These stellar stats have put Tommy Fleetwood in position once again to win first PGA Tour title
Tommy Fleetwood reacts to a tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Andy Lyons
MEMPHIS — One week after Cameron Young secured his long-awaited maiden victory on the PGA Tour, Tommy Fleetwood has put himself in position to end a longer drought.
With only a single blemish on his scorecard, a bogey on the 18th hole, Fleetwood fired a second-round 64 on Friday at TPC Southwind to seize control of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. The 34-year-old Englishman held the clubhouse lead at 13-under 127 when rain suspended play at 3:31 p.m. CT, later becoming a full stoppage until Saturday morning. Fleetwood stood four shots clear of the field, with Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia in at nine under par 131. Justin Rose also was nine under but had two holes to remaining when a violent thunderstorm moved into the area, bringing heavy rainfall.
Though a winner of eight international titles, Fleetwood has yet to break through on the PGA Tour in 161 starts. His most recent bid and one of his best chances, came in June at the Travelers Championship, but he three-putted the 72nd hole while Keegan Bradley birdied it for a stunning reversal. Fleetwood had led by three strokes with four holes remaining. He settled for his sixth runner-up finish and 28th top-five on the tour.
So, could this be the week for the 15th ranked player in the world?
“We'll see,” Fleetwood said with a tight grin. “Happy to put myself in with a chance over the weekend. I think that's exactly where you want to be and keep testing yourself. Yeah, it hasn't happened for me yet out on the PGA Tour, but I would much rather be up there and not quite get it done than not there at all, and who knows, maybe this weekend is the weekend, and we'll see, and we'll crack on from there. But look forward to tomorrow first.”
Fleetwood has been exceptional tee to green, leading the field in driving accuracy (24 of 28 fairways) and greens in regulation (29 of 36); so, yes, he should be looking forward to the weekend. He has suffered just two bogeys against 15 birdies, and twice he has reeled off four birdies in a row on the inward nine, including the last four on Thursday.
That might help his confidence if he should be trying to close on Sunday.
“Those were two nice runs to get on, really,” said Fleetwood, who secured the winning point for Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome and will be one of the veterans for the visiting team next month at Bethpage Black. “Like yesterday, I felt like I stayed very patient, and then today after a hot start, a few pars in a row, but actually 9, 10, 11, 12 I wasn't feeling that comfortable with my swing, so actually then to get on a run after that I hit great shots into 13, 14 was a lovely shot. I played those holes really, really well, played them perfect. Two nice runs really on the back nine.
“It's not easy really. I've just happened to have played really well, put the ball in play, but happy with those two [birdie runs]. … I think if you're hitting it well off the tee, it makes the course very gettable.”
No, it’s not easy. And now comes the hard part. Getting it into the house over the next 36 holes.
“Whatever score I am through two rounds, you're going to have done everything well,” Fleetwood said, perhaps choosing not to think about his handsome score thus far. “But I think still you've got to focus on the good stuff and try and keep that going.”