From this week’s Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Resort
Tommy Fleetwood arrives on the Dubai Invitational not solely as a former champion at Dubai Creek Resort, however as a participant firmly established among the many sport’s elite.
Now world No. 3, the Englishman displays on a breakthrough 12 months in the USA, the worth of consistency, recollections of a defining victory in Dubai, and the problem of chasing down the 2 gamers presently setting the usual in males’s golf.
Unchanged Ambitions After a Breakthrough Yr
Fleetwood’s long-awaited PGA TOUR victory final season marked a serious milestone, but he’s fast to emphasize that it has not altered his long-term outlook.
Quite than redefining targets for the 12 months forward, Fleetwood sees his journey very a lot as a continuation of the identical course of that has guided him all through his profession.
He explains that his broader life and profession ambitions stay intact, with the main target nonetheless on changing into the very best golfer he may be. Whereas final season positioned him in unfamiliar territory, notably when it comes to world rating, he views that success as a platform somewhat than a vacation spot.
A well-earned break after an intense 12 months has helped him reset, and because the new season begins, Fleetwood is keen to return to work, sticking with acquainted routines and persevering with to push for incremental enchancment.
Consistency because the Basis of Success
When requested to pinpoint the explanations behind what many described as an excellent 12 months, Fleetwood factors to not any dramatic technical adjustments, however to years of regular, disciplined effort.
Consistency, he says, has all the time been central to his identification as a participant. Whereas the absence of a PGA TOUR win had typically been highlighted, Fleetwood by no means felt that his underlying efficiency degree was missing.
In his view, final season’s run of type merely represented his capability to play, extra typically and extra constantly, on the degree he is aware of he can attain. The distinction was not in method, however in execution, discovering himself in rivalry extra often and permitting outcomes to comply with.
Surrounded by a powerful assist group and armed with detailed preparation, Fleetwood believes final 12 months was the pure reward for sustained laborious work lastly aligning with alternative.
Defending Champion Reminiscences at Dubai Creek
Dubai Creek Resort holds particular significance for Fleetwood, and recollections of his victory there stay recent. Central to that win was a compelling final-round battle alongside Rory McIlroy.
Fleetwood recollects the expertise as each fulfilling and demanding, describing it as a worthwhile check in opposition to one of many biggest gamers of his era. The closing phases served as a reminder of golf’s unpredictability, the necessity to keep affected person, targeted and dedicated till the ultimate putt is holed.
Successful in Dubai was made much more significant by having his household current, including a private dimension to knowledgeable spotlight.
Reflecting on the course itself, Fleetwood describes Dubai Creek as a good examination that rewards high quality ball-striking. Calm morning situations and receptive greens supply scoring alternatives, however accuracy off the tee is crucial. Straying into the tough, notably because the course companies up, shortly turns the check right into a grind.
Life at World No. 3
Beginning the season ranked third on the earth is new territory for Fleetwood, and one he finds each motivating and thrilling.
He’s candid in acknowledging the hole between himself and the 2 gamers forward of him, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, whom he regards because the clear standard-bearers of the fashionable sport. Closing that hole, he believes, would require enchancment throughout each space, measured within the smallest of margins.
Quite than setting short-term expectations, Fleetwood frames the problem as a long-term pursuit. Sustaining his present degree is the primary precedence, with any additional progress seen as the results of persistence and continued improvement somewhat than quick outcomes.
He additionally recognises the privilege of being talked about in the identical breath as the sport’s highest, viewing it as each a praise and a supply of motivation.
Centered on the Course of, Prepared for the Problem
As Fleetwood tees it up as soon as once more on the Dubai Invitational, his mindset is evident: grounded, constant and forward-looking.
There isn’t a sense of complacency regardless of latest success, nor any rush to drive the following step. As an alternative, Fleetwood stays dedicated to the identical rules which have carried him up to now — belief in his work, perception in his course of, and an appreciation of the problem that lies forward.
At Dubai Creek Resort, a course that rewards precision and persistence, Fleetwood finds himself completely aligned with each the setting and the second.
