Dubai resident Tommy Fleetwood had one job when teeing off at the BMW Championship – play his way into the top 30 of the FedExCup standings to qualify for the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship.
The Englishman has been consistent all season, missing just two cuts, but had only made 17 PGA Tour starts this season before the BMW Championship, leaving him outside of the top 30 that qualify for the final event of the season at East Lake.
But in the second of three play-off events, the Olympic silver medalist ensured he delayed a trip back to his home in Dubai after finishing in a share of fifth at the BMW Championship to jump up to 22nd in the season-long race.
“I think I've played well enough to be in a better position than what I was in coming into this week, but at the same time, standard of golf is incredibly high,” said Fleetwood after his round.
“I think making it to East Lake -- like the difference between East Lake and not is a less of a difference than last week and this week, if you like.
“I think making it to East Lake is an amazing achievement, and that's somewhere that you aim to be, and it'll be a fantastic end to the PGA season, and I look forward to playing next week and trying to get the most out of it.
“But in terms of difference it makes to your season, it's not huge, so I think -- when I look at it that way -- that was one of the targets, as well. As soon as you put too much pressure on yourself for something, it's the easiest thing to do in the world, now it becomes harder. I think downplaying that all week and stuff has helped me.
“Yeah, look, honestly, I'm absolutely made up to have made it. I really, really am. But I think I spent that much time trying to be calm and downplay it that I'm just doing the same now.”
Last week’s tournament in Denver marked Fleetwood’s third start in four weeks, following the men’s golf competition at the Olympic Games and the PGA Tour’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
With the PGA Tour wrapping up its season and the DP World Tour approaching its final stages, players often experience burnout due to the intense schedule and extensive travel.
Last year’s Open Championship winner Brian Hamran and Jordan Spieth both fell short of qualifying for the season-ending event. Whether this is due to the pressures and exhaustion of the season is something only they can truly know.
But for Fleetwood, he’s still feeling physically and mentally well ahead of the season finale, where the champion will bank a tidy $25 million.
“No, I feel okay,” he said.
“I think at this point in the year, I think you start to see so many guys starting to get frustrated, which is so easy to do. I think, again, it's important to sort of have a good sense of where you are and how you feel.
“Coming towards the end of anything, you're obviously trying to push that bit more. It's always quite a long season bunched up, but again, you want to be there until the end, and I think playing in these events is always a good thing.
“There's definitely times when you get frustrated and that's showing a bit of mental tiredness, if you like, but I felt pretty good, and I felt like especially this weekend, I had a good handle on things because last week in Memphis was so frustrating. I played unbelievably well, and I was last in the field in putting.
“When you play like that, you want to capitalize on it, and I felt like that was very frustrating knowing where you sit in the FedExCup. This week, as well, Friday was kind of a day where I could have done better, so I felt like I just had to stay with it, and this weekend sort of got more out of it.”
Fans in the UAE are set to catch Fleetwood live in action once again later this year at the DP World Tour Play-Offs, with the seven-time DP World Tour winner already securing his spot in both the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and DP World Tour Championship.
