Tommy Fleetwood is staring down a shot at history and redemption. One week after Cam Young finally broke through for his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship, the 34-year-old Englishman is in prime position to end his own long-running drought.
Fleetwood has racked up a staggering 42 top-10 finishes on Tour without a victory — the most in history — but at the halfway mark of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he’s holding a commanding four-shot lead at 13-under par.
Back-to-back rounds of 63 and 64 in Memphis have Fleetwood out in front of a chasing pack that includes Collin Morikawa, Akshay Bhatia, and Justin Rose, who still has three holes left in his second round after storms suspended play Friday afternoon.
Fleetwood Discusses His Strengths
Fleetwood credited his accuracy off the tee, sharp iron play, and confident putting for the hot start. “The greens are really true, and I’ve had a nice eye on the greens and good reads and rolling it well,” he said, sounding like a man finally at peace with his game.
Morikawa, meanwhile, has been battling his own form issues — and a revolving door of caddies, with five different bagmen already this season. Despite just one top-10 finish since March, the two-time major winner flashed brilliance in Round 2, holing out from 127 yards for eagle on the par-4 9th. “The self-belief when I tee it up is always there,” he said. “It’s just a hard game.”
Fleetwood knows that feeling all too well. Just in June, at the Travelers Championship, he was one hole away from victory before a painful three-putt bogey handed the win to Keegan Bradley. This time, he insists, he’s not thinking ahead — just focusing on the next shot.
“I would much rather be up there and not quite get it done than not there at all,” Fleetwood said. “Who knows, maybe this weekend is the weekend.”
The golf world has heard that before. Now, it’s up to Tommy Fleetwood to finally deliver. And if he does, it would be one of the most satisfying breakthroughs in recent PGA Tour memory.
