HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 16, 2024

Tommy Fleetwood

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Are you still buzzing off the victory last week?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it was great. It's always putting yourself in contention, playing against the best players in the world and getting another win on tour is very, very special.

Take the positives from that, and you know, crack on with this week. There's always another week and there's always hundreds of people that are practising and working hard for whatever is coming. So yeah, try and stay in the present and look forward to this one.

Q. How many positives do you take from a victory coming so early in the year for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I said at the start of the week, you should never sort of take too much heart from whether it's a win or whether you play poorly at the very start of the year. You know you've got a long way to go.

But I think you definitely want it on that side of the spectrum that happened last week.

The way I played, certain elements, my attitude on Sunday, the overall finish, there's a lot of positives to take and the confidence to take from the work you're putting in, and you end up performing in the most-high pressure situations, yeah, take those.

Q. How do you refocus and reset for the week ahead?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Still have lots of goals for the year. Lots of goals for this week as well. You know, want to keep improving as a golfer.

Like I say, everybody is out there on the range practising trying to do their best, and you have to go out and compete against those guys.

I practised yesterday. Worked on the things that I wanted to work on, and you know, I'll do the same today, and it all goes towards Thursday when we tee off this week.

Q. First Rolex Series Event of the year, does that lift the intensity at all?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: These events are obviously huge. They play a big, big part on how the actual overall rankings at the end of the year work out. These are such a big opportunity for a lot of points. I think they hold a big place on the calendar.

So you know, as big as they are, you have to stay locked in and focused on what you do week-in, week-out and get the most out of it. But Rolex Series Events are always a good time to play well.

Q. You know this course pretty well. What do you have to do well to put together a good round here?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Play the par 5s well. There's definitely scoring holes out on this golf course, and I think they are big separator holes. If I play those well, and then you go through a tough stretch on the middle of that front nine.

You have to just hang in there. It's generally a low-ish winning score. The course can play tough. If you don't drive it well, it's going to be hard to score. You'll need your wedge game to be on and putting.

But overall, knowing there's a low score out there and knowing at any given time there's a chance to get on a roll, stay patient, and see if you find yourself up there at the end of the week.

Q. Experience helpful at all around here?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I think so. I think you have to know the course. I haven't had the results that I would want here. In the past, I think I might have had one top five maybe. There's room for improvement on how I've played around here, but definitely, whenever you come to somewhere where you know the shots, you can visualise the shots, you've seen so many people play the course and you've got a feel for it, it does make a difference.

You go out there and you draw on the experience you've got, and you know certain areas where you haven't quite been as well, so that makes preparing easier as well. You just have a nice feeling around here. You're so used to, so it's normal.

Q. Storied history and incredible championship here, what would it mean to fare well here?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Beautiful trophy to have your name on with a whole list of amazing winners and legends of the game. I'll keep dreaming of having my name on that trophy one day.