we’ll open up to questions. If you can just raise your hand, we’ll get a microphone to you. We’ll go with Jay first, the black hat. Yahoo Sports. Tommy, you had a lot of uh time on that back nine to walk between the holes and walked between the shots. Walk us through what you’re thinking in your mind as you’re walking there, particularly walking up to 15. Um yeah, I um well I I I felt like I’d lost my swing really. I got a bit erratic uh from from the fifth. I felt like I started the round off really well, like really solid, did all the right things, and then I I hit um like two really poor mini drivers, five and eight. But I um felt like I’d sort of lost my swing a little bit, lost my timing, lost my transition, hit a big hook off the 10th. Um, and I was, uh, all my focus kind of went into my rehearsals. Changed my rehearsals a little bit. Tried to find my tempo, tried to find that, tried to find my transition a bit. Um, so all my focus kind of went into that. And, um, you’re always kind of aware, no matter how present you try and stay, you’re always kind of aware of the es and flows of of how it’s going. Um and uh you know the one thing I’ve done so well um in the last few weeks when I’ve had the near misses is I’ve I’ve done really well in the tournament up until the closing few holes and then you have to walk to the 50th T uh and stand up on that. I said before I really dislike the 15th shot. Um it the angle of it doesn’t fit my eye very well. It’s a very very tough shot. So um yeah I I I was really pleased with the swing that I put on that. Um, yeah, I was just really focused on sort of where my swing was at and trying to feel like I I was doing the right things and um as well as managing everything else, whether it be your expectations, whether it be the doubt that’s creeping in um after the last few times that it’s that it’s not gone my way. Um and also dealing with the sort of the reality of it felt like it was the door was getting further and further open for me as the round went on and and trying to sort of stay levelheaded about it. We’ll go to Mark Scha with ESPN. Tommy, you’ve talked about learning throughout the entire process. What did you learn about yourself through all the near misses and especially the last few weeks keep coming back? I think I think it’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight. Um it’s different when you actually have to prove it. Um, and uh, you know, there’s there’s different types of mental strength. I’ve clearly got things wrong in the dire moments of tournaments, and I might have made the odd dodgy decision. I might have put the odd bad swing on it. Um, but I’ve had to use I’ve had to have mental strength in a different way. I’ve had to be resilient in terms of put myself back up there, get myself back in that position. uh no matter how many times it doesn’t go my way, no matter how many doubts might creep in, think the right things, say the right things to yourself, say the right things outwardly. Um and I am really pleased that I can be proof that if you do all the right things and you just keep going, uh that it can happen. We’ll go to you and Murray with the Guardian next over on the left. Tommy, well done. Thanks. Um now that it doesn’t matter, was there a time during those near misses when you thought this might not happen? this might never happen. Did Did those moments exist? Uh, not really. I I think that the smallest thoughts creep in, but I um you no I I never I never really felt like it wouldn’t happen. Um but there there’s there’s always doubt there. Um, but I I I always sort of had belief in myself that you keep knocking on the door, you keep putting yourself up there, you keep playing well, keep learning from all of the near misses, and you keep putting that into action in the next tournament or the next tournament or the next time you get a chance, some point it’s going to happen. The people that win the most. Um, you know, I I I I always feel like it’s if you look at what the best players do and try and copy it, whether you’re as good as them or not is a different story. Um, but if you watch what they do and you copy as much as possible, I think that’s a good way to go. And I think that the guys that win the most, they’re in contention so much. They’re up there all the time. And um, that’s just that’s where I want to be. Um, I want to be up there. And it’s taken me a while to get this done, like to get this first win. And I I’ve never I’ve never looked at it as just trying to win once. I’ve always had the mindset that I want to win multiple. I’ve want to win plenty. It’s just that first one seems to have taken a long time. The next one might take a long time. I don’t know. But um I’ve always had the mindset that I just want to be one of the best players in the world. I want to keep putting myself in contention and um and yeah, I always felt like it would probably happen. What do you think what do you think the broader lesson is for sports people who are trying so hard to go over a line and and maybe can’t do it. I mean, you’ll be an inspiration inspiration to them. Yeah, I I think people in people have different ways of inspiring and I I guess that my I guess my 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 the easiest thing to do when it doesn’t go your way is to sulk a little bit or let it affect you for a while, then get back to it. You know, use excuses if you like. But I said every single time that it didn’t happen for me or where I’d let one go or where someone beat me. Um, I just want to get there again. Just want to give myself another chance. Um, I felt like I did that and I feel like people um, at the time like you just do it. But I you you know I I think people have appreciated that side of it. I think people have um, I guess found it very positive that I’ve constantly tried to just get back on the horse. Just go again. just go again. Um, and like I say, I’m I’m I’m again, it’s it’s almost easy to say now, like, I’m really pleased that it’s happened now. Um, 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. And I think I’ve had the opportunity to prove that that if you just keep going, it can happen. So, um, I guess that’s my story. All right, we’ll go to Dave Chedloski, then Shawn Martin, then Doug, then Gabby. Dave. Yeah, congratulations, Tommy. Um, you talk about wanting to be the best player in the world or one of the best players. Did you always feel like you had to win in America to to start that process or or move that along to what you wanted? Um, yes and no. I think it was definitely um it’s a step in everybody’s career that they that they want to make. Um, I think I’ve I’m proud whether I’ve whether I’d won or not. I I think I was always proud of the consistency of the level that I’ve played for for a long time and I took a lot of pride in that. Um, but yeah, I I think winning on the on the PJ tour was a step that I really wanted to take. Um, yeah, you don’t you don’t need anything, but like I wanted it. Uh I I wanted to do it and um and again I go back to it I you know it’s this one win it it it sort of it completes the story of the near misses and that it has a crescendo to what has what has been building towards the back end of this season. Um but I you know when I go home just going to start practicing again. I’m going to start working again and I’m going to look towards the next tournament and um there is there is always that side to it. I take immense pride in trying to compete with these guys out here. Um, very proud of playing on the PJ tour. I’m very proud of getting to these events and playing against all these amazing players. And um, but yeah, I I think yeah, winning on the PJ tour was a was a step that I wanted to make and and hopefully, you know, it doesn’t take me as long to win a to win another one. We’ll go to Sean Martin next, then Doug. What were lessons from Travelers in Memphis that you applied today and how so? I think there was more positives than negatives and I think I took away um that I did so many good things until the dying moments of the tournaments and um at Travelers I was a couple of decisions out couple of half clubs bit messy on the last it didn’t go the 18th the 18th hole at the travelers went as bad as it could have possibly gone for me um that one I felt like I gave away even though, you know, I also feel like Keegan won it as well. So, um I wouldn’t take anything away from him. And then I also think in Memphis, again, you look at the most recent one, uh I did so many good things. I put it so well. I scrambled when I had to. I played well on that Sunday and took control of the tournament again um with three holes to go and I didn’t hit the shots that were required to finish the tournament off. Um, but I I took away a lot of the good stuff that I did and I did actually start today very similar to the other days as well. Um, and uh I just had to keep gaining experience, keep putting myself there. I think um I think I did an amazing job today of uh like I said, I had to reset myself. Like it wasn’t easy today. It wasn’t playing sailing. I lost my swing in the middle of the round. I was really erratic. Um, and I had to find my swing really under, you know, I I don’t think trying to win a tournament is as much pressure as trying to keep your playing rights, things like that. I, you know, or it’s a different type of pressure. I’m not going to say it’s it’s bigger or less. It’s just a different type of pressure. You know, it’s a joy to to be in contention and try and win golf tournaments, but at the same time, you know, you have to deal with those little demons that are in the back of your mind and um, doubt creeps in. you remember what you got wrong, don’t want to get it wrong again. And you have to force yourself to think of the positives. And I think um you know, I really did a good job of really focusing on trying to put a good swing and trying to hit a good shot on especially 15, 16, 17, the rhythm that I put on those swings I was really really pleased with and I just I lent back on that really and I think just as experience builds um at some point you’re going to get it right than I did today. We’ll go to Doug Ferguson and then Gabby Herszig. Oscar seemed a lot more emotional than you did. What does that tell you, do you think, about how hard people wanted it for you and why do you think everyone likes you so much? That’s don’t know about the last question. Um, yeah, Oscar’s Oscar’s a bit Oscar’s a big emotional little baba really. He’s um he’s uh yeah I um at the Ryder Cup in uh in Italy, he was one of the first people that I saw after walking off the course in the singles and he was in tears then and it’s like um he’s he’s just yeah I I’m so blessed with the family that I have and the love that surrounds me and the support that I get um that it just makes everything that much easier really whether it goes good or bad you know what whatever had whatever would have happened today I’d have walked off the 18th hole and Oscar would have given me a hug and we’ have gone home and everything would have been great like everything would have been fine I’d have been gutted you know we’d have all been you know gutted and hurt a little bit but you know life would still have been great and I think um that’s something that I would never take for granted but that I’m so lucky that I’m I’m so lucky with and when you you know I um say, “Why do people like me so much?” I’ve always been very lucky that I make a great connection with people. Um, I try and be if I could give myself if I could give my kids one piece of advice. I mean, there’s tons of advice, but I always tell them to be a good person first, and I’ve always tried to do that. My dad always told me that. Um, even when I was an aspiring young amateur golfer, professional golfer, um, he always wanted me to be, he always said, “Person first, golfer second.” You know, you’re a good person first. whatever happens after that, you know, you try and be a good golfer second. I’ve always tried to be that. Do you think the level of popularity you have uh is a result of the tough losses that you’ve endured? Um, I think I think definitely uh people have um gathered on the on the train that has been me trying to chase a PJ tour win. And um like I say, I’ve tried to I a lot of it I do, you know, you you say the right things firstly for yourself. Like I’m not going to come off when I’ve had those near misses and berate myself and make it worse. like I want to be a positive impact on myself. And I know that what I want to do is I want to get in contention again. I want to play against the best players in the world and I want to win the biggest tournaments. I’m not going to be able to do that if I’m if if I have a negative attitude, if I have a poor attitude. So I try I try to be positive about everything and say the right things inwardly and outwardly. And and then um I I guess people liked what I was saying. They liked the attitude that I had. Um, again, I go back to my kids. That’s the things that I want those to be like, you know, I it’s it’s again, it’s easy to say that you’re resilient, but it’s harder when you have to be resilient. And I think um I feel lucky that I’ve had to show that side of myself. I feel lucky that actually paid off and that I won. Um but yeah, I’ve I’ve been uh it’s been great the buzz that has been around me when I’ve been in contention. I’ve played unbelievable golf. um the last few weeks, the last couple of months, the last year, very consistent. But um to have that buzz and to have the support, you know, here like just to have people chanting your name coming down the last few holes for people to be carrying you on their shoulders is very is a very very special feeling and I would never take it for granted. Time for a few more. We’ll go to Gabby Herszig and then Chris Biblmore. Um hey Tommy over here. Sorry. Um what were the emotions like on the 18th green? you let out quite the yell there. Um, can you just walk us through what that actually felt like? Um, yeah. I guess the first thing was um probably like take a breath, be a bit relieved that I finally, you know, got this got it over the line this time and that I can um, you know, move forward with trying to win multiple rather than just try and win one. Um, but it’s great. I, you know, down that last hole I was hitting such good shots on the back nine, but it was always such a big effort. nothing was flowing for me. I had to really work hard at it. Um, and when you’ve had as many near misses as I’ve had, three shot lead doesn’t feel like that many. Even on a par five when I’ve striked it down, like, you know, I’m in play. Um, yeah. So, I think I was and also, you know, for the last two or three holes, you could kind of, you know, you do get a sense of the e and flow of the tournament. Door was just getting wider and wider. It definitely looked like it was finally my time, but then don’t want to get ahead of yourself. You still got to hit the golf shots. Um, and yeah, just, you know, proud to have shown, you know, that it’s possible if you just keep going. I’m sure there was plenty of people, as much as there was people supporting me, I’m sure there was plenty of people that were doubting me as well. And I think, um, just to prove that if you have the right attitude and you keep going, um, that good things can happen. And you you mentioned you get those doubts that start to creep into your mind, but when they come, have you learned to recognize them or do you try to erase them? Like what’s the strategy there? Um, they’re just feelings. They’re just thoughts. Um, they don’t need to have any impact on how you play um or how you execute the next golf shot that, you know, but they’re just as real as anything else that’s going on. So, you just learn that they that they’re going to come, that they’re going to happen. Next time I’m in contention, I’ll have doubts again. Um, you know, and I’ll I’ll deal with it. I’ll have my positive thoughts. I’ll have my confident thoughts. I’ll have my I’ll have my doubts. Just it’s just reality. It’s just it just is what it is. And um you know the the hardest thing was as as when you’ve had as many you know the near miss is that the doubts there’s going to be more doubts than than usual if you like. But um like I say, always speak to yourself in the right way. Always try and do the right things and um feelings are feelings. Golf ball doesn’t know any different, you know. Try and just put the good swing on it. We’ll go to Chris Vivmore back in the red and then over back to you. And go ahead, Chris. Just curious now that it’s all said and done. How glad are you that we’re not going to keep asking you about getting the first win here? Well, it’s a shame that the story’s gone. Like I mean like um I can’t I I I enjoyed it while it lasted in a in a in a sick way, but um I I hope that I can give uh you know that we can talk about plenty more things in the future really. Um I I have I I will look back at all of this and again I feel like I keep repeating myself. I’ll be proud of the strength that I had to show to keep coming back. Um I you know and and showing that that it can be done if if you’re resilient enough and you keep putting yourself in those positions. I’ll look back at it and I’ll be able to tell people that I’m I’m really really pleased that I get to talk to kids or aspiring golfers or aspiring sports people, whatever they’re trying to do. Um, and I can I can genuinely talk about showing resilience or keep coming back after tough losses and and you know, keep working and all of those things and the skills that you have to use in in order to put yourself there again and then finally get it done. I’m really really pleased that I get to do that and that I that I have been proved that it can happen. So, um, yeah, I I’ll miss I’ll miss talking about it, but I’m glad that I can uh, you know, talk to people about what can be done. Good. Are you in? lesser people might have chopped and changed caddies after a lot of near misses. How how special is it for you to have your big mate beside you when you I mean he’s been through it all with you as well and he’s beside you there. Yeah, of course. And like I say, I I think uh I’m sure Finn had doubts about himself. Um I think it’s it’s it’s only it’s only natural. I I think that people um look at what you what they think you need to do to improve and and what you should do and and how you should go about it. Um, I I’m never I I never get um sort of too emotionally involved in in in what people say. Um I I think a lot of it comes from support as well. I think people probably want the best for you at times and uh but for me, you know, we’ve been doing so many good things and I think um yeah, there’s been plenty of times where it’s not quite happened. we’ve either got something wrong, somebody’s beat us or whatever it is. But you also have to focus on the ton of positives that were there. There was more good than bad. Just haven’t quite got over the line. But, you know, I was I’ve spent the last few weeks now being where every player that tees it up wants to be. Um, so there were so many good things and yeah, it was it’s great. Um, it was great walking down the 18th. I would I’d have kind of liked to enjoy it more with him, but I was I was going into this like mental cocoon of trying to get through that 18th hole and I was like very very much head down and zoned in and um let’s get the job done. Uh so I’d like to have enjoyed it a little bit more with him, but you know, we have those moments on the last screen. We have um you know, the crowds are amazing. You know, I get to hug Finn, get to have those pictures forever. Um and it’s another, you know, accomplishment for us too as as a team. Anything else for Tommy? Congratulations, Tommy. Welld deserved. Thanks, guys. Thank you. [Applause]