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Tommy Fleetwood narrowly missed out on claiming his first PGA Tour win at the weekend when he let victory slip through his grasp at the Travelers Championship. The likeable Englishman finally seemed set to get over the line in Connecticut but as has happened to him before, he ended up falling agonisingly short. Some may find it hard to muster any sympathy for the Southport native. After all, his four days of work at TPC River Highlands earned him a cool $1.76m, as well as a healthy 375 FedEx Cup points. He ended up tied second, alongside Russell Henley and that result saw him move up to 13th in the world rankings.
The number 13 is lucky for some, but luck when it is needed seems to be in short supply for Fleetwood. The 34-year-old Everton fan has now gone 159 tournaments on the PGA Tour without managing to win. He has racked up an astonishing 42 top-10 finishes now but that crucial win remains elusive. Back in March, he set an unwanted record, becoming the first player ever to break through the $25m barrier in terms of on-course earnings without winning. He has won on other tours, including some big victories on the European Tour, but not the PGA Tour. He won seven times on the European Tour, including two Rolex Series events, plus prestigious tournaments such as the Abu Dhabi Championship (twice) and the Dubai Invitational.
He has now become the first player to earn in excess of $30m on the PGA Tour without tasting victory. Again, some may feel no sympathy at all with a person who has made that much cash playing the sport they love. But fans of golf will understand how hard to take Fleetwood’s latest defeat must have been. He has been so consistent over a number of years now and that is demonstrated by the fact that he has been ranked inside the top 20 in the world for almost two years now. He has even crept into the top 10 a couple of times in that period and it is highly unusual for a player to do that without landing a PGA victory.
Travelers Hard to Take
The Ryder Cup star, who turned down a big-money offer from LIV because he wanted to chase glory rather than a payday, has gone close on many occasions now. However, whilst he said that going close was “better than being nowhere near” after narrowly missing out at the 2023 FedEx St Jude Championship, his recent near-miss at the Travelers must have been especially galling.
He played magnificently to lead after 54 holes and given it was a star-packed field, featuring Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and several other top-20 players, that was no mean feat. Coming into the Sunday, he was three shots clear, rounds of 66, 65 and 63 indicative of the excellent form he was in.
Nerves got the better of him early in the fourth round and Fleetwood and his many fans must have feared the worst when he made three bogeys (though one birdie too) in his first four holes. He then made a series of pars before birdies on both 11 and 13 meant he was two shots clear. Keegan Bradley, who won the Travelers in 2023 and is set to captain the US Ryder Cup team in September, was playing alongside Fleetwood. The 39-year-old, who won the 2011 US PGA Championship, came into the tournament with some good recent form behind him. Tied eighth at the 2025 US PGA, he then went one place better in his next outing at the Memorial.
Like Fleetwood, he shot a 63 on Saturday to put himself in a good position after opening rounds of 64 and 70 but his chance seemed to have gone when he made a bogey on 14. However, on the next hole he made a stunning 35-foot putt to get back in the hunt. Even so, Fleetwood still led by two shots with three to play and seemed to be playing well enough to hold onto that lead. The nerves showed on 16 though and a bogey cut that advantage to one. He held onto that thanks to a clutch putt on 17, as the players headed to the 18th and after Fleetwood hit a solid drive he must have thought the hard work was done.
However, he played a poor approach to around 50 feet short of the green. In contrast, opponent Bradley played a stunning approach from 138 yards, to within about six feet of the pin. That piled the pressure onto the leader and his putt from long range left him plenty of work to do. He was outside of his opponent’s ball and, worst of all, on the same line, meaning he couldn’t help but give Bradley a read. The Englishman missed from around eight feet, although the ball possibly got diverted along the way. No matter, it now meant that the Ryder Cup captain to be, who had not led the tournament at any stage previously, had a six-footer to claim glory and he duly rolled it home.
Agony for Fleetwood
We’ll go again!! As always, thanks for being on the journey.
See you in Scotland! pic.twitter.com/A62n19kWRJ
— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) June 24, 2025
Fleetwood could only watch on as Bradley claimed the title that for so long looked like being his. Two up with three to play and then one ahead going down the 72nd hole, he commented that “It’s the worst way it could go” and said “I’m gutted right now”. After his decent drive on the last, he must have thought a play-off was the very least he would end up with and remarked, “I’ve not been in that situation for a long time. It’s probably the worst way to finish.”
Fleetwood now boasts a silver medal from the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as runner-up finishes in the US Open and the Open Championship. He has seven top-fives in majors in total and another two in World Golf Championship events. Two top sevens at the Players round off his near misses in the biggest events but it is the number of times he has contended in general that is most astonishing.
He has to believe he will get there eventually and took to social media to state, “We’ll go again!! As always, thanks for being on the journey.” We wish him all the best!