Moliwood in Paris gave way to Fleetwood Mac in Rome. It’s clear that Tommy Fleetwood is very easy to play with and whoever is paired with him has a strong chance of getting a point for Europe.
But the Englishman has lauded the energy that Rory McIlroy brings to the European team and after winning two points from two matches together in the last Ryder Cup, he would love to link up with the Masters champion this week in Bethpage Black.
“Whoever gets to play with Rory this week, what a privilege. What an amazing thing to be able to do, to stand next to him on the golf course and play alongside him. He’s one of, if not the greatest players of our generation,” explained Fleetwood in his pre-contest press conference.
“The energy he has, that he brings to your team, that he brings to the Ryder Cup, I think is amazing. I think it’s great.
“If I’m one of them that gets a chance to play with him, I would love that opportunity. And whatever energy he decides to bring, I’ll be there to support him and be a good partner for him.”
Fast starts have been key in recent editions of the Ryder Cup and that fact hasn’t been lost on Fleetwood.
If Europe are to give themselves a platform to launch towards a first away victory since 2012 then Friday will be about stemming the USA tide as much as starting quickly themselves.
In 2018, Europe actually lost the opening fourballs 3-1 but whitewashed the USA in the foursomes. Three years later Europe lost the foursomes and fourballs 3-1 and 3-1 to lie 6-2 down and in the abyss after day one in Whistling Straits.
In Rome, Luke Donald’s men whitewashed the USA in the foursomes and built up a 6.5-1.5 lead at the end of the day as the United States failed to win a single match in a day for the first time in Ryder Cup history.
“Luke, at the last Ryder Cup in Rome, I think did a really good job of drilling that into us,” Fleetwood said of the importance of fast starts.
“It goes both ways, right? Like, statistically, fast starts are obviously an advantage. But if you go 1-down through 3, you don’t want to start thinking, “Odds are stacked against me.” It does go both ways.
“But yeah, Luke was the one that pointed it out first – definitely in Rome – and made us aware of that. I think we have been aware and practiced that as a team.
“It’s not something that we really focus on when you’re standing on the first tee, because you don’t want to be in a position where you lose a couple of holes early on and you’re like, “Well, we wanted to get a fast start and now we’re down.”
“I think we’ve practiced it as a team over the last few years, and we’ve added a bit more focus to it. And I think it’s probably one of those things that’s just happened to go our way, rather than us being really, really strict and focused about it.
“I hope it continues, really. Fast starts are good.”
