GTommy Fleetwood’s start to 2024 has showcased Orff’s richness. The Englishman secured this year’s victory in dramatic fashion over Rory McIlroy in Dubai. Given the Rebel Tour’s past interest in Fleetwood, he subsequently visited the LIV Golf event in Las Vegas, sparking a social media frenzy. Fleetwood begins a three-week tour of the U.S. Championships on Thursday that includes the Masters. He will then caddy for his stepson on the Challenge Tour in Abu Dhabi.
Fleetwood’s stay at LIV was entirely innocent. The 33-year-old was in Nevada visiting his coach, Butch Harmon. Still, it’s worth noting that Fleetwood is relaxed about speculation that he dropped by the Las Vegas Country Club.
“I really didn’t think much about it,” Fleetwood said. “I was there and a lot of us were talking about LIV but had never seen it, so I wanted to see what the tournament was like. There were a lot of people there that we’d never see again, but I still Consider them friends. Players, tour staff, my coaches all work there. So I had a free morning and stayed for a couple hours and that was it.”
Tyrrell Hatton switched to LIV following the arrival of the DP World Tour Middle East tour, while Fleetwood was also targeted by the Saudi-backed alliance. LIV has so far failed to coax the charismatic Fleetwood any further into the European Ryder Cup team. His presence in Vegas, however, made the chatter in the golf lessons intense. The man himself shrugged and smiled at the situation.
“Obviously it’s going to happen, but it’s hard when you know it means nothing and a lot of people are trying to do something with it,” Fleetwood said. “That’s the way it is. I don’t want to I felt like I couldn’t go because of some of the things people would say. I guess I just wanted to go see friends and that’s really the most important thing. It was nice to see a lot of people.”
Fleetwood handles background noise with ease. “I obviously know what I’m doing and where I’m playing. There’s nothing you can do about what’s said elsewhere. It’s like going to that event and I know why I’m there. I don’t feel like it distracts me at all. attention.”
So what’s Fleetwood’s verdict? He admits he has a hard time watching golf – “It’s slow and I prefer to play” – but is there a clear difference between the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour he’s familiar with? “They’re obviously doing a good job,” he said. “The players seemed to enjoy themselves, seemed to enjoy playing on that tour; the first thing I noticed was that everyone looked happy, calm and relaxed.
“There were some things I wasn’t used to; the music, I didn’t know what it would feel like to play it. Other than that, my biggest takeaway was that it was just another golf tournament. Everyone looked very professional and worked extremely hard. Basically It’s just a bunch of people you knew here who are now there. A lot of things have been carried over.”
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Fleetwood’s success at Augusta National will be one of the most popular outcomes at the Masters. Since 2022, his main performance has started to show an upward trend again. The Southport man should be considered one of the best talents of his generation without holding a major title. Fleetwood’s stellar iron play and shot-shaping ability should always come into play at Augusta National.
Thereafter, Fleetwood would play a different golf role following the PGA Tour’s stop at Hilton Head. His stepson Oscar Craig won the Ras Al Khaimah Men’s Open in February. Fleetwood and his family now live in Dubai. The world number 12 resisted the temptation to compete two hours away from young Oscar. “We were going to go over the weekend, but he was doing so well and I didn’t want to show up and jinx it,” Fleetwood said. “He was with his friends. When he was done he called to say he had won and I was at the practice range with our other boy Mo and he was so happy. Everybody was.”
Craig has secured a place at the Challenge Tour’s Emirates Challenge event in Saadiyat, where Fleetwood will caddy. “I’m looking forward to it,” Fleetwood said. “I talked to Oscar about it and I didn’t want to distract him, but he wanted me to do it, which was great.”
