Tommy Fleetwood proved Paul McGinley wrong after draining his opening birdie of the day at the Earth Course on Saturday. The Englishman has been in great form at the DP World Championship this week, but didn’t exactly fire out the blocks on Saturday, with McGinley critical earlier in Sky Sports’ coverage about his struggles on the greens in particular.
However, right on cue, Fleetwood silenced any doubts the 58-year-old held about his putting early in the third round of the competition, rolling the ball in from range on the par four fifth hole to register a birdie. Speaking on commentary as the 34-year-old prepared to take the shot, Nick Dougherty said: “Tommy, one of the most-improved parts of his game. He doesn’t let us down there. He’s irritated by you there, Paul – having a pop at him [for] not making any birdies.”
To which, McGinley was swift to respond with: “Well, I did say if he keeps hitting putts the way he has been it’s a matter of time until they will fall. He has burned a few edges today, yesterday that wasn’t the case. Maybe the floodgates open now.”
While the putt could have potentially sparked the beginning of an impressive charge at Jumeirah, as Fleetwood seeks to secure the £2.3million winner’s prize at the conclusion of Sunday’s action, it wasn’t long before he was left exasperated with his performance. After fluffing a shot from the bunker of the par-four ninth, the star was heard shouting: “F*** sake,” prompting an apology from Sky Sports.
Fleetwood remains in the hunt and is in with a great chance of winning, with the Englishman currently in the leading pack alongside Rasmus Højgaard, Laurie Canter, Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Alex Noren and John Parry. Rory McIlroy is also in contention and is only a few shots back.
Regardless of the outcome at the Earth Course, 2025 will undoubtedly be a year etched in the memory for the Southport-born golfer. He clinched his long-anticipated first victory on the PGA Tour back in August by winning the Tour Championship.
Fleetwood’s journey to East Lake marked his 164th tournament on the esteemed tour, where he managed to secure a comfortable three-stroke win over Patrick Cantlay with a score of 18-under. Reflecting on his victory, he said: “When you’ve lost so many times, a three-shot lead down the last doesn’t feel like that many.
“[The fans] are amazing, it makes me a bit emotional. I’m so lucky with the support I get – it’s so special and I hope everyone knows how grateful I am for it.”
He continued: “You just keep learning. This probably wasn’t the most comfortable because, as they rack up, you obviously start to think of things.
“But I feel like I’ve had a great attitude throughout it all. This is hopefully just one win, the first of many. You cannot win plenty if you don’t win the first one.”
In addition to his individual success, Fleetwood was also part of Luke Donald’s Team Europe who triumphed over Keegan Bradley’s Team USA at the Ryder Cup in September at Bethpage Black. The victory marked the first time since 2012 that a visiting team has won the prestigious tournament.
Thanks to his exploits on the world’s greens and fairways, Fleetwood has reportedly amassed a staggering £18.6m so far this year – with his largest payday being a £7.6m purse for winning the Tour Championship. His annual winnings could surpass the £20m mark with a victory this weekend.
However, a win would do little to advance Fleetwood’s ambitions of clinching the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai. Having participated in 10 events on the tour this season, Fleetwood has accumulated a total of 2,366.47 points.
Despite the champion of this weekend’s tournament receiving 2,000 points, Fleetwood will not be able to dethrone Rory McIlroy from the top of the leaderboard, as the Career Grand Slam winner has 4,640.06 points to his name for the year. Only Tyrrell Hatton and Marco Penge have a realistic chance of finishing above him in the rankings, depending on the outcome of the DP World Championship.
