Tommy Fleetwood has made an gear change regardless of a comparatively profitable 12 months so far.
He started his 2024 season with a victory on the Dubai Invitational, due to Rory McIlroy’s watery demise on the 18th gap. However the Englishman didn’t file one other win after that, maintaining his winless PGA Tour drought alive and nicely.
He missed solely two cuts all 12 months, at Bay Hill and Royal Troon, and posted his best-ever end at Augusta Nationwide, tying for third. He additionally gained the silver medal on the Olympics. It was a profitable 12 months by all accounts, which prolonged to his three most up-to-date begins on the DP World Tour, all top-12 finishes or higher.
But, Fleetwood arrives in Abu Dhabi this week with a brand new putter. He has spent the previous month at residence testing new TaylorMade prototypes, and he’s excited to make use of a brand new one this week within the first occasion of the DP World Tour playoffs. Possibly it’s going to pay dividends and provides him one other win quickly. In any case, Fleetwood’s placing statistics regressed significantly in 2024 in comparison with 2023.
Take into account this: in 2023, the 12 months Fleetwood clinched the profitable level within the Ryder Cup, the Englishman ranked 14th on tour in strokes gained placing. Extra impressively, he ranked first on the PGA Tour in one-putt share, needing only one stroke 44.4% of the time. He additionally ranked sixth in putts per spherical and twentieth in birdie conversion share. When Fleetwood caught his method close to the outlet, he often transformed. No surprise why he made 15-of-28 cuts and posted eight top-10s on the PGA Tour in 2023—twice as many as this 12 months.
In 2024, Fleetwood’s birdie conversion share dropped by greater than 4 factors—from 33.64% to 29.22%—plummetting him from twentieth all the way down to 151st in that metric. He additionally noticed outstanding drops in strokes gained placing, putts per spherical, and one-putt share. Not all hope was misplaced, nevertheless. Fleetwood ranks 18th on tour in holing putts from inside 10 ft, doing so practically 90% of the time. However his different placing stats pale compared to his earlier seasons.
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He wanted to alter one thing, so he felt obligated to experiment this week—an ideal time to take action, provided that we aren’t in essentially the most strenuous a part of the PGA Tour season.
“I like testing my gear and testing issues which can be new and completely different, however it’s so tough with the way in which the schedule is. The tournaments are packed in so shut to one another, and there’s by no means not an enormous occasion or not an vital occasion, it appears,” Fleetwood stated Wednesday.
“Wanting ahead to going on the market [on Thursday] and getting it into competitors as a result of that’s the one factor I haven’t accomplished but, in order that’s thrilling.”
Whereas on the placing inexperienced on Wednesday. Fleetwood chatted with former European Tour stalwarts Ken Brown and David Howell, who each work in broadcasting these days.
“We’ve had some nice conversations about placing over time, and I simply all the time like seeing the blokes and speaking in regards to the recreation. It’s simply good being round people who find themselves nonetheless so passionate in regards to the recreation,” Fleetwood added.
“We had been speaking about my placing and a few issues, and [they are] two nice putters, two of the very best putters I’ve ever met. So that you’re all selecting issues up and all the time studying.”
Possibly Fleetwood will take after Scottie Scheffler, who switched from a blade to a mallet putter forward of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler went on to win eight occasions in 2024, together with The Masters and the Olympics; he’ll win the Participant of the Yr Award once more, too. Humorous sufficient, McIlroy, whereas showing on the published in the course of the Genesis Invitational in February, recommended the World No. 1 ought to change to a mallet. Scheffler struggled on the greens in January and February, rating in the direction of the underside within the area practically each week. The mallet then turned the tide in the direction of Scheffler as he went on to have a historic 12 months.
As for Fleetwood, no one is aware of how this transfer will repay this week, subsequent week in Dubai, or past. However generally, skilled golfers have to make minor adjustments to enhance the smallest elements of their recreation, and people strikes typically repay. In the event that they achieve this for Fleetwood, be careful for him in 2025. He’s due on the PGA Tour, in spite of everything.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. You’ll want to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.