Finally, Tommy Fleetwood has escaped the title of 'King of Runners-up'!

“This feeling is unbelievable,” Fleetwood (34 years old) emotionally shared. “163 appearances without a win, sometimes I wondered if I was good enough to do this. But today, it all paid off.”

In his seven years on the PGA Tour, Fleetwood finished second six times, third six times, and in the top five 30 times. He earned more than $33 million, but no amount of money could buy him any sense of satisfaction. Behind his familiar, gentle smiles, Fleetwood endured terrible torment: 163 tournaments without ever knowing the taste of victory.

There were times when opportunities came so close, then slipped away because of mistakes at the decisive moment. This summer, he even missed the chance to lift the trophy twice because of self-inflicted errors. The mental scars piled up day by day. But at East Lake Golf Club, Fleetwood did what he thought would “never happen”.

Victory of Liberation

Fleetwood shot a 2-under 68 to win the Tour Championship by three strokes and become the first player since Chad Campbell in 2003 to win his first PGA Tour title and win the Tour Championship.

Yet, even as he stepped up to the par-5 18th with a three-stroke lead, Fleetwood found it hard to relax. The mental scars of 163 missed putts were still there. When his par putt on the final 18th landed in the hole, Fleetwood was momentarily overwhelmed, then bursting with emotion: he raised his arms and shouted loudly to the chorus of “Tommy! Tommy!” from thousands of American spectators.

Beside the green, his compatriot Justin Rose (2018 FedEx Cup champion) and Harry Hall came to hug him. Shane Lowry, his Ryder Cup teammate, was also there to share the joy. Rose even took out his phone to record the image of a lifetime for the golf world .

This is the second time this year that Georgia has witnessed a “moment of liberation”. In April, Rory McIlroy won The Masters after 10 years, completing the career Grand Slam. Fleetwood did not have to wait that long, but he has endured more disappointments, with hundreds of tournaments, hundreds of times of self-torment.

He has won eight times in Europe, but has never won in the US. “It was a big turning point in my career. I didn’t need it to prove anything, but I wanted it. Looking back now, it was like a highlight that closed the series of missed opportunities. When I get home, I will start training again, continue working and look forward to the next tournament,” Fleetwood said.

Courage to the throne

Two weeks ago, at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Fleetwood missed out on a playoff win. The sting of defeat was still there as he entered the final round of the Tour Championship tied at 16-under with Patrick Cantlay. The pressure was as heavy as a rock, but this time, he showed his mettle.

There was no such thing as a perfect round, but Fleetwood always knew how to make amends. Every time he bogeyed, he immediately recovered with a birdie. Two long putts on holes 12 and 13, right after Cantlay had closed the gap, turned the game around. From there, he held the lead until the end of the round.

Cantlay fell behind early with a bogey and double bogey, then ran out of steam in the final stretch. Russell Henley and Keegan Bradley shot 69 and 70, respectively, and were not competitive. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sparked hope and then snuffed it out with a double bogey on the 15th hole. Fleetwood, meanwhile, kept his composure and refused to let his inner demons get the better of him.

“It wasn’t easy. I was out of rhythm, inconsistent, but I found myself. When you’ve had enough failures, experience teaches you how to stand up. And today, I did it right,” Fleetwood said.

The win moved Fleetwood from 10th to 6th in the world, cementing his place among the elite. More importantly, Fleetwood became the first player in FedEx Cup Playoffs history to shoot all four rounds under 70 at East Lake, a testament to his unwavering consistency.

Persistence is the key to success

Fleetwood became the third British golfer in history to win the FedExCup, after Justin Rose (2018) and Rory McIlroy (3 times).

"Fleetwood's tenacity is not just physical, but first and foremost mental. Through hundreds of failures, he still perseveres in believing 'one day, I will get it right'. That shows what a great attitude he has towards golf, how resilient he is," Rory McIlroy commented.

Fleetwood himself admitted that he has learned to “enjoy” the pressure after hundreds of failures. “I hope from now on we will have more to talk about than the fact that I have never won in America. I am proud to have proven that if you are resilient enough, and keep getting up after failure, one day success will come.”

"I want to tell this story to young athletes that dreams are real, and perseverance is the way to reach it," said the 34-year-old golfer.

It took Fleetwood 164 tournaments to win his first PGA Tour title, but when the moment came, it was a symbolic victory: a victory of perseverance, of endurance, of an unyielding heart.