Fleetwood Smack.
Tommy Fleetwood put the smack down like never before with a back nine rally for the ages and nabbed a repeat win at the HSBC Champions.
Three days of perfect weather in Abu Dhabi vanished on Sunday and high winds turned the clear desert air hazy with sand.
Fleetwood started the final 18 a shot back of overnight leaders Ross Fisher and Thomas Pieters and it was Fisher who had the perfect Sunday start and looked like he was on his way to his first win of the season. The Englishman eagled the par five second then added to more birdies on the front to turn at 21-under in the difficult conditions.
“Obviously four under after nine, I wouldn’t say cruising, but I was in control of my game. I think I might have been a couple ahead maybe, so I figured, right, I need to knuckle down and play a good, solid back nine, and unfortunately it wasn’t quite as solid,” was how Fisher described what would transpire.
Fisher’s first hiccup came quickly at the par five 10th when he hooked his drive and found himself with tree and desert hazard problems. Two shot later he was looking at 200-yard for his third and he’d eventually hole to 20-footer to lose only a shot to par. But the door was open and Fleetwood was making his move.
Tommy got going quickly with birdies at the 10th, 12th and 13th to get to 19-under, a shot back of Fisher, who was in the par mode, protecting his lead with Fleetwood just ahead of him.
Then Fleetwood’s putter turned to pure magic. He rolled in a birdie from 30 feet at the par three 15th and Fisher could hear the roars. It was at the same par three that Fisher came up shot, left his pitch seven feet past the hole then missed coming back and gave up the lead to Fleetwood.
But Fleetwood was far from finished. At the 16th he was looking to get it close from 50 feet away and that bomb found the hole to send him to 21-under.
Fisher didn’t go away and bounced back with birdie at the 16th to set up the finishing drama.
At the 18th, Fleetwood hit a pure drive then pulled his three-wood second into the rough guarding the 18th green. He then hit a marvelous pitch that left him with five feet for birdie. He drained it, gave a hard fist pump then waited to see if Fisher could make eagle.
There would be not eagle for Fisher, no birdie either and he would find himself two shy of Fleetwood’s 22-under winning score.
“Hats off to Tommy. I don’t feel like I’ve lost a tournament,” Fisher said afterward. “Tommy’s gone out there and shot 65 and he’s won it, so all credit to Tommy.”
Yes, credit Tommy Fleetwood, the best player in the world who doesn’t get much hype in the United States.
“When putts were going in like 15 and 16, you just feel like, could this be my day again. Then 18, I mean, forget the second shot, the up-and-down was one of the best up-and-downs I ever made. So happy days.
“I holed the putts on the back nine, ten, 12, 13, 15, 16, the up-and-down on 18. I was just in the moment and seeing the shots,” was how Tommy described his marvelous back-nine 30 on a day when low scores weren’t around. His 65 was a work of putting artistry.
Europe’s No. 1 player now has four wins on that tour, the next step in his career is to make a name for himself in the majors.
In the meantime, he’ll jump into the Top 10 this week when the Official World Golf Rankings come out.
He’ll still be the guy folks don’t talk about much despite the fact that Rory McIlroy and world’s No. 1 Dustin Johnson both finished behind him at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
People will, will once he comes over and wins on the PGA Tour.
But that’s for another day.
