Online Reporter
Tommy Fleetwood ended an agonisingly long wait for a first PGA Tour title on Sunday, out-dueling Patrick Cantlay down the stretch to win the Tour Championship and pocket the $10 million top prize and FedEx Cup playoffs crown.
England’s Fleetwood, a seven-time DP World Tour winner whose 30 prior top-fives on the US circuit included six runner-up finishes, fired a two-under-par 68 for an 18-under-par total of 262 and a three-shot triumph at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia.
Two weeks after he let a late Sunday lead get away in the St. Jude Championship, Fleetwood finished three strokes clear of former FedEx Cup champion Cantlay and world No 5 Russell Henley.
‘‘I’m just so happy that I got it done and happy with my work ethic,’’ Fleetwood said. ‘‘And I’ll continue to try and get better and try and be the best that I can be.’’
Tied with Cantlay for the lead to start the round, Fleetwood rolled in a 19-foot birdie at the par-three second.
He gave a stroke back at the fifth, where he was in the right rough off the tee, but pushed his lead to three strokes with birdies at the sixth and seventh — where he fired out of a fairway bunker to 12 feet.
Fleetwood preserved the advantage with a great par save at the eighth, but another errant tee shot at 10 led to a bogey.
Suddenly his lead was down to one stroke as Cantlay rolled in a five-foot birdie at the 10th.
‘‘I was a bit erratic today at times and I was really proud of how I found my swing again on the, like 11th or 12th hole,’’ Fleetwood said.
Both Fleetwood and Cantlay birdied the 12th, and Fleetwood’s lead was back to three strokes after he rapped in a six-foot birdie at the 13th — where Cantlay’s eight-foot birdie effort circled the cup but didn’t drop.
Fleetwood bogeyed the par-three 15th, but after Cantlay’s bogey at 16 the Englishman went to the 17th with a three-shot lead and to the delight of a throng of fans finally closed out the win.
‘‘I don’t know, when you’ve lost it so many times a three-shot lead coming down the last doesn’t feel like that many,’’ admitted Fleetwood, who said he finally felt safe when he chipped to about eight feet at the par-five finishing hole.
‘‘You just keep learning, don’t you,’’ Fleetwood said. ‘‘This is just hopefully one win, the first of many to come. You can’t win plenty if you don’t win the first one.’’ — SuperSport
