The last 12 months had a bit of everything – a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
Greatest Golf Moments of 2025 No. 7: Fleetwood’s breakthrough season defined by defeats
Would Tommy Fleetwood have made our ‘Greatest Golf Moments of 2025’ list … if he hadn’t won?
The argument is at least compelling, if character is your compass. While winning shows what you’re made of, losing tests it, and perhaps nobody this year was stronger in the face of misery than Fleetwood.
Four moments come to mind:
– Sunday, June 22, 2025, final round of the Travelers Championship: Fleetwood, after leading by three shots entering the day and by one stroke on the 71st hole, links for the second. While he has had success all over the world, his winless streak on the PGA Tour stretches to 159 starts.
And yet, here’s what he said next:
He was bored. But he would reflect.
“I haven’t been in this situation for a while,” Fleetwood said. “I think when it calms down – I’m upset now, I’m angry – when it calms down, look at the things I’ve done well, look at the things I can learn from.
“I said yesterday that I haven’t been in this position all year, so it’s been a while. I felt like I did a lot of good things, but there are things that I can definitely do better and I need to do better. So I did a lot of things well enough this week to win, I didn’t do it, it hurts. When it calms down, the dumbest thing would be the worst thing to do this week. Obviously I played well, I put myself in a great position.
“But like I say, right now I’d love to, you know, just go and dive somewhere and maybe I will, but there’s just no point in making it a negative for the future really. Just take the positives and move on.”
– Sunday, August 10, 2025, the final round of the FedEx Championship St. Jews: Fleetwood, having led by a shot entering the day, ties for third. Another no-win.
And yet, here’s what he said next, after a reporter noted that his optimism is something fans continue to admire:
Fleetwood said he would find a positive – again.
“Well, as long as they stick with me and stick with me, then we can all look for the positives,” Fleetwood said. “Yeah, I’m lucky with the support I’ve got and I’ve enjoyed it – I haven’t been racing much this year, and then the travelers were definitely leading and I felt like it was a great atmosphere and I enjoyed playing in that atmosphere and then today again I’ve got the crowd on my side and I love their support. I’m very grateful for this journey together.
“You just have to keep – all these experiences and these close conversations, as I say, there’s no point in doing or letting them have a negative effect on what happens next. What would be the point?
“It was a great week. I did a lot of good things, and as disappointed as I am, I have to try to find the strength to make it all a positive experience and hopefully next time I go again, put myself back in that position and we just go again.”
– Tuesday, August 19, 2025, press conference before the Tour Championship: Fleetwood talks to reporters. He knows the looming question is coming.
And yet, he answers in this way:
“I work hard to make sure I make it all positive,” Fleetwood said. “Of course, I’m not going to feed you lies and say, oh, Memphis, I thought I did everything great, or the Travelers, I didn’t do anything wrong. Of course I got things wrong in the end, and that didn’t happen for me.
“But you just learn from those experiences and I think the main emotions are very positive. I’d rather you ask me about not finishing tournaments than not ask me about anything at all. So obviously I’ve shown a lot of really good things and put myself in great positions.
“I’ve said every time I just want to put myself back out there. I want to give myself another chance. I’ll get it done at some point. I’ll do it right and I’ll do it more than once. But being there is actually the hard part in a way.
“I think there’s so much — I don’t feel like I have to knock all the good things about it. I just have to be aware of it, know that I’m doing the right things and know that there are still things I can improve on.
“You use both in a good way.
“Again, best case scenario coming into the East Lake area with a chance to win, whether I get it right or not, whether it happens or not, whether somebody plays better or not, I’ll talk about that at the time, but I’d like to get there and give myself that chance again.”
– Sunday, August 24, 2025, the final round of the Tour Championship:Fleetwood wins. Finally.
And yet, it sounds the same.
Grateful. Ready for more.
“Yeah, I think people have different ways to inspire,” Fleetwood said, “and I think my inspirational story — no matter how big or small, it was just a story of perseverance and continuing to try to put myself in those positions. I think the easiest thing to do when you’re not doing well is to choke a little bit, if it’s going to affect a little bit, if you’re going to let it. like, but I said every time it didn’t happen for me or where I’d leave it one to go or where someone beat me, I just want to make it again, I want to give myself another chance.
“I felt like I did that and I felt like people — at the time, like you just do it, but I think people have appreciated that side of it. I think people, I think, have seen it as a very positive thing that I’ve been constantly trying to get back on the horse, just go again, just go again.
“Like I say, again, it’s almost easy to say now, I’m really glad it happened now, but if it didn’t happen today, I would have said the same things. I would have said, I just want one more chance; I’m just going to go back and work and just go again. I’ve had the opportunity to prove that, that if you keep at it, it can happen.
;)
