Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Fleetwood seals place
TOMMY Fleetwood will head into the Open Championship later this month in the form of his life after claiming a second victory of the season in the HNA Open de France.
Fleetwood carded a flawless final round of 66 at 2018 Ryder Cup venue Le Golf National to finish 12 under par, a shot ahead of overnight joint-leader Peter Uihlein.
The 26-year-old from Southport, who used to sneak on to the Open venue of Royal Birkdale as a kid, was 188th in the world last September but will be a career-high 15th when the rankings are updated later today.
Olympic champion Justin Rose is now the only English player ranked higher than Fleetwood, who also moved above Masters champion Sergio Garcia to the top of the Race to Dubai.
Fleetwood has reaped the rewards of returning to his former coach Alan Thompson and followed his second European Tour victory in Abu Dhabi in January by finishing fourth in the US Open last month.
“When it all got talked about last year, everybody knew these were the tournaments you wanted to play well in,” Fleetwood said after collecting the trophy and career-best first prize of £915,000, eclipsing the £850,000 he won by finishing second to world No 1 Dustin Johnson in the WGC-Mexico Championship in March.
“To win a Rolex Series event, knowing how big the stature is of everything now, is a big deal for me.
“I played great, felt comfy again and it’s always great to test your game.
“Life’s just been great. I’m engaged, we’re expecting a baby, my fiance is my manager, my caddie’s one of my best mates and I think Thommo is the best coach in the world. Everybody around me I have really strong relationships with.”