They will join defending champion and World Number Two Rory McIlroy at the iconic Emirates Golf Club for the first Rolex Series event of the 2024 Race to Dubai, from January 18-21.

Reigning Open Champion Harman sealed his maiden Major title at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in July during a stellar season which saw him notch up six further top tens – including two runner-up finishes – on the PGA TOUR and make his Ryder Cup debut in Rome in September. 

The World Number Nine, who will make his Hero Dubai Desert Classic debut in January, said: “I’m excited to tee it up in Dubai for the first time. It looks like a stunning venue that has identified great champions. I’d love to add my name to that list.”

Six-time DP World Tour winner and Dubai resident Fleetwood is more familiar with the Majlis Course, with the World Number 14 returning for his 13th consecutive appearance at the event.

The 2017 Race to Dubai champion rounded out a memorable season – which included his second Ryder Cup win – with a runner-up finish in Dubai at the DP World Tour Championship, and he is aiming for further success in the United Arab Emirates, following his back-to-back victories in Abu Dhabi in 2017 and 2018.

Fleetwood said: “This an event that I love, I’ve played the Hero Dubai Desert Classic every year since I came out on Tour. I look forward to playing in front of friends and family again in January.”

Hatton, who enjoyed Ryder Cup success alongside European teammates Fleetwood and McIlroy in Rome, has four top ten finishes in his nine previous Hero Dubai Desert Classic appearances. He has also tasted past success in the region, with the last of his six DP World Tour titles coming at the 2021 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The World Number 12 will be seeking a record-equalling fifth Rolex Series win when he tees it up in Dubai once again.

Hatton said: “It’s always a great tournament and I’ve played well in the past. I’m looking forward to getting back to Emirates Golf Club and hopefully adding to my success in the region.” 

American Young will join compatriot Harman in making his Hero Dubai Desert Classic debut, and just his second regular DP World Tour event appearance following the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open.

The 26-year-old, who was named PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year for the 2021/22 season, enjoyed five top ten finishes this season, including runner-up at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and T7 at the Masters, adding to his burgeoning Major credentials following top three finishes at the US PGA Championship and The Open in 2022.  

The World Number 21 said: “I’m looking forward to getting over to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for the first time. I’ve heard many great things about both Dubai and the event. It’ll be a fun week of competition to help kickstart my year.”

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Brian Harman and Cameron Young for the first time to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic 2024 while also seeing the return of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton again.

“They have all achieved great success in their careers so far and their rankings speaks for itself of how competitive they are. By lining up for the tournament not only makes the field stronger but it also solidifies the Hero Dubai Desert Classic’s position as one of the best golf tournaments in the world and presents a fantastic opportunity for fans to watch the best stars in action.”

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic will be celebrating its 35th anniversary and its recent official certification as the first Geo-Certified event in the Middle East, and the first in the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series.

This year’s event combines world-class golf with a huge array of family-friendly entertainment.  Spectators can look forward to a wider variety of options off the course than ever before with something for fans of all ages to enjoy across the tournament. 

Free general admission tickets and limited hospitality packages for the Dallah Lounge are still available at dubaidesertclassic.com. 

Organisers are also encouraging fans to use the Metro service to travel to and from the tournament, with Al Khail station located directly outside the club’s main entrance.

Main image: David Cannon/Getty Images

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The Englishman had recently set up home in Dubai with his young family, was fresh off his most recent triumph at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and had just launched his new Academy at Jumeirah Golf Estates. 

All of this was before he played a pivotal part in Team Europe’s stunning victory over the United States in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club just outside Rome. 

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Golf Digest Middle East caught up with Fleetwood on the steps of his Academy to reflect on a landmark year. 

“It has been a great year for me. I have been spending a lot of time here at the academy, now that I live here,” he said. “I have so much pride is seeing how everything has progressed over the past year. I am watching the amount of new players take up the game, while also seeing more established golfers progress with their game. Their passion for the game has been amazing to watch and be part of. 

“Wanting to help all these players with their game and with my team has been brilliant to be part of.”

Relocating to Dubai has helped Fleetwood realise his ambitions on and off the course. 

“I am still chasing my own dreams, but to help everyone I can just makes it more worthwhile,” he added. “I do enjoy being a part of passing on what information I can. I am not a coach by any means but I do enjoy being around the game. If there are people around and are working on their game, I like to get into a conversation and do what happens naturally and pass on what I can. 

“Spending time here, I love it and being able to pass on what I have learnt is so rewarding — even if it is one person. Being part of the support team here, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that.” 

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Fleetwood is readily supported by his cast of professionals at Jumeirah Golf Estates, something he is more than happy to embrace.

“I am very, very fortunate to have the set of coaches and the staff we have in place here,” he said. “From the personalities to the professionalism, you can see the hard work they put in. I am still touring and travelling a lot, so the coaches here are the biggest part of the day-to-day operations and everyone’s experience here. I am so proud of the guys here and the great job they do and create such a thriving and safe environment here. And when I come back, I love being part of the group.” 

Despite his fame on the course, Fleetwood is not quite at the Tiger Woods level of getting recognition on the streets of Dubai. 

“I might get recognised around the Academy and the course here, but I am happy to settle at never quite being at that [Tiger] level,” he laughed. 

While Fleetwood is content with his lot, there are three more budding golfers in the family, with Tommy’s sons all showing a true talent for the game. 

“I think the biggest thing for our kids, all I want for them all is to have a passion for something,” said Fleetwood. “If it is golf, great, because I have a lot to give on that front, but whatever it is they choose, I just want them to feel passionate about what they do. 

“Whatever dreams they want to follow, I will support that. The boys are really into their golf, which is great, and I love to talk with them about their games. I like to work on their game more than my own sometimes. Especially Frankie, I started around the same age as he is now — except he is probably better than I was at that time. I see a lot of similarities in myself as a kid and all three of my boys. One question I get asked a lot is my dream playing partners, and it has to be my dad and my three kids, to see their passion for the game. As long as they dream then I am happy.”

Away from the Academy, Fleetwood was pivotal in reclaiming the Ryder Cup for Luke Donald’s Team Europe in Rome this past month, and the grin on his face let’s you know it will forever be a treasured memory, sinking the winning putt as Europe secured a
16.5-11.5 victory. 

Darren Carroll/Getty Images

Just like in Paris, Fleetwood struck one of the most iconic celebration poses in Italy, and it will go on to adorn clubhouses walls across the continent in the years to come. 

“This one felt, from my own Ryder Cup experiences, more special,” he said. “Paris was my first one, then we had the humiliation at Whistling Straits. Paris, I had such an amazing time playing with Fran [Molinari], then we had a thrashing at Whistling Straits. From the guys that were on that team, to then have the motivation to win the trophy back as soon as we could, so that was what made it more special.

“We wanted to do ourselves justice and we had a point to prove after the huge loss. 

“For me to have that winning moment — to win as a team is such an amazing feeling — but I think the feeling of regaining it in that moment was amazing. There is no doubt that the American team and the era of their golf is so strong right now, so to beat them was so satisfying.

“To be in the moment and in that time, to be the one that got the winning point, was very, very special and something we will remember for the rest of our lives. You start out on Friday morning when it is ‘go time’, and that feeling that you all have, pulling that shirt on and heading to the first tee, it is so intense, and as you grow into the week, you feel so happy and so proud of each other to be part of Team Europe. And I mean not just the 12 players, there is the captain, vice-captains, the backroom staff and the legacy of the team as well. To just be part of it is amazing.”

Even the best golfers have their off-days however, and Fleetwood had a somewhat wayward drive as he marked the one-month-to-go countdown to the season-ending DP World Tour Championships at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“It didn’t land in someone’s swimming pool so it wasn’t as far left as first feared,” he said. “But it wouldn’t have been an ideal first tee shot at the DP World Tour Championship. But I struck it well!” 

The DPWTC brings the curtain down on the season, and Fleetwood is keen to meet up with his Ryder Cup teammates in Dubai.

“It will be cool to catch up again as it is a celebration of the year as a whole for everyone on tour,” he said. “Everyone who has set out from Day 1 on the tour will be aiming to finish on a high and to have us all together will be great for the tournament and also it will be so exciting to be all back together. Once you are in that team, is stays with you forever.”

Main images: Naomi Baker/Getty Images

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The DP World Tour Championship is upon us once again as Jon Rahm returns to defend his title.

All this and much, much more in the November 2023 edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

The issue is again free to our loyal audience. You can scroll through the ISSUU link provided here or download to your favourite device for later. Alternatively, pick up a copy at your favourite club. Whatever option you take, we hope you enjoy the read.

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The 15th edition will see the top 50 players in the Race to Dubai Rankings at the fifth and final Rolex Series event of the 2023 DP World Tour season.

The Earth Course will once again provide the backdrop for this year’s tournament, while fans will be able to enjoy a wide range of activities, including free golf lessons, kid’s areas, trick-shot shows and sports activations.

The DP World Tour Championship is set to showcase the world’s top golfing talents as the season-long competition to crown Europe’s No. 1 comes to its conclusion.

Speaking  at the official one month countdown event at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Tom Phillips, Head of Middle East for DP World Tour, said:  “The 15th edition of the DP World Tour Championship marks a remarkable journey of growth, from its inception to becoming one of the key tournaments in our global calendar. The vibrant atmosphere created by passionate fans in Dubai is a testament to the unwavering excitement that surrounds this event, making it a true celebration of the golf, as well as being an entertaining day out for all spectators.

“Following Team Europe’s thrilling Ryder Cup victory in Rome, I am delighted Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Nicolai Højgaard, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and, of course, Tommy Fleetwood who joins us here, are confirmed for our season ending tournament. We also have their Ryder Cup teammates Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm — our defending champion — already announced, so we cannot wait to see these world-class golfers all in action in just one month’s time.”

? PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT ?

?️ Eight more team Europe heroes are set to tee it up at the Earth Course for the #DPWTC next month

Secure your tickets here: https://t.co/Eycz50zBdU#RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/f2SKkrY6ow

— DP World Tour Championship (@dpwtc) October 16, 2023

Taking a ceremonial shot from the first tee witnessed, Fleetwood, who secured the Ryder Cup for Europe when he was guaranteed at least a half-point in his match against Rickie Fowler, said: “Dubai has a special place in my heart, both as my home away from England and the home to one of my academies.

“I’ve played a number of tournaments here at Jumeirah Golf Estates and I look forward to the 15th edition of the DP World Tour Championship in November. The fans have been unbelievable over the years and it has been amazing to witness it grow over time with all the activities available for kids and families, plus some pretty decent golfers.

“It’s an exciting tournament and I can’t wait to have some of my Ryder Cup teammates here as well, it is going to be another special week.”

With just 30 days to go, excitement is mounting for a tournament that will not only showcase world-class golf but also highlight the DP World Tour Championship’s commitment to a greener, more eco-conscious future. Building on foundations from previous years, this year’s Earth Lounge on the 16th hole will be fully powered by solar panels and hydrogen generators, resulting in a 100 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions, while Averda, the event’s official waste management company, will recycle 75 per cent of tournament waste.

DP World Tour Championship’s commitment extends beyond the course, with the continuation of the G4D Tour, further reinforcing the events commitment to inclusivity. Once again, the G4D Tour Series Finale will be hosted at DP World Tour Championship from November 17, showcasing the leading gross ranked players from the World Ranking for Golfers with a Disability.

Daniel Van Otterdijk, Chief Communications Officer of Group Communications at DP World, said: “The 2023 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai is just around the corner, and it’s set to be an exhilarating season finale. This event marks our second year as the Title Partner of the DP World Tour, and what a fantastic two years it’s been.

“We’re excited to welcome the world’s best golfers back to Dubai for what promises to be an incredible conclusion to the season. The tournament holds special significance for DP World, and it’s also a standout on Dubai’s sporting and social calendar. It’s an event that caters to the entire family, and gets better year on year. We can’t wait to see everyone at Jumeirah Golf Estates in just a month’s time.”

In response to the incredible demand from golf enthusiasts and fans of the DP World Tour Championship, organisers have introduced a new exclusive ticketing option this year. The Greatest Bar on Earth Tickets, available for Saturday and Sunday, are priced at 150 AED. These tickets secure access to the preferential front-row viewing area at the Greatest Bar on Earth, which overlooks the 17th tee and green. Ticket holders will enjoy the unique privilege of front-row seats to watch the Greatest Players on Earth as they compete.

Following record weekend crowds last year, limited free general admission tickets are still available.

Main image: Tommy Fleetwood marks the one-month countdown to the DP World Tour Championship. DP World Tour

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As you might expect, all three had nothing but good things to say about the Italian Job the European team pulled off last week. By way of example, Fitzpatrick was especially enthusiastic. During his press conference, the former US Open winner used the word “special” five times. “Amazing” came up twice. There were four “greats.” But, disappointingly perhaps, only one “fantastic” and a lone “surreal.”

Fleetwood kept that level of euphoria going, maybe even more so. The man who scored the clinching point on Sunday afternoon was his usual eloquent self during his presser, but the temptation to enthuse was never far away. The score for the 30-year-old Englishman came out at five “specials,” an amazing 11 “amazings,” four “greats” and, like Fitzpatrick, one “surreal.”

As for MacIntyre, the young Scot can perhaps be forgiven the endearing level of giddiness he brought to the proceedings. Unbeaten in his three matches in Italy, the Ryder Cup rookie has every right to look back on his debut with nothing but unadulterated pleasure. His vocabulary varied a little from his older teammates, but the message was the same. For the record, there were two “greats,” three “brilliants,” one “incredible” and seven “dreams.”

Still, beyond the inevitable hyperbole, each player was instantly able to identify particular moments of individual pleasure amid the emphasis on team play that is the essence of the Ryder Cup. Fitzpatrick was especially touched by something his fourball partner, Rory McIlroy, said to him in the immediate aftermath of the pair’s first day 5&3 fourball victory over Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. In his third Ryder Cup, this was Fitzpatrick’s first point.

“The best moment of the week for me was winning my first point with Rory,” he said. “We hugged at the end and said: ‘Well done.’ Then he told me that he was glad that it was with him that I got that first point. For me, that was so special. Especially as I had played so well. For the first seven holes I didn’t miss a shot.”

That is not to say Fitzpatrick was 100 per cent satisfied with his own performance. Although at pains to emphasise that winning as a team trumps all, the 29-year-old Englishman admitted to mixed feelings when it came to his overall input to the common cause. Advice from a fellow Yorkshireman, England Test cricketer, Joe Root, helped.

Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood pose for a photograph on the first tee in front of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews clubhouse prior to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. David Cannon

“It’s a weird feeling, being part of a team and not necessarily feeling like you contribute,” Fitzpatrick said. “I look back at my last two Ryder Cups. I didn’t contribute, but we lost. I can accept that more than last week when it was almost like you can’t celebrate as much because you’ve not done as much. But Joe gave me some great advice. You have to understand it’s about the team. I know it’s definitely not about myself, it’s about us as a team and that’s why we do so well. But it was interesting emotionally for me. It was obviously disappointing to not do better for myself, but obviously absolutely delighted to win.”

Unsurprisingly, Fleetwood had no hesitation in identifying the highlight of his week. When you are fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to score the match-clinching point, anything else has to be almost irrelevant.

“All that I was thinking at the time was just what an amazing opportunity it was,” he said. “You practise your whole life and all of a sudden, me, Tommy Fleetwood from Southport is there with one good shot [from the 16th tee] to win the Ryder Cup. I still can’t believe it went straight to be honest. But I was very happy when I looked up and saw where the ball was heading. I couldn’t really see where the ball landed. The sun shines at you, so all you have to do is wait for what the noise is going to be in the crowd. It was on the green and I was like: ‘Yeah, that will do.’”

As for MacIntyre, the Scot gave much credit to the steady improvement he saw in his own performance to his fourball partner, Justin Rose. Over the three games from which he emerged unbeaten, MacIntyre went from pretty awful to acceptable to eventually playing with some aplomb.

“Right from the first tee shot on the Friday, Justin saw I was nervous,” MacIntyre said. “I was almost crying walking off the range. But when we had done all the [pre-match] pictures and all that, he put his arm around me. ‘Everything is going to be all right. This will be over in two-and-a-half minutes,’ he said. He was brilliant. He’s so experienced. He kept me calm. He trusted me. He believed in me. Even though I was terrible that day.

“Then Saturday, I was more solid. I was never out of a hole. I was never making a disaster. I was almost allowing him to be more aggressive because he was playing so good. I stood on 13th green and he was trying to help me read the putt. I was like: ‘Justin, it’s all right. I got this one.’ And once I holed that, he put his arm around me and was like, that’s what it’s all about. He was incredible the whole week.”

Indeed. But every member of the European team was other things, too. Special, amazing, great, fantastic, surreal, brilliant and incredible all come immediately to minds.

Main image: Andrew Redington

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The biennial match is filled with territorial tension, drama and plenty of testy three-footers that most hackers just scoop up in their normal weekend games. But when there’s actually something on the line, golfers must wait for a two-word phrase that’s more delightful to the ears than anything Shakespeare ever penned: “That’s good.”

Through the years, these gimmes—or perceived gimmes—have created some memorable moments in the Ryder Cup, and the 2023 event was no different. The Europeans extended a three-decade-plus home winning streak on a three-footer that didn’t even have to be struck.

Tommy Fleetwood wins the 16th hole to go 2UP vs. Rickie Fowler and @RyderCupEurope is on the cusp of victory. #TeamEurope

?: @NBC and @peacock | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/C6nDnOOrsb

— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) October 1, 2023

The moment @TommyFleetwood1 secured the half point that guarantees we win the Ryder Cup ?#TeamEurope | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/45MHGfK516

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) October 1, 2023

This time, Tommy Fleetwood was the beneficiary of a generous concession from Rickie Fowler that clinched the cup for Team Europe on Sunday at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. OK, so technically, it was listed at two feet, eight inches, and it’s a putt that Fleetwood normally makes without thinking. But with the entire Ryder Cup on the line? Well, Paul Azinger among others would have liked to see Tommy make it.

It’s also very likely Europe, which wound up winning 16.5 to 11.5, would have walked away with the cup anyway. Still, this one will go down in Ryder Cup lore. And although this example nor anything else has quite reached the level of controversy of the 2015 Solheim Cup’s “Gimmegate” involving Suzann Pettersen, there have been some awkward situations. Here are five others that still stand out years—and, in some cases, decades—later.

1. Jack Nicklaus vs. Tony Jacklin (1969)

Uncredited

Of course, any list involving concessions has to start with THE Concession that ended the 1969 Ryder Cup in a tie. It was Nicklaus who magnanimously gave Jacklin a two-footer on the final hole to halve the match, a move that instantly put the American in the Sportsmanship Hall of Fame (if there was such a thing). So why is this controversial? Because many of Nicklaus’ teammates were NOT happy about the Golden Bear getting all warm and fuzzy in the heat of battle—especially during what had been a particularly testy event. While the US retained the Ryder Cup with a 16-16 tie, the move prevented the squad from potentially winning that year’s matches outright—and no one was more upset than US captain Sam Snead. “When it happened, all the boys thought it was ridiculous to give him that putt,” Snead famously said. “We went over there to win, not to be good ol’ boys.”

2. Nick Faldo vs. Paul Azinger (1993)

David Cannon

Azinger is arguably the biggest Ryder Cup pest—and certainly one of the event’s biggest hotheads—but in this case, he seems to have a good, um, case. With the Americans already guaranteed to retain the Cup, Faldo convinced Zinger to give him a five-foot putt on 18 in what had been a tremendous singles match highlighted by a hole-in-one by the Brit on No. 14. Azinger contends Faldo incorrectly claimed the US had also won outright. “I can’t tell you how irritating that was,” said Azinger, who found out from teammate Davis Love III that the competition was still tied. Moments later, Faldo also didn’t return the favour for Azinger’s final par putt. Azinger holed the putt then said after that giving it to him “would have been the gracious gesture.” Speaking of gracious gestures …

3. Payne Stewart vs. Colin Montgomerie (1999)

Craig Jones

With the final Sunday singles match in a similar situation six years later after the US had wrapped up a dramatic comeback victory at Brookline, Stewart conceded a tied match to Montgomerie with both putting for birdie on the 18th green. It was a classy move that received almost as much praise as Stewart’s “You’re going to be a dad” talk to Phil Mickelson after beating him at Pinehurst earlier that year to win the US Open. And it meant even more to Monty due to the heckling he had received from the American crowds all day. “He’d had enough, I’d had enough, and he picked my ball up at the last,” Montgomerie said. “I’ll never forget that. Not all the memories [from Brookline] are fond. But that match I will always think of with fond memories, of that game with him.” Sadly, it would be one of Stewart’s last acts on a golf course of any kind as he died in a plane crash a month later.

RELATED: Europe closes out 16½-11½ win at Marco Simone

4. Tiger Woods vs. Francesco Molinari (2012)

Jamie Squire

Woods’ Ryder Cup record has been greatly criticised through the years, but he might have been viewed differently had he been given a chance to play the hero at Medinah. Playing Sunday singles against Molinari it appeared the outcome of the entire match between the US and Europe might come down to this final duel until a series of things broke Europe’s way, including Martin Kaymer delivering a clutch Cup-winning putt. Molinari could have pulled a Payne Stewart with this match not winding up deciding who would win the Cup, but he decided to press on, hoping to win the event outright for Europe. Then he could have pulled a Jack Nicklaus when Woods’ birdie chip lipped out to about four feet, but he didn’t, even with the European fans at Medinah starting the celebrations early and causing disturbances. After Woods missed for par, he conceded Molinari’s putt of a similar length to halve the match and give Europe a 14½-13½ victory.

5. Great Britain vs. Steel Shafts? (1929)

And finally, we’ll stretch the definition of “concession” to include Europe not making one to the U.S. in regard to their equipment for the second-ever Ryder Cup. You see, the Americans arrived at Moortown Golf Club in England with steel-shafted clubs that were already approved for play by the USGA. But because the R&A hadn’t ruled them legal yet, Europe refused to let the Americans use them. The Americans wound up losing 7-5, and the R&A wound up allowing steel shafts the following year.

Main Image: Andrew Redington

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If it weren’t so impressive, it would be ridiculous. Just over three months into a professional career that has already spawned one victory in his first nine events, Ludvig Aberg leads the flagship tournament on the DP World Tour, the BMW PGA Championship, with one round to play. That such a situation is already seen as not even a little surprising is testimony to how quickly the 23-year-old Swede has adapted to playing golf for money, although perhaps the biggest tribute he has so far been paid is the Ryder Cup debut he will make in two weeks.

Still, that is for the less immediate future. For now, Aberg has to see off a distinguished chasing pack that contains as many as five of his European Ryder Cup teammates — all in the top-12 and within six shots of the lead — he will join in Italy at the end of the month. That, indeed, is the latest test in a series of increasingly stern examinations of all aspects of the Aberg game.

Ludvig Åberg will take a two-shot lead into the final round at Wentworth ? #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/vCL4NJtb3o

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 16, 2023

The first question is obvious: “Can you believe this?”

“Both yes and no,” said Aberg, whose third-round 66 has him at 16-under and two shots clear of Scotland’s Conner Syme and one of those Ryder Cup teammates, World No. 14 Tommy Fleetwood. “If you asked me if I thought I could do it, I’d probably say ‘yes’. But to do it in this kind of fashion is pretty cool. Playing all these events and having these experiences for the first time is cool. I wouldn’t say there have been any surprises. What I try to do is prepare for each tournament the best I can. Then, once I’m on the course, it is nice just to play. I’m hanging around with my caddie a lot and we’re having a lot of fun. My aim is to keep it that way.”

Indeed, a plan that involves the maintenance of what has already been proven to work, seems sound. But, even after all that he has already achieved, the final round of the biggest event on the DP World Tour is going to bring a new level of pressure to bear on what are still inexperienced shoulders. Which is not to say Aberg is not justifiably confident in his ability to make off with the $1.53 million first-place prize.

“My expectations haven’t exactly changed, even after winning [European Masters] in Switzerland,” he said. “But I know for sure I can do it. Even though I won a bit in college, professional golf is different. I told myself I could do it and that I was good enough to do it. So hopefully I’ll be able to do it again tomorrow.

“This event has always been very high on my bucket list. We’re talking about one of the biggest events on the DP World Tour. I have memories of watching Alex Noren win here a few years ago, when he hit an amazing shot on the last hole. It’s cool to see myself up there. I have to pinch myself in the arm every now and then.”

As for the closest and more eminent member of the pair in second place, Fleetwood is, on paper, the most dangerous of the contenders piled up behind Aberg. But the 32-year-old Englishman will not be chasing pressure-free. Despite playing a mountain of good to great golf this year, he has failed to win a tournament anywhere in 2023. Eight top-10s dot his record, the most heartbreaking loss coming at the Canadian Open, where Nick Taylor holed a 70-foot putt to win their sudden-death playoff.

“There hasn’t really been a common theme to say why I haven’t won this year,” said Fleetwood. “I’ve played well and keep putting myself in contention. I’m not sure what else to do. It’s better this way, more than not quite having it. I know what it is to be struggling and where near. This is better. I’m clearly doing a lot of good things. I just have to stay patient. It’s just golf. I might win three in a row, you never know.

“If you look at my final rounds, they have been good,” he continued. “I played really well in Atlanta. I did the same in Memphis. I played great in the Open apart from one hole. In Canada the winner holed a 70-foot putt to best me in a playoff. I’m playing a lot of great golf when I’m in contention. But one guy always wins and everyone else is disappointed. It’ll be my turn soon.”

Maybe. If Fleetwood is to prevail, he is going to have to see off more than the currently inspired leader. For one thing, Masters champion Jon Rahm lurks, just four strokes off the pace, while Tyrrell Hatton and Sepp Straka are another shot behind. The Spaniard shot 66 Saturday to reach 12 under par, a score that is actually four strokes more than the round with which he completed this event last year. So anything is possible.

Just ask Ludvig Aberg. Already he knows more than a thing or two about what is possible and what isn’t.

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Tommy Fleetwood did not capture his first PGA Tour win last week at the FedEx St Jude Championship, his 14-under four-day total falling a shot short of a playoff. However, his T-3 finish still bestowed a whopping $1,160,000 pay day, giving the Englishman an unwanted title of sorts.

Thanks to his performance in Memphis, Fleetwood became the first player in PGA Tour history to cross $20 million in earnings without a win to his credit.

Before the European golf cognoscenti lose their minds, yes, Fleetwood does have six wins on the DP World Tour. And the monetary figure is certainly aided by the influx of cash into the pro game. Despite zero victories on the season, Fleetwood boasts over $6.3 million in earnings in this campaign alone. We’re also going out on a limb and saying a lot of folks would happily take an “unwanted” label for $20 million in the bank account.

Fleetwood’s been so close to that elusive breakthrough win: According to stat guru Justin Ray, Fleetwood’s 22 top-five finishes on tour are the most of any PGA Tour player over the past 40 years without a victory.

“Of course it’s frustrating, but I think I have to look at it in a positive way, be proud of the golf I’m playing and the work that we’re doing,” Fleetwood said on Sunday. “I’ll keep playing the way that I have done, and again, so close today, and I think overall the performances even sort of when I’ve been in contention and in those last rounds, I haven’t done loads wrong, and I’m feeling very, very comfortable. It’s just trusting that it will happen and keep playing my game.”

Luckily for Fleetwood he’ll have two more chances against limited fields at this week’s BMW Championship (against just 49 other competitors) and the season finale at East Lake (30-player field). Fleetwood enters this week’s BMW ranked 10th in the FedEx Cup standings.

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In football terms, and we’ll put it in football terms because that was the language spoken by the Royal Liverpool galleries on Friday, Tommy Fleetwood’s five-shot deficit through 36 holes to Brian Harman at the Open Championship is not unlike his beloved Everton being a few goals down at half-time in a home game at Goodison Park. It’s not ideal, but it’s not ever either.

“Tommy, lad! Swing it back for Goodison,” a merry fan said on Friday night at Royal Liverpool, referencing the English Premier League team that plays only 30 minutes away.

Fleetwood’s even-par 71 on Day 2 kept his championship total at five-under and within range of Harman at 10-under. Austria’s Sepp Straka was third at four-under. Harman’s 65 gave him the largest 36-hole lead at the UK major since 2010, when Louis Oosthuizen ran away with it at St Andrews.

Much like the galleries following Fleetwood, who grew up at Southport only 45 minutes from Royal Liverpool, Fleetwood isn’t willing to concede the claret jug to Harman just yet.

“Yeah, Brian had two amazing days; I was watching his round this morning and he was playing great,” Fleetwood said. “He really has done so. He’s a long way in front. Of course, there’s a long way to go, but still, for myself and everybody else playing, it’s just playing one shot at a time. We don’t know what the conditions are going to bring, and you just have to keep playing until it’s over and see where you finish.”

Fleetwood will draw from chasing down a three-shot deficit at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa last year as he readies for a Saturday afternoon tee time with Harman.

“I’ve put in chases before in the past, and look, at the end of the day if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it,” he said.

Fleetwood, despite not winning a PGA Tour event yet, has more recent experience in the hunt at majors than Harman. The last time Harman, a left-hander from Savannah, Georgia, contended in a major was when he led the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills going into Sunday. By contrast, Fleetwood has three top-five results in majors in the past two years, including last month’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

Harman will also have to go up against Fleetwood’s home crowd, who gave the 32-year-old raucous cheers at every corner of Hoylake.

“Oh, they’ve been insanely amazing,” he said. “They really have. Loved every minute of playing in front of them, and I can’t thank everybody enough, can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here. The northwest is definitely making a name for itself with how they are. It’s been great, and I’m just excited to play in front of them.”

The galleries will be loud on Saturday at Hoylake, much like a Saturday afternoon game at Goodison. And Fleetwood hopes to play with as much moxie as the Toffees, who battled to avoid relegation in the league this past season.

“I still love watching [Everton]. They definitely give you plenty to think about when you’re watching,” he said.

No doubt Fleetwood hopes he gives his fans, in their thousands, plenty to think about this weekend.

The post The Open Championship 2023: Tommy Fleetwood looks to win a title for Everton heading into his last-group Saturday pairing appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

First, he went viral just for being his adorable self at the Masters Par 3 Contest in 2022:

Then, Frankie captured Golf Twitter’s attention again when he commentated one of his dad’s drives, which Tommy posted to his Twitter account in January. Frankie was so good that a few analysts felt threatened that he was coming for their jobs. Luckily for them, he’s only five:

The Frankie Fleetwood show ?? pic.twitter.com/JpenoBfjgD

— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) January 3, 2023

By the sound of it, the young lad is already turning into a bit of a comedian, which was further confirmed on Monday when his dad tweeted out that Frankie asked for a famous golfer to take him to school. Apparently, Frankie’s own dad wasn’t famous enough, but this former U.S. Open champ and gold medal winner at the Olympics certainly was:

Frankie asked if a famous golfer can take him to school this morning ? pic.twitter.com/q0QQoHqvGA

— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) July 3, 2023

Brilliant stuff. Tommy is going to have to step his game up if he wants to be the most recognizable golfer to take his own son to school now. A major victory at Royal Liverpool later this month just might to the trick. By then, Frankie will be out of school, though. Thems the breaks.

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