Ken Borland

Tommy Fleetwood is one of the most popular golfers on the circuit and his brotherly spirit was once again to the fore as he won the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Sunday and then praised his closest challenger Ryan Fox.

Fleetwood’s kindhearted, harmonious personality came to the fore in the 2018 Ryder Cup with his famous ‘bromance’ with Francesco Molinari, and on Sunday at Sun City, he put aside the obvious emotion of his first win since his triumph in the 2019 Nedbank Golf Challenge, the last one held, to praise Fox, who finished one stroke behind him after making bogey to the Englishman’s par on the final hole.

“Ryan was fantastic, he played great golf today and it was lovely being in the same group as one of the best golfers in the world at the moment. I would have loved my putt going in to have been the deciding factor rather than his miss,” Fleetwood said.

The putt he referred to was his clutch 50-footer on the 18^th hole which ended inches away from the hole, giving him a tap-in for par, his 11-under-par total being enough to see off the tenacious New Zealander by a single stroke.

Fleetwood’s short game also came to the fore on the 14^th and 17^th holes. He chipped in from the waste-bunker for eagle on 14 to stay in touch with Fox and Shubhankar Sharma just as he seemed to be slipping behind, and then on the penultimate hole he produced a brilliant chip from off the green for a tap-in par.

“I didn’t have the best lie on 14, but it wasn’t a terrible place,” Fleetwood said. “I had missed chances though on 10, 11, 12 and 13, I felt good putts weren’t going in and I felt it was just not happening for me.

“But the chip on 14 came out lovely and went in on the first bounce, and that sort of provided the spark for me. Sometimes these things happen.”

But if Fleetwood has a lot of love for his colleagues, then his love for his family dwarfs that.

Due to a rain delay that lasted for nearly three-and-a-half hours, Fleetwood’s winning moment was missed by his family, so his tears on the 18^th perhaps had a bit to do with that as well as ending his winning drought.

“One of my big goals has been to win when my whole family is there and our son Frankie always says I never win when he’s around,” Fleetwood smiled. “But today took such a long time that they had to disappear to the airport, the kids have got exams tomorrow.

“It’s been such a long time coming back here, so today meant so much. Seeing my name on the champions’ walkway on the ninth brought back some great memories and I had to call it in and send a video to my Dad at home. He said let’s go for a second plaque.

“I feel a great connection to this place, I was able to draw on good memories today. And the support of the crowds was amazing. This is such a special event and I’ve waited so long to be back here,” Fleetwood said.