When everything was going so wrong, Tommy Fleetwood only wanted to think about what went right. And now that his trophy case is filling faster than he might have imagined, his focus turned to what was lacking.
It’s part of what makes Fleetwood one of the more compelling characters in golf.
Scottie Scheffler is the best player. He proved that (again) with his six victories and two more majors — by four shots at the PGA Championship, by five shots at the British Open — that moved him within one major of the career Grand Slam.
Rory McIlroy had the most memorable season filled with the rawest emotion, from pure joy at finally winning the Masters to defiance in the face of appalling abuse at the Ryder Cup. He shut up the New York crowd mostly with his club, occasionally with his mouth.
And where does Fleetwood fit in?
He simply endeared himself to fans everywhere by handling losing — and these were tough losses — and winning with equal amounts of grace and gratitude, and no shortage of honesty.
He won the DP World India Championship on Sunday for his third victory in three months, including the Ryder Cup, perhaps the most meaningful. And then his thoughts turned to the European Tour’s final two events, and the majors next year. That’s where he felt he was lacking.
Tommy Fleetwood of England hugs his son Frankie after wining the DP World Tour Championship golf tournament in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Oct.19, 2025. Credit: AP/Dharam Diwakar
The rate of winning feels like a long time coming.
Right when that monkey on his back was turning into a gorilla, Fleetwood finally won on American soil at the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup. And then a month later, he went 4-1 in leading Europe to another Ryder Cup victory. It took a late rally by Justin Thomas to keep Fleetwood from a perfect week. It still felt like one.
And then on Sunday at Delhi Golf Club, he rallied from a two-shot shot deficit to cap an amazing three months. All feels right.
So what could be wrong?
Europe’s Tommy Fleetwood celebrates after a putt on the 13th hole at Bethpage Black golf course during the Ryder Cup golf tournament, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in Farmingdale, N.Y. Credit: AP/Lindsey Wasson
“As good as the season has been, it was a poor major year for me,” Fleetwood said Sunday, more a statement of fact than someone seeing the glass half-empty. He didn’t have a top 10 in the four majors for the first time since 2021.
“I didn’t come close to being in contention or competing in those majors,” he said. “That’s something I’ll look back on and be slightly disappointed in, but also take away the lessons and look at what I could do better going into next year.”
He will work at it because that’s what Fleetwood does. Win or lose, it’s always the next one, no excuses and no complaints.
“There’s always something to play for. There’s always something else that comes up. There’s always something else that you will end up striving for no matter how high or low you sit in any kind of rankings,” he said.
For what felt like the longest time, there was always someone else.
Brooks Koepka held him off at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and Nick Taylor beat him with a 72-foot eagle putt in the Canadian Open. And there were two that Fleetwood gave away this year, losing late leads in the Travelers Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship.
It’s not that he doesn’t care.
“I’m upset now. I’m angry,” Fleetwood said at the Travelers, where a one-shot lead turned into a one-shot loss to Keegan Bradley on the final hole. “I would love to just go and sulk somewhere, and maybe I will. But there’s just no point making it a negative for the future, really.”
And so he didn’t.
There’s an art to winning and an art to losing, and Fleetwood is good at both. That’s a big reason he connects so easily with people.
Most telling was the Canadian Open two years ago when he was on the cusp of his first PGA Tour title until Taylor holed an eagle putt that looked like it rolled across five provinces, making him the first Canadian winner of his national open in 69 years.
Taylor threw his putter in the air, an image that now part of the tournament’s logo. Watching this euphoric scene was Fleetwood, wearing the warmest smile, his arm around Taylor’s shoulder. Disappointment gave way to appreciating a big moment for Canada.
“I’m not going to be angry or grumpy about someone having their moment,” he said. “It was their time. You just hope that yours comes at some point, and you have a load of them.”
Now he has a load of them, at least in the last three months, with hopes more are to follow. And that’s why Sunday in India was no time for a victory lap, just like losing in Memphis was no time to sulk.
“I’m still driven to try and be as good as I can possibly be, and I’ll look forward to getting to work. I’ll look forward to practicing,” he said. “I still have so much to do in my career, and I know that each day how I think and how I act and how I practice and how I work goes towards those things. Whether I achieve all the things that I set out to do or not is a different story.”
He has Abu Dhabi and Dubai this year. And then it’s tackling the majors, and it hasn’t been all bad. He remains the only player to shoot 63 in the final round of a U.S. Open twice, at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and Los Angeles Country Club in 2023.
Golfers seeking their first major aren’t picky about which one, but it’s hard to overlook the British Open returning to Royal Birkdale next year in his hometown of Southport. Is that asking too much?
