ABU DHABI HSBC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

January 17, 2023

Tommy Fleetwood

Yas Links

Press Conference

MATTHEW JOULE: Glad to be joined by Tommy Fleetwood in the media centre. Tommy, now nice to start your year and get going in a Rolex Series Events.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it's always in a lot of our plans to come out and start the year here. It's a perfect place really it be starting the season from weather facilities, the strength of the tournaments and the strengths of the fields I think it's a great way to get going in the year. And I think early doors in particular in a Ryder Cup year, if you like, a big part having a big start to the year and the following week is a good way of getting right back into it.

MATTHEW JOULE: Have you managed to snap out of that captaincy mindset and become more individualistic yet?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I enjoyed it very, very much. I love team stuff. I might have been captain but I still love -- I'm just one of the team, and my teammates, I absolutely tried my best for the lads last week as we all did for each other.

I enjoyed stretching myself with something that I would never -- or somebody of my age I guess would never get the opportunity normally. So that was a really good experience for me, and I was lucky to have some people that supported me on the side as well that made it even better.

But yeah, that week's done. As in golf, every Monday, new week starts, and you've got a field of players that are just as hungry as you are to perform this week, so you have to get back around to that mindset Thursday morning.

MATTHEW JOULE: You did have a relatively good week personally last week. How does the game feel?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I had a good week. Felt like I had some tough matches, and even the first match, it felt like in the fourballs, me and Shane -- Thomas and Alex were put out there and known as what was a strong pairing, or Europe's strongest pairing. We both were or we all were very motivated to get a chance to play those and I felt like me and Shane had a chance with a few holes to go but didn't quite happen.

The rest of the week for me -- it's a team game and it's a week of team golf, but you are always pleased you played well for your partner and the team. I was really happy with my own performance but Tyrrell and Jordan and played really well in foursomes and that was great, and singles, I had a good singles as well but still enjoyed. Overall that was great.

The individual performances, they matter in terms of points but when we all can't quite get the points that we needed, I'd far rather have lost all four and watched the guys in the other matches. But wasn't to be our week.

But still, it's good to get into that competitive spirit and that competitive mindset and see what's good and see what things we might be able to improve on coming into this week.

I remember playing the EurAsia Cup in 2018, and it was a good week to start the season going into a competitive week. Don't be surprised to see the guys that were there last week were there on the top of the leaderboard.

Q. As we start a new year, and given everything that's happened over the last 12, 18 months, how do you assess the position this tour is in? Do you think it's in a good place?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's an interesting question, actually. I think myself, I'm one of the fortunate ones at the moment. I kind of see the schedule, and I kind of see it all as a whole. I obviously play in Europe and America, and I just pick my schedule as I see those events as the events I want to I play in and this is how I want to perform and this is how I want to do.

I think events like this are huge for the Tour, and I think going by the schedule and the way that the world of golf is going at the moment, I think this month is an important month for the Tour. And then obviously it seems like you'll have the month of the summer and it's going to be September where the Tour needs to be strong and have those great events. That's the way it seems like it's going to be.

You know, I absolutely love this tour. I love coming out here and playing, and I hope that it does -- it can go from strength-to-strength from here. Strange things happen all the time, and has been for a year, I guess like many, I'm just waiting to see what does happen.

But my schedule sort of is a world schedule, if you like. Yeah, I think this month and September are very important.

Q. Talk about Luke's input last week and how you see his captaincy?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I enjoy being around him. I always enjoy being around Luke. I think 100 per cent he's growing every day in the role. I thought he was -- originally, I thought he had a very good chance of being the captain, so I was very happy when he did get it.

Myself being captain and having a bigger role last week, it was interesting bouncing ideas off him and being involved in that side and seeing how he would think compared to how I would think, and no doubt about it, there's a lot more experience in his mind and his head than what's in mine. Very smart. And I do, I think he's going to be great.

I think we are coming into a period where we have a great bunch of players, as well, and I'm hoping in September we can all be on form. But I do like Luke. I like his attitude and his persona, and I like, even for something like last week, I loved how he goes about things and the experience and what's in his mind, making decisions as to how I'm not quite there yet.

Q. In addition to yourself and Frankie, and the younger lads including Bob, can you talk about the way Bob performed around the course and also the changing and the dressing room?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I texted Bob throughout the week a couple of times just to sort of give him some individual chat, really, you know, when you get a chance, I was very clear of how well he was playing and how important he was for the team.

I think, for instance, I played him at the back end all week, and I think that that is -- you know, there's leading the team out. There's like being in the middle of the teammates around you and being like the glue in that team, to whether you have the momentum to keep that momentum going or whether you're losing it to actually to change that.

And there's being in the back, and I've experienced that position and it's a very difficult to be in because what you do, it has a massive effect on how the day finishes and going into the next day, and you're also likely to be the only one out on the golf course at the end. And I have a lot of faith in Bob and his personality and character to do that.

Everybody last week was a fantastic part of the team. Just being in that team, that we gelled together so well and everybody's personality mixed so perfectly, it was great, and Bob was just another one of those guys, and couldn't have asked him for more on the golf course. It was great.

Q. You've done very well here, and last year you moved to the UAE. How much has it helped your golf and the fact that you can actually practice through the winters here and not being in cold weather?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I feel like I'm sharper through like the consistency of my practice and how that is. I think Jumeirah Golf Estates has helped me a lot in terms of the challenges that that course -- so I'll play that course more than any other, and the fact that I drive the ball so well and constantly hitting shots on a Tour golf course that Tour-level golf requires, I think has helped me lot in terms of how ready I am when I come from a week off or two weeks off or a month off or whatever we have just had, I think it has helped me and it's made a big difference.

In addition to that, I just love that my kids are outside all the time, they finish school, and they want to play golf or Frankie wants to go to the park or play football, and I just love that aspect to the life that we have right now.

For sure, the move has gone well. I love being out here, and I love being part of the academy, as well, when I'm there day-in and day-out. Definitely sharpness and the ability to just play a lot in good conditions, the weather, and hopefully I don't go too soft when the rough days in Scotland come about in summer and winter. I'm sure I'll be fine. But in terms of my game, I think definitely hitting shots on a golf course that I hit out on tour has made a difference so far.

Q. One question on last week. Were there any particular youngsters who caught your eye, someone like anything like, Nicolai, even though he was on your team?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Unfortunately, yeah (laughter). I think the guys performed very, very well.

I think it's difficult to look at the other team sometimes. If it's a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know; I get so engulfed in what my team are doing, whichever team I'm on and whatever role that I'm playing. The only interest I actually have on any team week is my own team, and what is best for the team and how best I can help that team.

Again, to the last day, to within three or four matches to go, I still believed that we were going to win. The Europeans played some really, really golf. I think what's different is it's different pressure coming down the last three or holes, even on a Friday or Saturday. You're not playing to win a tournament, you're playing to win a point. But there's still a different pressure playing for your teammates and coming down the stretch. I think everybody showed really good character on both sides all week, and I think that was a really good sign for the Tour.

Q. Any names?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Not particularly. I think everybody out there had their fair share of moments on both sides. There's guys that played, say, a bit more consistently throughout the week, but people have good weeks and bad weeks all the time. I don't really look at things on the week as a whole.

I look at situations like the last three holes or last four holes when the pressure is on. Honestly, there's nobody that didn't hole a crucial putt and nobody that didn't want to stand up on the 17th or 18th fairway when it mattered. They all wanted to be in those situations. Whether it was GB&I or whether it was Europe, I think everybody was really impressive in those situations.

Q. You have been beaten by European --

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Thank you (laughter).

Q. Did you find a reason?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I think they played a little bit better than us. I think there was a few matches that went down the last hole. The last hole can always go either way or we couldn't -- you know, we got hit a couple of times. We managed to turn those around on the last but the majority we didn't.

I think in particular on the sort of hour or two of golf I managed to watch on Sunday when I finished my match, you stand there on the sidelines, and there's always like a key moment in matches or there's a putt or a chip or something, and you're willing your teammate to do well or hole it, and not particularly willing the other teammate to hole it. I felt like the Europeans controlled those moments well and held some great putts, and some things just didn't go our way.

I think ultimately, overall we didn't -- they got in front early, and they got in front on Friday and we just never managed to catch up, which, again, Luke touched on it a lot throughout the week about fast starts. He wants to be pumping that into the guys and Paul McGinley mentioned it as well. For us, we didn't get off to that fast start, and we were always playing catch up. I was hoping in singles that we could just get level or ahead and then just see how we would go from there, and we never managed to get to. They managed to get up early and they controlled the week really well.

Q. Just another question about the region, this region regarding golf, it's growing. You live in UAE yourself. Are you contributing to the growth, and how?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I don't know; I hope so. The academy at Jumeirah is a huge thing for me. But wherever people are playing golf around the world, I personally want to play a part in growing that for people and using the game to prepare people for life. It's not that everybody is going to be a professional golfer or everybody is going to play Tour golf. But I do think golf has so many challenges and requires so many attributes in golf that can help prepare you for life whatever that; and I want to use the game to do that.

I love being around the game and I love -- so far in my career over the last few years, I've done pretty well. And hopefully I can use my name and the academy and just being around people to help inspire people to try the game and enjoy the game and then stay in the game as well. I think that's important for people to just continue to enjoy the game.

No doubt about it, from the grass roots to the elite end of the spectrum in this region in particular, I think golf is growing at both ends, and I think that's really important. You don't get the elite sides without having to visit the bottom. And I think everything we are doing and everything everyone in this region is doing to grow the game and get people into it; it's such a great sport out here, it really, really is.

I talk about my son, Frankie. All he wants to do when he finishes school is go chip-and-putt and hit balls. I want more and more kids to do that and grow through the game, and so hopefully they will keep doing that not just in this region but around the world because I think the game has a lot to give.