	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI

November 19, 2019

Tommy Fleetwood

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

BRIONY CARLYON: Delighted to be joined by our latest winner on The European Tour, Tommy Fleetwood. Welcome back to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship.

Let's go back to Sunday, an incredible win, your second Rolex Series victory and now second in The Race to Dubai. How big was that for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, a lot came from it, first and foremost. I think, you know, like you sort of move on to this week, and I think straightaway, you know, when you win, people sort of just look at where you are in The Race to Dubai with one event to go and kind of all of a sudden this week becomes a little bit bigger than what it was already just because you are in position to win that.

But I just think Sunday was just a really special day, crossing the line again is just something that's always very special, and so many reasons why you can never take winning for granted. It's just such an amazing feeling for everybody involved.

I think that was -- you don't really get that much time to enjoy it. Like it's very, very busy as soon as you get off the golf course and you get on a flight and you come here and you know you have one event left. I'm looking forward to enjoying it when I do get the chance.

BRIONY CARLYON: I know you just said as well, last week to win, you're now into the points and right up there in The Race to Dubai. You've obviously won it before in 2017. How much does your focus shift to that so quickly after a win?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I consider myself lucky that I have got -- well, actually I have got a lot of experience. This is my third year in a row where I'm one of those players that has a chance to win The Race to Dubai. It's very special.

There's only a certain number of people that have The Race to Dubai on their resumé. I'm lucky to be one of them and I think it's one of my greatest achievements and I think I have experienced both sides.

Obviously in 2017 when I won, I led it for such a long time. In 2018, I set out and it was never a goal at the start of the year to win The Race to Dubai and all of a sudden just because it was a possibility it became something that really hurt when I didn't, but realistically, I had not thought about it all year until sort of the last few events that I had a chance.

I just think it's important this year that I take those experiences into it and know that it still takes a lot to do it and it's not in my hands at all. I can only do my best this week, take one shot at a time. At the end of it, whether I do well or not, I'm not going to be too hard on myself. It will be an amazing thing to do but it's not something that I'm going to push hard for or consume myself with it.

Just going to enjoy this week and do the things that I've done so well to get in contention again.

Q. As well as you have been over the last two years, this tournament has not really seen you at your best. What's been the reason for the past two years? You have mid-20 and 40th kind of results. What do you plan to do differently and what do you know more about this golf course that you will be doing differently?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I think my best finish was in 2016, which was actually my worst year out of all of them. I finished tied ninth but I had a chance going into the back nine. I was going really, really well, and I had a short putt for birdie on 10 and had a poor back nine.

The thing about this event in general is it's very, very bunched up. There's always been a lot of birdies in this event. Sometimes I haven't made enough. Sometimes I've made too many bogeys. It's just one of those things where I haven't had amazing results at the event. It's not something that we always look at I think I used to, you know, believe in maybe -- well, I do believe in horses for courses, but before I won for the first time in Abu Dhabi, I missed the cut five out of six times and before I won in France, I missed the cut every single time and I missed the cut the year after. It doesn't always follow that.

I think each time I've played in this event, I've been in a completely different situation where the year is or where my career is. And yeah, you know, I just think I know and understand that it's easy to get ahead of yourself, and it's the 50 best players of the year playing this event.

If you don't play -- you know, you have to play extremely, extremely well against all these players to find yourself in contention. If you don't, you're not going to be there, and that's it, really. You can only try your best. It's been a long year.

Obviously I'm clearly playing well at the moment, but we'll see. I'm not too worried about it. But I would love to play well. I think I've played well enough in the past, but I just haven't put it all together. Maybe this time.

Q. You seemed quite emotional on Sunday. Was that relief?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I think a couple of things. Like, you know, I played so consistent for a couple of years and I just haven't crossed the line. I haven't won. Winning does feel amazing. I think it was a massive event in terms of the history of the event.

It's more -- it's not necessarily emotion from myself really. I think it's everybody that's involved. It's your team, your family that go through the highs and lows and go through week-in and week-out with you. I feel it for everyone really. I think the question getting asked about the money, I think it was just the family thing for me, setting them all up means more than anything.

It just is; winning is kind of an emotional thing. I would probably rather win five or six times a year and have it be a regular thing, but still quite enjoy the emotional side of it.

Q. Did it surprise you?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yes and no. It probably surprised me in terms of I feel like in China, I was playing terrible and I was kind of getting really disappointed with myself.

So to turn it around in a week and play the way I did for the week in South Africa, probably did surprise me a little bit. But Sunday was one of them rounds, sometimes it feels like your time and sometimes it doesn't. I think I was just relieved that I got through the playoff hole after the shots I hit and had a putt to win more than anything.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297