Abu Dhabi: Reigning Abu Dhabi HSBC Champion Tommy Fleetwood has landed in the capital at the back of what can be termed as his path-breaking 2017 season.
Fleetwood, who started the season ranked 100 after clinching Falcon Trophy here, went on to win the HNA Open de France and finished as No. 1 on European Tour.
The son of the lorry driver from Southport in England thus showed what one can achieve by years of perseverance in a sport that many believe is a preserve for the elite. With a series of noteworthy performances, he leapfrogged into the 18th spot in the World Rankings and in the process seems to have also won the hearts of his contemporaries on tour. The crowning glory and a huge shot in the arm ahead of his title defence came on Tuesday when he was handed over the Seve Ballesteros Award, the ‘Players Player of the Year’ award voted by the players.
“It’s actually made me the most emotional among all of them. Yeah, I think just that award in particular, having it voted for by the players is special,” said an elated Fleetwood, adding that there are so many players on the Tour whom he looks up to and tries to learn.
“I’ve made a lot of friends, and I think for people to vote for me as the Player of the Year is just, yeah, it’s something else, that, really. It’s different to anything I’ve achieved before. It’s a bit, yeah, very flattering, very humbling, really,” added Fleetwood, who comes into the tournament at the back of the Eurasia Cup win in Malaysia under captain Thomas Bjorn.
Fleetwood won all his three matches — first two pairing with Paul Casey and Henrik Stenson and then went on to win his individual match. With that showing, it will be a surprise if Fleetwood does not qualify automatically for September’s Ryder Cup, at Le Golf National outside Paris.
“I want to make it to the Ryder Cup Team but you have to remember to just keep progressing. I know how easy it is to go off track. I know what it takes to sort of stay on the right track and I know I’m surrounded by people that are going to keep me going that way, really,” said Fleetwood.
“I’m in a much different place World Ranking-wise, so then the goals and sort of making improvements become more difficult. You have to put a lot more extra work in to get smaller gains, but I’m very lucky with the people I have around me,” revealed Fleetwood.
For Stenson, Abu Dhabi is the only frontier he hasn’t captured in the Desert Swing — having won in Dubai and in Qatar. It will be a record he would be looking to set it straight, especially having figured in the tournament since its inception in 2006.
“I had a fun week in Kuala Lumpur last week with the rest of the team. As you know, we don’t get to play that much team golf, so it’s always good fun when those chances arise. It gives you a chance to see where your game is at early on and what to work on and so on from there.
“So some positives and some things that need to be worked on. So it was certainly very good competitive practice in that sense to be out there. Yeah, feels good to be up and running again, and looking forward to this week and the weeks ahead,” said the Swede, who has finished runner-up here twice in 2006 and in 2008.