ROCK ON TOMMY!
Man of the people Fleetwood is the perfect pick to replace Poulter as Europe’s talisman
FoR two days solid, he produced nothing but Fleetwood Max, helping make it a particularly uncomfortable weekend for the enfeebled tiger Woods.
that was why tommy Fleetwood was carried shoulder high by the fans in the moment of europe’s victory, and why he could stand up and celebrate before the adoring hoardes on a golf buggy like he was riding a Roman chariot.
Ultimately it was of little relevance that yesterday we saw Fleetwood at his most minimal, the 27-year-old lancastrian forcefed a taste of his own medicine in the singles by tony Finau.
there is a reason why taking all five points at a Ryder Cup — managed by his partner of Friday and saturday, Francesco Molinari — is a feat of historic proportions. Winning four times in 48 hours is physically and mentally exhausting, and the strain of that was etched into Fleetwood’s face.
Within an hour of shaking hands on a 6&4 defeat at the 14th green against fellow rookie Finau, it was all very different.
Fleetwood had made a stunning debut overall and the crowd knew it, giving him a rousing ovation when he sprinted across the bridge on to the 18th green.
even ian Poulter cannot go on much longer in this competition, and if the european team are looking to find a folk-hero talisman to succeed him, then man-of-the-people tommy might be that figure.
should his unusual talent deliver him the major title that has always looked beyond Poulter, then Fleetwood, with his hirsute look, could become a star with a reach well beyond golf’s usual constituency.
he and Molinari had blended together like Morecambe and Wise, three times as a double act beating Woods and twice reducing Captain america, Patrick Reed, to the rank of corporal.
Fleetwood’s matches turned out to be such comprehensive victories that he only once got properly into the ‘loop of Doom’ that comprised the last four holes of le golf national. he missed out again yesterday, although for entirely different reasons. even without the cloying effect of fatigue, drawing Finau out of the hat had represented an awkward switchback of pressure for Fleetwood.
no longer was he up against one of the american behemoths, but another debutant whose career has been on a sharp upward trajectory this year.
Finau, the world no17 sprung from the unlikely source of the Polynesian Mormon community in salt lake City, had already put a point on the board in the opening match of the event. it was Finau who on Friday morning had hit the very first shot, and he had never shown much sign of being overwhelmed.
Fleetwood started badly by chipping into the water from off the first green, and the respite he gained from levelling the match with two birdies on holes three and four turned out to be fleeting. Fleetwood’s revival was to end in chastening fashion. on the fifth he missed a putt from 18 inches and on the very next green a slippery downhill two-footer lipped out.
he zigzagged down the seventh while the languid american struck a glorious approach from 200 yards to within a few feet.
evertonian Fleetwood might have known that would not be his hole as a giant liverpool flag was, incongruously, draped on the overlooking hospitality structure.
Being five down at the turn was impossible to recover from. ‘i actually felt oK out there but had a couple of poor holes and he played better than me,’ he said.
he was utterly spent by the end, but when you have already banked four points in a winning cause, any disappointment is temporary.