CONCERNING TOMMY FLEETWOOD STAT EMERGES AT FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP

 

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Tommy Fleetwood enters the weekend at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in contention, but one statistic has become a concern after two rounds at TPC Southwind. The Englishman has produced an elite all-around performance in Memphis, ranking among the best players in several key categories, but his putting numbers have prevented him from keeping pace with Scottie Scheffler’s record-setting start.

Fleetwood sits five shots behind Scheffler after opening rounds of 66 and 68, while Scheffler leads the tournament after following a first-round 68 with a second-round 61. Fleetwood has played strong golf from tee to green, but his struggles on the greens have created a challenge as he attempts to close the gap during the final two rounds of the PGA Tour’s FedExCup playoff opener.

After his second round, Fleetwood acknowledged the difficulty of chasing Scheffler but focused on controlling his own game. “What can we do about Scottie Scheffler? Just go out there and try to manage your game as best as possible. Shoot the best score you can and see what happens,” Fleetwood said.

Tommy Fleetwood Putting Numbers Raise Concern at FedEx St. Jude Championship

Through two rounds at TPC Southwind, Fleetwood’s putting has been the weakest part of an otherwise impressive statistical profile.

He is ranked 51st in strokes gained putting this week and has lost 1.022 strokes to the field on the greens.

The issue stands out because the rest of his game has been among the strongest in the tournament. Fleetwood ranks third in strokes gained off the tee, second around the green and 27th in strokes gained approach.

His ball-striking and short game have placed him in a strong position, but his putting performance has limited his ability to challenge Scheffler’s lead.

Fleetwood has not won on the PGA Tour this season, and his path to victory became more difficult after Scheffler’s second-round 61.

To have a chance at catching the world No. 1, Fleetwood will likely need two low rounds, with scores around 65 or better, while also improving on the greens.

Martin also noted Fleetwood’s statistical performance, writing that “the one part of his game that hasn’t been in tip-top shape this week is his putting.”

The third round will provide Fleetwood another opportunity to close the gap, but his putting will be a key factor if he hopes to turn his strong overall play into a serious challenge.

Scottie Scheffler Builds Lead as FedEx St. Jude Championship Moves Into Weekend

Scottie Scheffler of the United States. Getty

Scheffler enters the weekend in control of the FedEx St. Jude Championship after a remarkable second round at TPC Southwind.

His 9-under 61 moved him to the top of the leaderboard and created a significant challenge for players chasing him.

The leaderboard shows Scheffler at 11 under after 36 holes, with Sungjae Im and Viktor Hovland tied for second at 8 under.

Fleetwood is part of a group at 6 under, alongside players including Nico Echavarria and Tom Kim.

Scheffler’s position has forced contenders like Fleetwood to focus on producing low scores while maintaining consistency.

Fleetwood, who tied for third at last year’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, entered this week with confidence after strong recent performances around TPC Southwind.

Reflecting on his comfort at the venue, Fleetwood noted after the opening round, “I’ve had two or three really good results around here. I was obviously playing very, very well last year. I put myself in a good position.”

Fleetwood will begin the third round paired with Nico Echavarria, with both players looking to move closer to Scheffler.

As the FedExCup playoffs continue, Fleetwood’s ability to improve his putting could determine whether his strong tee-to-green performance becomes a realistic title challenge.

- Debayan Biswas

SHANE LOWRY LAMENTS LAST-HOLE 'DISASTER' AS IRISHMAN LOSES IN DUBAI

Shane Lowry lamented a last-hole “disaster” as his hopes of landing a first individual win since 2022 slipped out of his grasp in the Dubai Invitational, the opening event of the new calendar year on the DP World Tour.

Shane Lowry takes a penalty drop on the 18th hole on day four of the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek Resort | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Victory at Dubai Creek went to Spaniard Nacho Elvira after Lowry, who held a one-shot lead on the 18th tee in the final round, signed off with a double-bogey 6 after going long with his approach then overcooking his escape from a bunker and finding the water.

“That was a disaster - that's what that was,” admitted Lowry, who deserved credit for talking to a small group of reporters when he was clearly hurting. “What can you do? You have to just learn from it and move on, lads.

“This game is nuts. I've just started my 18th season on tour and I'll never figure it out. I tried my best, did everything I could and hit the wrong club up the last. And that cost me a play-off.”

On a treacherous final hole, Lowry was just off the fairway with a peach of a drive only to then go long with his approach from 139 yards just as Elvira was holing a seven-footer for a birdie at the 17th to move level with him.

“I was just trying to hit a soft 9,” added Lowry. “If you hit a wedge at the flag and it comes out a little soft, it goes right into the water. In hindsight, I probably would have been better doing that because you get it up and down from there. But the bunker shot was shocking - it's not good enough.”

Lowry teamed up with McIlroy to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2024 and was also part of a winning team once again in the Ryder Cup in New York last year, when the former Open champion holed the putt on the 18th green in the singles to retain the trophy for Europe.

It stung, though, to miss out on what would have been a first solo success since the 2022 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. “I should be winning that,” he declared, having had to settle for a share of third place after a closing 69. “But I didn't and this is going to hurt for a day or two. I haven't won in a few years. It's hard to get over the line.

“I know this is not the biggest tournament in the world. But you've still got to beat Rory McIlroy down the stretch. I did that. I just gave it to Nacho at the end. It's a bit of a disaster and I'll lick my wounds and move on and get going for next week.”

Shane Lowry was left “licking my wonds” after a sore finish in the first DP World Tour event of 2026 | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

McIlroy, who finished second behind Tommy Fleetwood in the event’s inaugural edition in 2024, had to settle for a share of third place on this occasion.

The Masters champion stormed into contention after making five birdies in a row - the burst equalled his career best, from the ninth and was half a roll away from making it six in a row as his putt at the par-3 14th came up agonisingly short.

Like Lowry, he found the bunker at the back of the 18th green and, as was the case two years earlier, finished with a disappointing bogey.

“Yeah, got it going in the middle of the round a little bit,” reflected the Masters champion. “Started hitting some good shots and making some putts. Yeah, it was a nice period of golf and that one at the par 3 could have gone in and kept it going.

“Yeah, this was always a week to just sort of get back at it and sort of get ready for next week I guess, more so than anything else. Saw some good signs, still didn't feel like I was very sharp out there for the most part, but felt like I was getting there as the week went on.”

It was the 16th time in 19 years in opening tournaments that McIlroy had started his year with a top-five finish. “Not bad is it,” he said. “Yeah, saw some decent signs out there, feel like I still need to sharpen up the game a little bit if I want to contend next week (in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic).

“I guess when you're in the mindset of just sort of, I guess, using rounds as, I don't want to say practise, because that sort of belittles what we're trying to do. But it's more you're preparing for the big part of the season, I guess, from April through to July. You're just really trying to see where your game's at and just trying to make little adjustments and tweaks here and there when you need to.”

McIlroy was speaking just before Lowry finished his round and, though it wasn’t to be on this occasion, he is confident that his good friend will be back in the winner’s enclosure before too long.

Rory McIlroy came close again in the Dubai Invitationalat Dubai Creek Resort | Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

“Yeah, I think the Ryder Cup was a huge moment for him,” he said. “We've talked about it a lot, we're not spring chickens anymore. Shane's 38, I'm 36, I'm going to be 37 this year, he's going to be 39. We're playing for those bigger moments in our careers - majors and Ryder Cups.

“Obviously, I think it would be important to him to just get a few more wins on the CV, but all the wins that he has had have been very, very big. He's had some huge moments in the game, and we spend so much time together and we talk about it. Just trying to create those big moments is the driving force for the rest of our careers, basically.”

Elvira, who closed with a 69 to win by a shot from Kiwi Daniel Hillier, landed his third DP World Tour triumph, jumping 72 spots to fourth in the Race to Dubai heading into the opening Rolex Series event of the season at Emirates Golf Club.

Ewen Ferguson and Grant Forrest shared the honour of leading Scot as they both finished on one under to share 20th spot while Connor Syme (three over) and Calum Hill (nine over) ended up 30th and joint-47th respectively.

- Martin Dempster

HIGHLIGHTS | ROUND 4 | TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP | 2026

TOMMY FLEETWOOD FADES AGAIN WHILE JUSTIN ROSE TAKES $3.6M FEDEX ST. JUDE PAYCHECK

Tommy Fleetwood again fell just short of his first PGA Tour title, finishing tied for third at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The Englishman started the third round leading by one stroke but was unable to avoid being overtaken by Justin Rose and JJ Spaun.

Justin Rose defeated JJ Spaun in a play-off at the FedEx Championship (Getty Images)

Fleetwood carded three birdies and two bogeys on Sunday for a final round score of 69, taking his 72-hole score to 15-under. His three birdies came between holes 12 and 15, when he temporarily regained the lead, but a bogey on the 17th eliminated his chances of challenging for the title in a playoff.

"I'm obviously going to be disappointed," he told the reporters after his final-round performance. "I think -- I said last time, there's a lot of positives to take, as much as I don't really -- I won't feel like that right now. I'm just going to look at what I feel like I could have done and how close it was. You know, we move on. There's another week that's next and I've just got to reflect on today and obviously keep pushing forward and try and put myself in that position again."

This is Fleetwood's sixth third-place finish in his PGA Tour career, with six other second-place finishes. The most recent of these came at the Travelers Championship, when he also lost to Keegan Bradley on the final hole.

Meanwhile, JJ Spaun and Rose finished tied in regulation at 16-under. Spaun fired 5-under for the final round to climb three spots on the leaderboard, while Rose carded three under, to tie for the lead.

The playoff extended to three holes. The Englishman took home his 12th career PGA Tour title, as well as the $3.6 million paycheck reserved for the winner.

"Played unbelievable golf coming down the stretch," Rose told the reporters after winning the event. "I had so much fun with it. 18 was playing perfectly for me today. If I pulled it, I carried it, if I held it up -- I hit a couple good putts in regulation and in the first playoff hole as well. Obviously J.J. dropped a bomb on me, I topped him. It was a lot of fun today."

"That's why I practice. That's why I play. I've been saying for some time now, obviously Augusta, when I bring my best, I know I'm good enough to play and to compete, and to now win against the best players in the world. Very gratifying day for me and a lot of hard work coming to fruition."

With this victory, Rose will climb to fourth in the FedEx Cup rankings, behind only Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and JJ Spaun. Rose already knows what it's like to win the FedEx Cup, having done so in 2018.

- Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, Newsweek

FLEETWOOD SHARES OLYMPIC LEAD AS GOLD GOLD RACE TAKES SHAPE

Tommy Fleetwood of Great Britain hits onto the 18th green during the second round of the 2024 Olympic Games at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, France. Erik S Lesser/EPA

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France -- British golfer Tommy Fleetwood is on familiar turf and chasing another gold trophy at Le Golf National, this one an Olympic medal instead of that 17-inch Ryder Cup trophy.

The medal chase in men's golf began to take shape Friday with Fleetwood sharing the 36-hole lead with defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama, giving another sellout crowd plenty of star power at the top.

Schauffele was slowed by ants in the rough and posted a 5-under 66, tying the 36-hole Olympic record he set at the Tokyo Games. He was joined by a pair of sloppy finishes. Fleetwood took bogey from a fairway bunker for a 64, while Matsuyama went from rough to water for a double bogey on the 18th and a 68.

They were at 11-under 131, two ahead of Jon Rahm (66).

Schauffele appears to be on autopilot at times, not missing a step from winning the British Open for his second major of the year.

Fleetwood, however, has the experience on this track. He won the French Open at Le Golf National in 2017 and then starred in Europe's Ryder Cup victory a year later, going 4-1 in his matches.

"You're always better off coming to a course where you have good feelings and good things have happened. So I'll definitely draw on those," he said. "But again, I have to stand up there tomorrow and hit the golf shots. Nothing that's happened in the past is going to do it for me.

"It's better having good feelings than having a course that's battered you to pieces."

Schauffele had three straight birdies around the turn and was making it look easy until one bad drive on the 13th and one weird lie. The ball was buried so deep a marshal stuck his finger in the tall grass to show him where it was. Schauffele noticed something else -- ants.

He was trying to position his club when he saw something behind his golf ball.

"It was a pile of ants, an ant pile, whatever you want to call it," he said.

There is free relief from a dangerous animal -- fire ants are cited in the rules -- but these weren't the dangerous variety. One official said Schauffele could scrape it away with his club, only Schauffele wasn't sure about that. A second official said he could use his tee to scrape away the pile. All that for a shot that he could only hack out some 50 yards, leading to a bogey.

That was the extent of his drama for the day.

"Five under is a good score on this property," he said. "Overall, sitting in a good spot coming into the weekend."

Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, is at least in range and plenty happy about that. He took a double bogey on the seventh hole from grass so thick he could advance the shot only about 10 feet, and the next one only about 80 yards. He was 2 over for the day and losing ground quickly.

"Panic is definitely not the right word," Scheffler said. "But when you look up at the leaderboard, I think at the time I was maybe nine shots back or something like that. Around a golf course like this, where the scores are going to continue to get lower, it could be tough to catch up. I needed to do something to get back in the tournament."

He shot 31 on the back nine for 69 and was five shots behind. The greens have been so perplexing to Scheffler that after misreading a 6-foot birdie chance on the ninth hole, he had caddie Ted Scott read them the rest of the way and he trusted it.

"The way I was feeling, I wasn't really going to disagree with what he was saying," he said.

Thomas Detry of Belgium had the low round at 63 that got him within three shots of the lead, along with 22-year-old Tom Kim of South Korea (68) and C.T. Pan of Taiwan (65), the bronze medalist from the Tokyo Games.

Rahm played alongside Schauffele and at one point found himself five shots back. But the big Spaniard ran off three straight birdies in the middle of the back nine, including a tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 16th, and saved par on the final hole.

It's his first time contending on a big stage this year. Rahm tied for seventh in the British Open for his best result in a major, though he was never really in the mix. Now he is, and he got a good look at what he faces in Schauffele riding a wave of momentum.

"What Xander has done this year weighs much more than the medal from three years ago," Rahm said. He added with a laugh, "And I didn't tell him because I don't want to remind him of all the good things he has achieved."

Rory McIlroy was six shots behind, a big push late halted by a double bogey from deep rough on the 17th hole.

"A few too many mistakes, similar story to yesterday," he said.

- Associated Press 

2023 U.S. OPEN | HIGHLIGHTS | TOMMY FLEETWOOD | PFINAL ROUND | EVERY TELEVISED SHOT

 

TOMMY FLEETWOOD | ROIND 1 | 2022 ABU DHABI HSBC CHAMPIONSHIP