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NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE PRESENTED BY GARY PLAYER

November 12, 2017

Tommy Fleetwood

Sun City, South Africa

Q. Coming into this week with a duel agenda, didn't get the victory in the tournament you wanted to but you have significantly added to your Race to Dubai tally. What's your verdict on the week?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Good week overall. Today, obviously can look at it two ways. Starting yesterday, I would have taken this. Start of today, I would have liked to get more out of it. Overall it's a good week's work.

I don't actually know what position I finished in. I know the back nine's got me very hot and bothered, hitting it all over the place and scrapping for myself. Yeah, I think looking back, it's that type of course where you're always going to feel like you've left some out there or things haven't gone your way. But yeah, it's been a good week.

Q. Start of this week, six guys could stop you winning The Race to Dubai. That's now down to two. Sergio has to win next week and you have to finish well down the order. Obviously your closest challenger is Justin Rose and he's going to need to finish about sixth, even if you do finish down the order. What are your thoughts now on The Race to Dubai?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I don't know. Obviously, today when I couldn't win, sort of towards the last few, playing for every shot because you know every shot is going to count towards the end of the year. We'll see where everything is. Start trying to look at it and do all the maths is going to do your brain in.

I have a long flight with a lot of time to spend doing nothing and a lot more time doing nothing, as well. So I've got to try and take my mind off it.

But it is what it is. I've played brilliant all year. I think to be in with a chance of winning The Race to Dubai, it's pretty special, really. It's not a burden. I don't feel stressed about it. I don't feel anxious. I just think it's great that I've got the chance to win it, and a good chance.

And as much as it depends on what they do, it is in my hands. I can take it out of everybody's hands, but we'll see. Coming down the back nine when I didn't have a chance to win and kind of scrapping for my life on a few holes and a few shots, you do know every shot counts.

It's great to be in this position. Great to sort of be testing myself and what I can do mentally and my game. But yeah, it's been a really good week. Any time you're sort of up there, I was sort of in the last few groups today. I had a couple of good chances on that front nine that I wish I could have got them, and sort of maybe had a chance to press on. But in the end I didn't play well enough on the back nine at all. It's been a really good week. I enjoyed it.

Q. Is it mentally testing on the back nine, eight pars and a bogey, didn't really get going for you.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's a test of all things on the back nine. I don't think I've ever been as hot in my life, I don't think, in some of them bushes. It just went from cruising around through eight holes where I played absolutely perfect golf and I missed a couple of chances to nine -- from nine onwards, that second shot where I nailed this 4-iron, best shot of my life, had a flyer into the rocks and gone into the grandstand. It all got kind of stressful from there, really.

I was just all over the place. I hit it 20 yards over the green on 11. Made a great up-and-down.

Hit in a bush on 12.

14, I was all over the place.

17, I got up-and-down.

It was just a bit all over the place. But I was really happy with how I stuck in there. The ones I missed early on the front nine when I was playing great, I made up for it with a couple of really good putts on the back nine.

Overall, I think any time you shoot under par on this golf course, it's a good score. So you have to keep that in perspective. Just really happy with the week.

Q. Looking at the overall situation, is that something that you just have to forget about the maths and concentrate on your own performance next week and hope that it's the right outcome come Sunday afternoon?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Of course, yeah, everybody is going to want to talk about it. You're going to have enough people sort of working it out for you.

As soon as we do that, I'm not -- it's not my job to do that. I hit golf shots and that's what I'm good at, supposedly. I've got to try and do that.

Yeah, I don't know how I'll feel next week. It's going to be a new experience. It's going to be a great experience. Like I've just said, playing in The Race to Dubai is very, very special and it's something that actually very few people get the chance to do.

I'm very sort of proud of the year overall. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can come back on Sunday and I've won both, I've won the tournament and The Race to Dubai. That would be great, wouldn't it.

Yeah, it's going to be great next week. It's certainly very special.

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