One of the best golf courses in the world, Shinnecock Hills has been hosting its 10th USGA Championship this week.

The 2026 US Open has been played at this iconic layout for the sixth time in the club's history, and fifth since 1986, with Shinnecock first staging the toughest of the four modern Majors in 1896.

During that time, the winning score in the five individual stroke play championships has never exceeded four-under with South Africa's Retief Goosen posting the lowest tournament total in 2004.

However, while four-round totals at Shinnecock Hills have seldom dipped under par, there has been the odd case of someone posting an impressive 18-hole score.

The par-70 total has been surpassed plenty of times, but the lowest until recently was a five-under 65 from the clubs of Chip Beck, Lanny Wadkins and Mark Calcavecchia.

All three players achieved the feat in the final round of the 1986 US Open at Shinnecock, with Beck and Wadkins catapulting themselves into a share of second place on one-over for the championship as a result.

The pair picked up $47,646 apiece but were still two strokes behind winner, Raymond Floyd on one-under-par.

But the first player to shoot 65 at Shinnecock Hills was Calcavecchia. The man who would go on to win the 1989 Open Championship and shares the record for the lowest back nine at The Masters (29 - 1992) cracked a five-under score to leave himself in solo 14th once all was said and done.

The trio's joint-record stood for 22 years until a certain Tommy Fleetwood arrived on Long Island in 2018 and created history of his own.

The Englishman was coming off a fourth-place finish at Erin Hills the year before in just his second-ever US Open and appeared to already enjoy the kind of a test this championship put players through.

While he was doing well at Shinnecock Hills, Fleetwood began the final round in 2018 some six strokes behind the leaders - consequently, he teed off around three hours before eventual champion Brooks Koepka and co.

But perhaps that freedom allowed him to go out there and do what he did. Fleetwood was two-under through the first three and then claimed a couple more birdies at the sixth and seventh holes to move out to four-under for the day.

A frustrating lone bogey of round four arrived at the par-4 ninth, but Fleetwood quickly put that behind him and chained consecutive birdies together between holes 12-15 to reach seven-under for the day and two-over for the week.

With just one more birdie securing him what would have been the outright lowest total ever seen at any US Open at the time, the man who would go on to win his first PGA Tour title at the 2025 Tour Championship made par at 16 and 17 before dropping a simply sublime approach to six feet at the 18th.

Yet, a tame effort saw Fleetwood's last-gasp birdie attempt tail off to the right and he would sign for a seven-under 63.

Fleetwood became one of just six men at the time ever to shoot a 63 at a US Open, he broke the Shinnecock Hills course record by two and he tied the best-ever 18-hole total at a US Open (until Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele rewrote history in 2023).

Yet, the Ryder Cup star was disappointed. "I wanted 62," he told Fox after his round.

Had he shot 62, Fleetwood would have posted one-over for the championship and been embroiled in a playoff with Brooks Koepka. As it was, the 11-time pro winner finished solo second by the finest of margins.

Speaking to Fox about his special round, Fleetwood said: "I knew I was kind of in it teeing off, but you still have to get off to that good start.

"... All the way around, I always felt like I could get myself back in it. It's funny though, when you finish, you always feel like you're going to be just short [of winning].

"... I made great putts coming down that back nine. It's easy to look at 16, 18 where I had chances, because that's essentially what it comes down to, but I made so many good putts today."

Since that day, Fleetwood's record at the US Open since has not been all that special with three missed cuts, two finishes of T50th or worse and a best of T16th in his six appearances.

Nevertheless, his FedEx Cup victory has undoubtedly given the Englishman new confidence and there is every chance another score in the low 60s could be posted again this week.

April is not only Masters month for the world of golf, it's also a time to reflect on the past financial year and see which golfers have earned the most money.

With massive prize funds given out each week across the PGA Tour, the LIV Golf League and the DP World Tour, the best players in the world are racking up huge bank balances throughout the season.

Rory McIlroy has just added another $4.5m to his career earnings thanks to his incredible triumph at Augusta National. That'll give him a nice head start for next year's totals, but it doesn't help him surpass one other golfer for the 2025-26 tax year.

The data comes from Sportico, breaking down the earnings of the top-10 highest paid golfers in the world, with details as to how much they earned on the course and off it through sponsorship deals and the like.

McIlroy was in the top two, and led the way in off-course income, but it's actually Jon Rahm who earned the most in total for the last year.

Rahm benefits massively from his contract with LIV, of course. It is though the Spaniard was offered $300m to join the breakaway tour, with half paid upfront and the other $150m paid equally across the years of his contract.

Last year, Rahm is said to have earned a total of $102m, and is the only golfer to break the $100m barrier. Of that figure, $92m came from on-course earnings, with another $10m in sponsorship payments.

The 31-year-old didn't actually win an event throughout the LIV Golf season in 2025, but he still claimed enough points to come out on top in the individual leaderboard. That earned him a massive $18m, which is exactly how much he beat McIlroy by in the money charts.

McIlroy is arguably the most marketable golfer in the world, especially after his remarkable double Masters win. It speaks volumes that McIlroy's net worth was thought to be around $294m in 2023, and will be much higher now.

But, for 2025-26, he is reported to have earned $84m from golf. $29m of that comes from event payouts, while a whopping $55m comes from off-course deals. That actually makes McIlroy the leader in commercial income, narrowly beating Tiger Woods.

Still, McIlroy's closest competitor is Scottie Scheffler, who recorded $81m in earnings last year. Not surprisingly, given his dominance on the Tour, $51m of that came from winnings on the course, while he's thought to have earned a huge $30m from sponsorship deals with the likes of Turtlebox, Nike, TaylorMade, and Huntington Bank.

Looking elsewhere, there's quite a gap between that top three and the rest of the top-10 highest paid golfers. Bryson DeChambeau is next in line, but his earnings stood at around $65m, with $45m of that coming from his lucrative deal with LIV.

Woods, as we mentioned, is the second highest-earner when it comes to commercial deals. $54m of his total came from that side of the game, while only $200,000 was earned from his performances on the course.

Rounding out the rest of the top-10, Tommy Fleetwood enjoyed a successful year thanks to his Tour Championship win in August. That netted the Englishman a mega $10m payout which contributed to his $42m earnings.

Joaquin Niemann is the third and final LIV golfer in the top 10. The Chilean won five events last year, so it's not surprising that he's up there, with earnings of $41m in total.

Beyond that, we have Hideki Matsuyama sitting at $31m. That's largely thanks to his endorsement portfolio, which contributed $25m. Xander Schauffele ($30m) and Collin Morikawa ($28m) complete the list.

Highest-Paid Golfers 2025-26

The days of Tommy Fleetwood stocking up from the pro shop for each tournament look to be numbered as it seems he's got a new clothing deal lined up.

Ever since Fleetwood's deal with Nike ended he's been one of golf's biggest apparely free agents and regularly hit the pro shop ahead of each PGA Tour event.

Pro golfers are usually pretty quick to sign up for an apparel deal with a big manufacturer, but the World No.4 was seemingly in no rush and was spotted wearing all manner of different outfits.

Judging by his teaser video on Instagram though that could all be about to end.

Fleetwood has been sporting Malbon Golf clothing and also Tiger Woods' Sun Day Red in tournaments this year, while also being seen in Lululemon apparel before changing to athletic and performance brand Vuori soon after parting ways with Nike.

The 35-year-old has also had some fun stocking up on clothing from various iconic pro shops, playing in Pebble Beach branded apparel in the AT&T Pro-Am and also getting kitted out in Players Championship outfits at Sawgrass.

Club shops around the PGA Tour look set to miss out on the Fleetwood shopping spree though as a "coming soon" post on his socials suggests that an apparel deal is set to be announced.

Fleetwood even leaned into his new reputation for cleaning out club shops for the video, but all the signs are that he'll become an ambassador for just one brand soon enough.

Being one of the most popular golfers on the PGA Tour and the current FedEx Cup champion, Fleetwood is highly marketable and he'll no doubt have been flooded with offers from manufacturers.

Although he's spoken of enjoying his freedom, these types of deals are hard to turn down, and no doubt whoever has landed him would've been pushing to get it across the line before The Masters.

The opening Major of the year is the most eagerly awaited and the build-up to Augusta would be a perfect time to reveal a big star like Fleetwood as a new ambassador.

The Ryder Cup looks like it's heading back to England in 2035 for the first time since The Belfry staged the event way back in 2002.

The news of an impending bid from Hulton Park in Bolton, near Manchester, sparked the debate and it seems the only other contenders also come from England.

The Belfry was a regular home for the Ryder Cup, staging the battle between Europe and America four times between 1985 and 2002, but the showpiece event hasn't been back in England since.

In the United Kingdom it's been to Wales at Celtic Manor and Scotland at Gleneagles and next year's event will be at Adare Manor in Ireland, while on the continent Paris and Rome have played host and Spain will do the honors in 2031.

England seems primed to be next up, and the early noises so far suggest there are just three contenders to host what is now a huge global sporting event.

The country boasts some iconic courses, and there is an argument to say that one of England's Open courses would be a better choice to host the Ryder Cup such as Royal Birkdale or Royal Liverpool.

There's also the likes of Wentworth that you could consider and a plethora of others already established with long histories that would be wonderful Ryder Cup hosts.

But it seems that so far at least the contenders are a proposed new build in Bolton, a redevelopment project in Luton and a DP World Tour host venue just outside London.

So here's a closer look at the contenders to stage the 2035 Ryder Cup.

Hulton Park

Hulton Park has not yet officially launched its bid, but it's all the rage in the news thanks to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham revealing a £240 million ($320 million) funding package for the project.

World No.3 Tommy Fleetwood has already given his backing to Hulton Park's impending bid, with the proximity to big cities Manchester and Liverpool a big plus for the proposed venue.

“Whenever it’s on the Ryder Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and bringing that to the North West of England would be something very special that we’d remember forever," said Fleetwood.

The bonus with a new build of course, as with the 2010 course at Celtic Manor, is that the design can have a matchplay flavor to it. And along with all the infrastructure in the area, on paper it has everything needed for a successful Ryder Cup.

Luton Hoo

A stage ahead of Bolton, ground has already been broken on the redevelopment of Luton Hoo Hotel & Golf Club in Bedfordshire with owners targeting a bid to stage the 2035 Ryder Cup.

The £170m ($226m) redevelopment of the current course there will take up to two-and-a-half years, with seven-time Ryder Cup player Justin Rose helping to design the new championship calibre course alongside golfing icon Gary Player.

Owners the Arora Group say it will become "the Augusta of Europe" and have employed Atlantic Golf Construction, which built next year's host Adare Manor.

European Golf Design is also involved - the company responsible for recent Ryder Cup venues Celtic Manor, Le Golf National and Marco Simone - so with those major players and the owner's ambition to "bring thre Ryder Cup home" this contender has a lot going for it.

The London Club

This one has the edge on the other two in terms of having experience at hosting tournaments, staging DP World Tour events including the European Open and World Matchplay.

The London Club website has stated it's ambition to stage the Ryder Cup with 'The London Project' being an expansion including a new hotel and spa that would make it a viable Ryder Cup option.

"We have tried and tested it with DP World Tour events, but there are global events – Ryder Cups, Solheim Cups – that we should be looking at and aspiring to host," it states on the website.

The Jack Nicklaus design is situated just outside the M25 so has an ease of access and a proximity to London that would make it endlessly marketable to visitors from across Europe and the USA.

Future Ryder Cup venues

• 2027 - Adare Manor (County Limerick, Republic of Ireland)
• 2029 - Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, Minnesota)
• 2031 - Camaril Golf & Wellness (Girona, Spain)
• 2033 - The Olympic Club (San Francisco, California)
• 2035 - Unconfirmed (Europe)
• 2037 - Congressional Country Club (Bethesda, Maryland)

Tommy Fleetwood has spoken of his relief that his family has managed to get out of Dubai and return to England to escape the conflict in the Middle East.

Although the Englishman says his family "felt safe" in the United Arab Emirates, where they've lived for four years, it was still a worry as they joined thousands of Britons trying to leave the country.

Many flights have been grounded as Dubai has been targeted by drone strikes from Iran in retaliation for the USA and Israel's military action in the country.

It's caused huge delays for those wanting to leave, and with Fleetwood thousands of miles away in the USA playing golf for five weeks, it's understandable the situation will have been a concern with his wife Clare and children Oscar, Mo and Frankie stuck in a war zone.

The 35-year-old moved to Dubai four years ago and has credited his new lifestyle for his game improving as he's now the World No.3 after claiming the FedEx Cup last season.

Fleetwood also has a golf academy at Jumeirah Golf Estates where he resides, but it does mean he spends long portions of time away from his family while he plies his trade on the PGA Tour.

He's currently on a long spell away from home now, and that meant for an anxious wait while his family tried to make it back to England, and a lot of relief when they finally left the UAE safely.

"It is difficult not being able to travel. That has obviously been difficult. But when you know they're fine, that's kind of a relief," Fleetwood told reporters after his first round at TPC Sawgrass, as reported in The Guardian.

Fleetwood spoke about how his family had one flight cancelled and then took another out of Dubai just before an incident at the airport, so naturally it was a huge relief when they made it back to Cheshire in England.

"I think Clare is very relieved now," Fleetwood added. "She feels good and everything. It’s just not a great time for so many people in the country.

"It’s just unsettling for everyone, really. It’s easy for me to say it’s been on my mind but at the same time I’m not the one who was there."

Fleetwood's family is due to fly out to Texas in a few weeks to join him ahead of his final preparations for The Masters.

Tommy Fleetwood has been spotted wearing Tiger Woods’ apparel brand, Sun Day Red, at the Genesis Invitational.

The Englishman was seen wearing a Rhythm Stripe Cashmere Crew during the first round of the PGA Tour Signature Event.

Fleetwood had been with Nike since 2010. However, he announced he had split from the brand at the start of the year, inviting speculation over which brand he would link up with next.

In his first start of the year, the Dubai Invitational, Fleetwood began in Lululemon apparel, before changing to athletic and performance brand Vuori.

To add to the confusion, he also appeared to be wearing a G/FORE polo shirt, with unbranded apparel then being used for the rest of the week. As the season has continued, he’s even been seen wearing Masters branded gear, apparently with no sign of a new deal in sight.

Fleetwood was still a free agent at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he was kitted out in the Pebble Beach logo on his way to finishing T4.

At the event, he detailed how the severing of his relationship with Nike had come about, saying: "Our contract was ending and it just turned out like we, you know, sort of didn’t end up in a place where I’m wearing Nike stuff this year."

He added: “Who knows what's going to happen in the future.”

On Tuesday, the waters were muddied further when Fleetwood wore Malbon clothing at Riviera Country Club.

However, according to Golf Digest's Chris Powers, that was a result of help from Jason Day. He wrote on X: "Your eyes do not deceive you. That is Tommy Fleetwood in a Malbon sweater. (I) Asked him what’s the deal … he said Jason Day loaned him some stuff last week at Pebble. Friends helping friends."

Now, we can add Woods’ brand, which was launched in 2024 after he also split with Nike, to the list. But does it hint at a long-term deal?

What we do know is that recently, CEO of Sun Day Red and TaylorMade, David Abeles, said the brand was looking to expand its Tour-player roster after revenue reportedly grew faster than predicted.

He explained: "We’re absolutely working with more Tour players to determine who can fit that criteria and those brand standards. We’ll build a wonderful unified team, much like we have at TaylorMade."

As a TaylorMade staffer, Fleetwood will also know Abeles well, which will surely lead to speculation he may be closing in on a deal.

So, could Fleetwood be about to join fellow PGA Tour pro Karl Vilips, who was announced as a Sun Day Red ambassador a year ago, on its roster? Given the sizeable line-up of apparel Fleetwood has used so far this year, it remains a case of time will tell.

Plenty of golfers will go to a bucket list course like Pebble Beach and hit the pro shop hard - and that seemingly now includes World No.4 Tommy Fleetwood.

After confirming the end of his apparel deal with Nike, Fleetwood is a rare clothing free agent and has been revelling in the freedom.

He's been sporting clothing from Lululemon, then changed to athletic and performance brand Vuori and he's even been spotted wearing Masters branded gear.

And he's gone down a similar route for his first PGA Tour appearance of the year, as instead of having a big-money contract lined up with a new sponsor, the Englishman has instead kitted himself out in the Pebble Beach logo.

As you'd expect with Fleetwood, he doesn't seem overly concerned with landing a new sponsorship deal after his Nike contract ended and "it just turned out like we, you know, sort of didn't end up in a place where I'm wearing Nike stuff this year."

The Englishman doesn't seem close to a new deal either, saying "who knows what's going to happen in the future" and for now he's enjoying adding to his golf gear collection.

And after all, he landed the FedEx Cup last year so he's more than capable of going to splash the cash in the Pebble Beach pro shop.

"This is cool. I feel like I'm a big golf fan. I really like golf stuff, so it's quite nice to be wearing like Pebble Beach clothing," Fleetwood said after his first round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

"I mean, my kids would absolutely love this stuff so I feel pretty lucky to have it on."

Fleetwood, like many golfers, loves his merchandise and is happy to now be able to wear a lot more, having previously been bound by his sponsorship contract.

"I do. I like hats. In general, my kids wear way more golf merchandise than me always because I haven't been able to as well," added Fleetwood, who is growing his collection.

"I do like it. I mean there's some amazing logos around the world and I also think they're just like memorable pieces, right, when you come to a special place. My collection's got a bit bigger, that's for sure."

And there doesn't seem to be any talks ongoing over a new sponsorship deal, with Fleetwood happy enough for now to go through his own wardrobe.

"We'll have to see, we'll have to see what happens throughout the year."

As one of the most popular golfers in the world, Fleetwood is surely not short of offers from brands wanting him to be seen in their gear - but he doesn't seem in any hurry to tie himself down just yet.

Since turning professional in 2010, we've been used to the sight of Tommy Fleetwood decked out in Nike clothing and footwear, with the iconic Swoosh logo present for every single victory of his pro career.

From the 2011 Formby Hall Classic on the EuroPro Tour, to his most recent victory at the 2025 DP World India Championship, the Englishman has lifted trophies around the world wearing Nike attire, until a surprising turn of events at the Dubai Invitational in 2026.

Enjoying one of his best seasons to date in 2025, wrapping up a maiden PGA Tour title at the Tour Championship and a two-shot win at Delhi Golf Club, Fleetwood arrived fresh for the 2026 season in Dubai, but without the familiar logo adorning his chest.

For the first time in 16 years, Fleetwood wasn't wearing Nike clothing or golf glove, aside from Nike golf shoes. Instead, at the Dubai Invitational, he appeared in Lululemon, before then changing to athletic and performance brand Vuori.

Confusion was sparked even further as, for the first round, Fleetwood appeared to be wearing a G/FORE polo shirt, with unbranded apparel then being used for the rest of the week.

No announcement was made in terms of clothing between that event and the Dubai Desert Classic the week after, a tournament where Fleetwood had a Nike 24.7 collection 1/4 zip on in a practice round, as well as an Augusta National polo for his second round and Lululemon polo for his third round.

Fleetwood hasn't expressed any details when it comes to what's next for his apparel, but what are the Englishman's options in terms of apparel brands?

His next start will be at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and, with Nike no longer listed on Fleetwood's official website under his partners, let's look at some possible options...

Lululemon

Lululemon is known for its activewear and signed Lydia Ko in 2019. Five years on, in 2024, Min Woo Lee became the first male golfer to sign with the company, as Max Homa followed a year later in 2025.

Wearing a few of the brand's polo shirts in 2026, the signing of Fleetwood would be, arguably, Lululemon's biggest ever and, with the company yet to announce any players recently, it might be that it's waiting for the right moment.

If Fleetwood were to join, it would continue the recent yearly trend of one big name signing to Lululemon.

Sun Day Red

Recently, CEO of Sun Day Red and TaylorMade, David Abeles, revealed that Sun Day Red were looking at potentially expanding its Tour-player roster after revenue reportedly grew faster than predicted.

"We’re absolutely working with more Tour players to determine who can fit that criteria and those brand standards. We’ll build a wonderful unified team, much like we have at TaylorMade," stated Abeles.

A TaylorMade staffer, using its clubs and golf ball, could Fleetwood join Tiger Woods and Karl Vilips in becoming a Sun Day Red ambassador?

Certainly, Fleetwood knows Abeles well from his time with TaylorMade, so it would make sense. What's more, following Fleetwood's victory at the Tour Championship, Woods congratulated Fleetwood via X/Twitter.

It might not sound much, but Woods only congratulated a select few players for their wins in 2025 - Ludvig Aberg, who won the Genesis Invitational, an event Woods hosts, Rory McIlroy for his Grand Slam Masters win, and Fleetwood for his Tour Championship victory.

There's obviously a lot of respect between the pair, so could Fleetwood make the move to Sun Day Red?

Vuori

Fleetwood was pictured wearing Vuori's apparel in Dubai and, if he were to join, it wouldn't be the first sizeable name the brand has signed in 2026.

Prior to the Sony Open in Hawaii, Maverick McNealy was announced as the company's newest ambassador, with the PGA Tour winner wearing polo shirts, shorts and pants from the brand.

Another player spotted wearing Vuori is Korn Ferry Tour player, Jackson Buchanan, who has made four cuts in four starts on the circuit after turning professional in 2025, even competing in the US Open of that year.

For those that don't know, Vuori was founded in 2015 by Joe Kudla and, according to their website, "produces premium performance apparel inspired by the active Coastal California lifestyle."

Given that the PGA Tour's first Signature Event, and Fleetwood's next start, is at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in mid-February, which can be found on the Monterey Peninsula in California, might that be the moment he's unveiled as Vuori's big signing?

Malbon

Signing the likes of Major winner Jason Day, as well as three-time LPGA Tour winner Charley Hull, Malbon have started to really expand in the golf sector over the last few years, adding Freddie Couples and Michael Block to its roster in 2026.

There's no evidence to suggest that Fleetwood has worn the brand's apparel over the fortnight run of events, but the baggy pants that have been on show in Dubai are of a similar design to that of Malbon's.

Prior to signing with the company in January 2024, Day was with Nike for eight years, wearing their golf shoes and clothing. Hull, meanwhile, is a TaylorMade staffer like Fleetwood, and signed with the brand at a similar time to that of Day.

Other Brands

Obviously, Fleetwood could go with any brand in the world but, given that he was wearing a G/FORE polo in Dubai, that has to be in the equation.

Even looking at Fleetwood's Ryder Cup teammates, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton currently wear Greyson Clothiers, while Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard are decked out in adidas.

J Lindeberg works alongside Viktor Hovland and has also previously sponsored English players Matt Wallace and Hatton, as well as TaylorMade staffer Nelly Korda.

Only time will tell with what happens to Fleetwood's new apparel sponsor, but be sure to watch this space as an announcement draws nearer.

The past 12 months have provided a plethora of unforgettable stories from across the world of golf, from breakout stars bursting into the limelight to Major dreams being realized and everything in between.

As we turn our attention to 2026, there is sure to be more of the same and maybe even more drama as the men's game continues to press on despite remaining fractured and a handful of young talents prepare for their maiden voyage in the big leagues.

As well as the nine Major championships, there is a Solheim Cup and a Curtis Cup to consider - events which proved to be extremely entertaining last time they were played.

But what else could happen in the coming months? Might there be another JJ Spaun-type story? Will the incredible Evian Championship playoff be repeated? We can't wait to find out.

In the meantime, five Golf Monthly writers have made a couple of big predictions each ahead of 2026, with Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Charley Hull all tipped to make up significant headlines...

2026 GOLF MONTHLY PREDICTIONS

LOTTIE WOAD TO WIN LPGA TOUR TITLE

There was simply no stopping England’s Lottie Woad in 2025. What a sensational transition she made from the amateur to the professional ranks.

As an amateur, she won the KPMG Women’s Irish Open and finished tied-third at the Amundi Evian Championship, before winning her first start as a pro at the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open.

We’ve all watched in awe, and given what she’s achieved already, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see her claim her maiden LPGA title in 2026. She has proved she is completely at home on the world stage and has both the game and the belief to win.

CHARLEY HULL TO WIN A MAJOR

Every year, my heart wants Charley Hull to win a Major. She’s come so close before and, in my mind, she is far too talented not to have more titles to her name.

I believe 2026 will be the year she finally wins big, providing she steers clear of the health mishaps that interrupted her schedule this year.

Clinching the Kroger Queen City Championship in September, her first LPGA title since 2022, will have given her that vital affirmation that she can get the job over the line. I believe she can!

RORY MCILROY TO WIN ANOTHER MAJOR

After getting the monkey off his back this year, it is going to be interesting to watch the next phase of Rory McIlroy’s career in the Majors. Can he kick on and win three or four more over the coming years or will he stop at five?

He remains one of the true elite players in the game with no signs of slowing down and now remembers what it takes to get over the line in a Major, so I will pick him to win another one in 2026...or maybe two, another Wanamaker Trophy and/or another Claret Jug.

ANTHONY KIM TO WIN ON INTERNATIONAL SERIES

I have loved following Anthony Kim’s comeback and his inspiring attitude of getting “1%” better each day. He seems to be grinding hard and the results are starting to show after his T5th at the Saudi International.

I probably wouldn’t put money on this but it is just something that would be an amazing story, so I will predict Kim to win on the International Series - which would be his first pro tour win since 2010.

RORY MCILROY TO REPEAT MASTERS MAGIC

In the UK, there's a saying: 'you wait ages for a bus and then two come along at the same time.' I really think Rory McIlroy's bus is a Green Jacket and he'll go and win The Masters again after striving to win his first for so long.

Free of the pressure of trying to complete the Grand Slam now, McIlroy can relax somewhat and prove how much his game is suited to Augusta National.

He's shown previously that he can go low on Sunday, and I believe he might well do it in 2026, sitting in position through three days before going on a tear and winning in dramatic style via a 72nd hole birdie while the leaders fade away.

MARCO PENGE TO WIN MAIDEN PGA TOUR TITLE

Marco Penge is making the natural ascension to the PGA Tour in 2026, and he has the ideal game to enjoy a little but of success there as well. A monster driver of the ball, he was the stand-out name on the DP World Tour in 2025, winning three times.

For 2026, I fully expect Penge to go and win a PGA Tour event - even if it is only one of the smaller tournaments. Equally, I wouldn't be surprised if he went and won a big one in the lead up to The Masters. Either way, I can see Penge making his name known to a wider US audience next season.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD TO WIN A MAJOR

The Englishman was playing the golf of his life at the end of 2025 and, with his putter seemingly behaving and his swing looking so fluid, I fancy Fleetwood to go on and take the step up and claim one of the big four championships.

The Open and US Open are taking place at courses that suit his game, while his Masters record continues to remain consistent, highlighted by a T3rd in 2024. He won some big events at the end of this season, which makes me think he'll be more than capable of lifting a Major title.

TaylorMade Drivers Will Win All Four Men's Majors

I've gone with another Major prediction here and, given their fairway wood success this year, where the Qi10 was involved in every men's Major win, I predict TaylorMade to have another great year and their drivers to be involved in every Major title for 2026.

Their Qi4D range seems to be staying put in the bags of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Fleetwood, with Jayden Schaper claiming two wins on the DP World Tour recently using them. If the range is performing well now, I believe it'll be remaining come the Major season.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD TO WIN A MAJOR

Not exactly an outlandish suggestion here but a solid one with Tommy Fleetwood getting his PGA Tour breakthrough in style in 2025 by landing the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup during a stellar run of form.

After another win in India and a brilliant Ryder Cup he’s elevated himself into one of the best players in the game, with almost Scottie Scheffler-like consistency during the second half of the season. And the 2026 Majors are set up nicely for him too.

Fleetwood finished T3rd at The Masters in 2024, he shot 63 when finishing second at the 2018 US Open at Shinnecock Hills, the 2026 host venue, and The Open is on his local course at Royal Birkdale. The omens are strong for Tommy.

TIGER WOODS WILL PLAY SENIOR GOLF - BUT HE WON'T WIN

With yet more back surgery this year, the question over Tiger Woods has changed from ‘when’ to ‘if’ we’ll see him back in competitive golf again. It’s a valid question considering the punishment his body has taken and the multiple operations to try and put him back together.

He can still play shots but just walking around a golf course to get the required prep work and then compete in a tournament seems beyond him – but turning 50 at the end of the year offers a new hope in the shape of the PGA Tour Champions.

Three rounds in most events and the use of a golf cart should combine to give Tiger enough help to compete again – should he want to – but the senior circuit has some big names still in decent form so it’s no picnic.It’d be great to see Woods back out there again, but after so long away from competition we’d have to temper expectations.

If we're talking the best players yet to win a men's Major, or contenders to become first-time Major champions in 2026 then Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood must be right up there in the conversation.

But how do the two compare?

Ahead of every new golf year the subject of who'll win the Majors is always the most talked about - with the question of best players not yet to become Major champions always provoking lively debate.

History suggests we'll have at least one, as we have done in 10 of the last 11 years, with a total of 24 first-time Major champions during that spell.

There's a lot of names you could pick out - Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Russell Henley, Patrick Cantlay, Robert MacIntyre and Joaquin Niemann among many others, but the English pair look primed for a Major breakthrough.

But which one?

Let us know who you think will win a men's Major title in 2026 by joining the conversation below...

Why Fleetwood and Hatton are primed for Major win

Both men have been in and around the Major challengers for a while without threatening to win very often - Fleetwood had runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019 and has two 63s in the US Open to his name.

A serial winner in Europe, he had issues showing that form on the PGA Tour despite the odd Major challenge, but this year he showed his mettle by coming through in one of the biggest ones of all.

After heartbreaking near misses Fleetwood won the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup - which not only made a huge difference to his bank balance but also surely his mentality.

That memorable Ryder Cup followed and then another win in India on the DP World Tour showed his amazing consistency that will also give him a chance - but that PGA Tour breakthrough could be huge.

It's a similar story for Hatton, who has added a lot more consistency in the big events in recent years and seems to be thriving after joining LIV Golf.

Hatton got his win early in the year in Dubai and seemed to build from there, but his defining moment could be going so close at the US Open at Oakmont only for a huge slice of bad luck on Sunday.

But for a bad break in the bunker maybe Hatton, and not JJ Spaun, would be celebrating a maiden Major - but crucially he learned what it was like going down the stretch in contention, and he never really faltered.

Those two huge moments could be just the lift both men need to get over the hump in 2026.

Who had the better Major form?

From a similar amount of Major championships it's Fleetwood who has gone closer on more occasions, with two second-placed finishes to his name.

Hatton's best is this year's T4 at Oakmont, but he came a lot closer than that bare result suggests, being tied for the lead with just two holes to go, so it really was a near miss.

After going four years without a Major top 10, Hatton got one in the 2024 Masters and it's when players start grouping results like that together when you start to think they'll capture one soon.

Hatton's results in the last two years have probably been a touch better than Fleetwood's, he's come closer to winning one and had more top 10s and top 20s, so he's certainly trending in the right direction.

Fleetwood went close once a year from 2017-19, before then returning five top 10s in eight Majors from 2022-24, which isn't so long ago so there's no real worry about his ability to go close.

So who will win a Major first - Hatton or Fleetwood?

You'd like to think both would win a Major, they're certainly both good enough and as we can see they've both gone close.

But we're not talking going close, being in the shake-up, we're talking getting over the line, getting the job done - and that's where it's hard to judge who can hold their nerve.

Hatton didn't do too much wrong at Oakmont, and on another day those final two holes go a different way for him - but nonetheless it was a loss.

He did seem to take it well, which was a great sign, and as Fleetwood showed, and more famously Rory McIlroy, it's all about putting yourself in those situations as often as possible to get comfortable in the most uncomfortable of cricumstances.

Fleetwood, though, would get my vote - for a large part of the PGA Tour season he was producing consistency only Scottie Scheffler could better, and you can't overstate just how influential that Tour Championship victory could be.

It'd be no surprise to see Fleetwood holding a Major trophy in 2026.

What do you think? Who would you back to win a Major next year out of Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton? Let us know by joining the conversation below...

The closing stretch of the DP World Tour season seems to have been a big success story, with large increases in broadcast viewers, social media engagement and even on-course attendance.

Rory McIlroy winning his seventh Race To Dubai title obviously captured the imagination, along with his thrilling Irish Open win, Robert MacIntyre winning the Alfred Dunhill Links and Tommy Fleetwood triumphing in India.

The DP World Tour has released the numbers from the final 11 events on the calendar - which included the 'Back 9' and then the two play-off events to conclude the campaign - saying the stats show it was able to "capture fan engagement at an unprecedented level."

Headlining the stats are an impressive 35% increase in the average TV viewers on Golf Channel across those 11 events, compared to 2024 numbers, while in the UK viewing figures on Sky Sports were up 16%.

There was also a big improvement in digital activity, with video views on the DP World Tour social media channels up 34% from last year, impressions up 47% and engagement 54% - while the website saw a 10% increase in traffic.

The 11 events themselves also saw spectator numbers go up slightly from 2024, with over half a million fans attending representing a small two percent rise on last year and seven percent on 2023.

“The DP World Tour is enjoying a period of unprecedented growth in our fan base around the world," said CEO Guy Kinnings.

"As golf’s global Tour, we provided a platform for competitors from 41 nationalities to play events in 26 countries this past season and golf fans are increasingly drawn to the diversity we offer week in, week out.

“Whether it was during our five Global Swings, the Back 9, the DP World Tour Play-Offs, or our flagship Rolex Series tournaments - we managed to capture fan engagement at an unprecedented level."

Irish Open & British Masters the highlights as TV ratings go up

The overall growth in TV figures recorded was solid, with two events in particular registering massive upturns on last year, so all-in-all Kinnings was delighted with the results given how traditional ratings have been an issue for golf as a whole.

"At a time when many sports are struggling to retain viewers on traditional linear television, it is pleasing to see that we are bucking this trend and growing our viewership," Kinnings added.

"After a season full of incredible storylines and history making achievements - notably our Race to Dubai Champion Rory McIlroy winning the career Grand Slam, and a historic win for Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in New York - we start our 2026 season next week in Australia with exceptional momentum.”

The biggest jumps in viewers came at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, and the Amgen Irish Open - with Alex Noren's victory at The Belfry seeing a huge 143% increase in average TV viewers, while McIlroy's dramatic success at the K Club saw an even larger improvement of 193% in average viewership.

McIlroy is always a needle mover and his participation in the closing events, especially after the Ryder Cup, will no doubt have helped in bringing more attention to the DP World Tour.

Fleetwood is also growing in popularity, especially in the USA, so he'll also have helped, while the lack of big names in fields in the FedEx Cup Fall Series events won't have offered any strong competition in terms of viewers.

With a lot of talk about where the DP World Tour fits into the golfing landscape going forward, these figures will give officials great comfort that there's a space for it to thrive.

Whichever way you look at it, 2025 has been a seismic year in Tommy Fleetwood's professional career.

A series of near-misses in America ultimately proved to be valuable lessons as the Englishman finally made his breakthrough on the PGA Tour before he starred at Bethpage Black as Team Europe won the Ryder Cup once again.

As if that wasn't enough, Fleetwood added to seven top-10s and nine top-25s from 22 total global starts with an eighth DP World Tour title in India recently.

Then, start no.23 of the year saw him lose out to Aaron Rai in a Playoff at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship before another strong performance at the DP World Tour Championship, where he placed T3.

Up to and and including the 2025 PGA Tour season, the 34-year-old stands 26th on the all-time career money list thanks to $43,430,669. On the DP World Tour, he's fourth with circa $36 million behind only Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose.

Fleetwood's on-course earnings have taken several more giant leaps forward over the past 10 months or so, too.

Starting with a T21st at the Dubai Desert Classic before switching back to America and coming T22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Southport, England-born pro collected roughly $255,000 before the first sign that a PGA Tour win might not be too far away at The Genesis Invitational.

Although his Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg banked the $3.6 million top check that week, Fleetwood's T5th result saw him earn a perfectly healthy $736,500 himself.

The six-figure earnings continued to flow over his next three appearances, too, despite Fleetwood finishing outside of the top-10 but better than T17th in each. A T11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a T14th at The Players and a T16th at the Valspar Championship ultimately tallied up to just short of $1 million in prize money.

With relative disappointments at the Valero Texas Open (T62nd) and The Masters (T21st) behind him, Fleetwood finished top 10 at the RBC Heritage (T7th) and the Truist Championship (T4th). The second two performances saw him scoop almost $1.5 million, adding to over $230,000 at the Valero Texas Open and The Masters combined.

A grand total of nearly $750,000 was picked up across three appearances during the height of summer, with a T4th at the Charles Schwab Challenge the highlight of a run which also featured the PGA Championship (T41st) and the Memorial Tournament (T16th).

Fleetwood's lone missed cut of the year arrived at the US Open, but he still earned $10,000 as a result of being a professional who qualified in the first place.

That disappointment was quickly forgotten about as Fleetwood put himself in a great position to win the Travelers Championship before losing out to Keegan Bradley on the 72nd hole. A $1.76 million payout softened the blow, though.

Fleetwood didn't quite have his best game during a return to the British Isles, as a T34th at the Genesis Scottish Open and a T16th at The Open garnered him just under $240,000.

However, once he returned to the US, Fleetwood found something different in his game and produced the run of the year during the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

T3rd at the FedEx St Jude Championship, T4th at the BMW Championship and a long-awaited PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship banked Fleetwood over $12 million all told. Add on the $4.2 million in bonus money collected around that time and it was a very happy August indeed.

Either side of the Ryder Cup, which did not feature any payment for European golfers, Fleetwood picked up checks for less than $40,000 and $50,000, respectively, following a T46th at the BMW PGA Championship and a T21st at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Fleetwood's highly lucrative year continued via another win at the DP World India Championship - a result that earned the popular Englishman another $680,000 - before a runner-up finish in the first round of the DP World Tour Play-offs, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which was worth $980,000.

Fleetwood then ended the DP World Tour season strongly at the DP World Tour Championship with a tie for third to earn another $486,250.

He was also fifth in the season-long Race to Dubai, giving him a bonus payment of $450,000.

Overall, Fleetwood has earned more than $25 million in 2025. Below is a complete breakdown of the Englishman's earnings and results by event.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD EARNINGS 2025

HOW MUCH DID TOMMY FLEETWOOD EARN IN MAJORS DURING 2025?

Tommy Fleetwood collected $465,933.67 during the four men's Majors in 2025. Most of his earnings arrived via a $210,000 check for coming T21st at The Masters and roughly $185,000 in prize money for finishing T16th at The Open Championship.

There was a further $60,000 or so sent Fleetwood's way courtesy of a T41st finish at the PGA Championship and $10,000 passed on due to qualifying as a professional, even though he missed the cut.

For much of Tommy Fleetwood's pro career, there was great respect for the Englishman in terms of his game and his personality, but the lack of a PGA Tour win apparently seemed to negate the seven DP World Tour victories he had managed before this year.

There were also two star performances from Fleetwood at home Ryder Cups which helped Team Europe claim the little gold trophy from their American rivals.

Despite hoards of fans continuing to back Fleetwood every week and a growing number of top-10s from the 34-year-old, there often seemed to be an underlying feeling that - until he actually crossed the line in first on US soil - his status in the world of men's pro golf could never be regarded as elite.

He famously came close on a couple of occasions in 2025 before finally breaking through at the most lucrative PGA Tour event of all, the Tour Championship, in front of Scottie Scheffler and co.

Another heroic Ryder Cup display followed as Luke Donald's men reigned supreme and Fleetwood was presented with the Nicklaus-Jacklin award.

A few weeks later and Fleetwood once again soared highest above the likes of Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry and Ben Griffin at the DP World India Championship - his eighth DP World Tour title.

With the PGA Tour monkey off his back and Fleetwood seemingly in the form of his life, what might wait in store for the popular Englishman in 2026?

Could it be a Major or will he rival Scheffler on the PGA Tour? What about displacing Rory McIlroy as the Race To Dubai champion? Four Golf Monthly writers have had their say...

While it's been a phenomenal year for Tommy Fleetwood, I think regression is more likely than a first Major win in 2026.

This season, the affable Englishman has registered his first PGA Tour title, taken home the FedExCup (admittedly it was a two-birds-with-one-stone scenario), claimed a DP World Tour victory in India and played a starring role at the Ryder Cup. Quite simply, he has to win a Major to have a better year in 2026.

I'm not sure I've seen the requisite ruthlessness – in stroke play, at least – to convince me he's going to get over the line in one of golf's four big events; he wasn't really challenged on Sunday at the Tour Championship and he's faltered numerous times this year with the heat on him.

He'll also be dealing with the pressure of increased expectations. I hope I'm wrong, but if I have to choose right now whether Tommy will break his Major duck in 2026, I'm reluctantly saying no.

This year feels like Tommy Fleetwood has finally jumped up a level from a world-class player floating around the top-10 to cementing himself as one of the game’s true elite golfers in a trajectory that reminds me of Xander Schauffele’s rise to becoming a multiple Major winner.

Fleetwood had seven top-seven finishes on the PGA Tour prior to his Tour Championship win so was already one of the world’s best, and it feels like he has gained an awful lot from that week at East Lake. He was the best player at the Ryder Cup and continued that form in India.

I think he genuinely could be the next legitimate challenger to Scottie Scheffler and will cement himself as the second-best player in the world if he continues in this vein of form.

Clearly something has changed mentally and on the greens to the point where the Englishman looks a complete golfer who is near-impossible to beat when at this best.

He is easily good enough to win Majors so I would not be surprised to see him get over the line in 2026, whether that’s at The Masters, PGA, US Open or Open. His game is so well-rounded that he can win anywhere, so you have to now consider him a real contender for the biggest titles.

The way he is going it is hard to bet against him being a Major champion this time next year.

I can't deny that Fleetwood has been immense the last three months and, since his victory at the Tour Championship, he seems to be moving into that upper echelon of players who can close out tournaments when the pressure is on - something that for the majority of 2025 he seemed to struggle with.

Personally, it wouldn't surprise me to see him lift one of the DP World Tour's final events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai at the end of the season but, with 2026, only time will tell.

Certainly, right now, he has the game to contend for a Major next year, especially when you factor in that two of them are being held at venues where he has course form - Shinnecock Hills and Royal Birkdale.

The slight worry is that, next season, he will have the tag of people expecting him to play well and win the big events, which is perhaps slightly different to how many viewed Fleetwood at the start of 2025, where they expected him to play well and only contend.

If he continues with what he's doing, I see no reason as to why he won't be in the fray for a Major, but it all comes down to whether this red-hot form continues in the early stages of next season.

I can certainly see Fleetwood challenging for a Major in 2026, but whether he wins one or not is a different story. While it is certainly helpful that his form has improved and a PGA Tour breakthrough has been made, but you also have to remember that there are any number of other perfectly capable candidates also trying to fulfil their own Major ambitions.

Course form and his step up in winning experiences have to play some part in giving Fleetwood a chance, though, so I will confidently back the Englishman to follow in Rory McIlroy's footsteps and provide a wildly popular Major champion in 2026.

The other achievement I can see Fleetwood ticking off next term is at least one PGA Tour win. He put himself in position a number of times this year but appeared to struggle under the pressure of the situation slightly.

I find it difficult to believe that if Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley were to go toe-to-toe at the Travelers again, for example, there wouldn't be a different result this time.

In short, I fully expect Fleetwood to continue his form from the back end of this year into the next, possibly via yet another DP World Tour win in the Middle East at the back end of this season or at the start of 2026.

What do you think is in store for Tommy Fleetwood in 2026? Let us know in the comments.

Both Keegan Bradley and PGA of America president Don Rea appeared to suggest that the Ryder Cup abuse at Bethpage Black was similar to what Team USA experienced in Rome in 2023.

That suggestion has been immediately rebuffed by two of Europe's Ryder Cup stars who played in both tournaments - and said comparisons between the two were "pretty offensive to European fans".

Saturday afternoon in particular will go down as one of the most controversial in Ryder Cup history - with Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry being subjected to huge amounts of personal abuse at Bethpage Black.

But an interview Rea gave to the BBC on Saturday night, saying "you know, it happens when we're over in Rome on the other side" did not go down too well with the visitors.

PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague has since apologized for the abuse Europe suffered - and will personally write to McIlroy and his wife Erica in particular as she was also the subject of abuse - and even had a drink thrown on her on Saturday.

But captain Bradley was another to equate what happened at Bethpage to how the European crowd behaved in Rome - even though he didn't play in that Ryder Cup.

"I wasn't at Rome, but I heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well," said Bradley at Bethpage. "But the fans of New York from what I have seen have been pretty good."

“You're always going to have a few people that cross the line, and that's unfortunate."

The comparison has been flatly rejected by both Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick, who played in both events and said they do not come close.

"I saw those comments about the - I saw the interview with the PGA guy discussing about it was the same in Rome," said Fitzpatrick.

"It's pretty offensive to European fans the fact that he said that, really."

Hatton feels the same, adding: "Personally, I don't think they were close at all.

"I certainly, with what I heard last week, I don't think Rome comes anywhere near that.

"To be honest, personally, I don't agree with what they both said there. I don't know what else to add to that. I think they are quite far apart to be honest."

How will Ryder Cup crowd react in Ireland?

There is a slight worry the European crowd at Adare Manor in 2027 might seek revenge and give Team USA similar treatment, but most believe they will react in the right way.

And for the most part, the European crowds have been more about backing their own side than trying to intimidate the Americans - with humor usually at the core.

"If it was my choice, and obviously what I say isn't really going to affect how people behave, but I don't really think that the insults is the way forward," said Hatton.

"I don't think it (Ireland in 2027) will be as hostile as maybe as it was last week. I'd like to think that it will be very respectful."

And Fitzpatrick has no concerns at all, adding that Rea was well wide of the mark with his comments on Rome.

"I don't have any worries about European fans.," said Fitzpatrick. "What the The PGA of America guy said about it was the same in Rome, he clearly wasn't there.

"I guess he wasn't there or he must have been listening to something else because it was just never the case that it was anything like that. It's always been playful and just banter, really."

It might be a little surprising to see Scottie Scheffler struggling to find his A game - or B/C game for that matter - but is anyone really that shocked by what we've seen so far from Tommy Fleetwood at the Ryder Cup?

Let's get one thing straight: the 34-year-old Englishman is the best player in the world right now - he proved that when he won the FedEx Cup at the end of August, and he's carried his blistering form into Bethpage.

Scottie Scheffler has enjoyed another ridiculously good season. His win at Royal Portrush in July already seems like a distant memory, for two more victories have been added to his growing count since then. Win number 19 came in his last start before the Ryder Cup. We ran out of superlatives for the official World No.1 long ago.

However, it's entirely possible that he's peaked for the season. Every time he's settled over a wedge shot so far this week, we've expected hime to stiff it; every time he's lined up a makable putt, we've expected the ball to disappear - and it's just not happened for him. So far.

Let's cut him some slack. Scheffler has won 30 per cent of the tournaments he's teed it up in this year; he's won two more Major Championships; his worst finish is tied 25th. His numbers are ludicrous.

But he's also human, as this week has proved after three consecutive losses to start his Ryder Cup.

Meanwhile, the man from Southport - a player way too good to go 164 events before winning his first PGA Tout event - can do no wrong. They say the Ryder Cup is all about momentum, and no one has more of that right now than Fleetwood.

Fleetwood finished tied third at the FedEx St Jude Championship; tied fourth at the BMW Championship; and first at the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup.

He really had been banging at the door. Only the pressure he was under to finally get over the line was holding him back.

Now he can claim to have won one of the biggest trophies in the game. When you shoot 63, 63, 68, 68 to beat the top 30 in the standings, you can claim to be the best.

Scheffler might have something to say about that, of course, but we can all see who's playing the best golf in the world right now.

In day two of the foursomes, Rory McIlroy and Fleetwood maintained their perfect Ryder Cup record together. Fleetwood was being his usual modest self when he said that he "was the lucky one that gets to play with Rory".

If you're on that European side and you want to win a point, Tommy is your man right now.

Fleetwood is 3-0 so far and tops the Data Golf Strokes Gained metrics for the first three sessions with +5.26, ahead of Jon Rahm with +4.40.

"I think when you've got a partner like Tommy you can play with so much freedom and so much trust in your game because you know you have someone that's going to back you up," Rory McIlroy said on Friday.

"That's the way I felt the two times we played in Rome and then today."

Sometimes it's not about the statistics. If we go down that route, Scheffler wins just about every head-to-head.

I'm no expert when it comes to the Official World Golf Ranking (who is?), but the four-time Major winner won't be knocked off his perch any time soon - he's racked up so much credit.

However, on current form, he's been surpassed at Bethpage, temporarily perhaps, but he's not performed like a World No.1 so far this week. Nowhere near it.

Having finally got that monkey off his back, Fleetwood is playing with even greater freedom and is now well on his way to securing his status as a European Ryder Cup great - as the remarkable statistic below shows:

He probably won't want the season to end, to wait another six months for the next Major Championship.

Luke Donald's star men have come up with the goods so far this week at Bethpage, and it's easy to see who those star men are. Jon Rahm, McIlroy and Fleetwood. The Englishman might just be the best of the lot right now.

For years, both I and the rest of the golfing world have watched Tommy Fleetwood with a mix of awe and a quiet sense of frustration. His stunningly orthodox swing with its trademark sawn-off follow-through and consistent ball-striking has made him one of the game's elite players, yet a victory on the PGA Tour had, until recently, remained elusive. He'd come agonizingly close, with numerous top-5 finishes and runner-up spots, earning him the reputation as one of the best players without a win on the biggest stage.

Then came the FedEx Cup playoffs. Fleetwood went on an incredible run, finishing T3 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, T4 at the following event, the BMW Championship, before finally getting over the line to secure his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Tour Championship. The timing of this career-defining performance is a compelling story in itself, but a new theory is emerging (mainly in my brain!), one that points to an unlikely source of inspiration: a left-handed YouTube challenge.

Almost exactly a month before his playoff heroics began, Fleetwood released a video on his new YouTube channel with the goal of trying to break 100 while playing golf left-handed. The video, titled "I Have An Announcement," was an engaging and humorous look at the struggles of learning the game from scratch, and has captured the attention of around 430k viewers at the time of writing.

Subsequently, a follow-up YouTube video has emerged of Fleetwood taking a full left-handed lesson from one of the coaches at his Tommy Fleetwood Academy in Dubai, utilising video playback and even a Trackman 4 launch monitor to track club and ball data.

While it seemed like a bit of lighthearted fun for a player trying to establish and promote a new YouTube channel, Fleetwood has clearly put in a significant amount of left-handed repetitions recently, and I am starting to wonder if it may have been a key factor in his dramatic uptick in form. Allow me to explain…

As a PGA Professional who has spent a significant amount of time as part of national training squads over the years, receiving advice from various top-level physiotherapists and personal trainers, I know that swinging the opposite way is often a prescribed drill to help restore balance and equilibrium to a golfer's body.

The golf swing is an incredibly unbalanced physical undertaking, and years of repeating that motion can lead to fairly severe muscular imbalances and even a heightened risk of injury. This was starkly evident to me during a recent round I played with two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson.

Following Watson down the 2nd hole, I could not believe how dramatically his left shoulder sits lower than his right, even when at rest, just strolling between shots; a physical imbalance created through many years of golf.

Swinging left-handed (for a right-handed player) helps to strengthen and stretch the dormant muscles on the opposite side of the body, promoting a more balanced physique. While this is primarily an injury prevention idea, I can't help but wonder whether it helped Fleetwood in more ways than that.

In my experience, the performance benefits of practicing the opposite way around can be significant and varied. By forcing the brain to engage with the golf swing in a completely new way, a golfer can actually develop a deeper feel for and understanding of the mechanics of their normal swing.

While Fleetwood’s right-handed swing is notoriously pure, even the best techniques can develop subtle compensations or flaws over time. Swinging left-handed forces your brain to re-focus on the fundamental movements such as the sequencing of the body, the rotation of the hips and shoulders, and the correct path of the club.

This type of practice can also promote better synchronization of the body and arms, as a golfer can’t simply rely on years of muscle memory to get them through the motion. For a player like Fleetwood, who has diligently stuck to the same framework and drills for years, maybe this fresh perspective played a part in unlocking a new level of performance.

Ultimately, this is pure speculation. Perhaps Fleetwood’s incredible playoff performance was simply a matter of a phenomenal golfer finding his form at the perfect time. But the intriguing coincidence of his left-handed YouTube video and his subsequent run of career-defining golf is hard to ignore for me.

It's a testament to the fact that even at the highest level, a new challenge and a different approach—even a completely "backwards" one—can lead to unexpected and extraordinary results.

It was a long time coming, but at the 164th time of asking, Tommy Fleetwood finally has his maiden PGA Tour title after beating Patrick Cantlay and Russell Henley by three at the Tour Championship.

Fleetwood’s long wait for a PGA Tour win was exacerbated in recent months with several desperately close calls.

Among them was relinquishing a three-shot lead in the final round of the Travelers Championship to Keegan Bradley.

More recently, he was well in contention in the opening two FedEx Cup Playoffs, before finishing T3 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and T4 at the BMW Championship.

Each time, the Englishman has shown dignity in defeat, which has only increased his status as one of the most popular golfers around, with fans willing him to finally get over the line.

Now that he has, the stars were soon out in force to congratulate the 34-year-old on his achievements.

Leading the praise was 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods, who wrote on X: “Your journey is a reminder that hard work, resilience, and heart do pay off. No one deserves it more. Congrats @TommyFleetwood1”

Woods wasn’t the only golfer to congratulate Fleetwood. Justin Rose completed his final round of the Tour Championship a couple of hours before his Ryder Cup teammate, but he wasn’t in any hurry to leave East Lake, instead cheering Fleetwood on as he headed down the 18^th.

Afterwards, he posted an image of himself supporting Fleetwood alongside the message: “This felt as good as winning myself! So happy for my man @TommyFleetwood1 for enduring the relentless pressure cooker his quality golf has put him in during these playoffs and there is no more deserving champ.”

While Fleetwood was completing his victory, Tyrrell Hatton was helping Legion XIII to glory in the LIV Golf Team Championship, and following that achievement, he wrote on X: “Congratulations Tommy, delighted for you!”

It wasn’t just stars from the world of golf who lined up to congratulate Fleetwood. NBA legend LeBron James wrote: “Congrats and @TommyFleetwood1!!! That first one feeling is something else!"

Another basketball star, Caitlin Clark wrote: “This has to be Fleetwood’s day,” before adding: “Awesome. Sports rock,” after he completed the victory.

Elsewhere, five-time Grand Slam-winning tennis star Carlos Alcaraz wrote simply: @TommyFleetwood1 CONGRATS!” while former England and Liverpool soccer player Robbie Fowler wrote: “Superb @TommyFleetwood1… absolutely deserved.”

On the subject of soccer, Fleetwood is a big fan of Fowler’s former club’s Merseyside rivals, Everton, and the official account congratulated him, too, writing on X: “Lifelong Evertonian. PGA Tour title winner. Congratulations @TommyFleetwood1”

Given the close calls Tommy Fleetwood has endured over his PGA Tour career, it would be hard to disagree that he is one of its most worthy winners. Given the huge amount of support that came his way following the win, it’s clear he’s one of the most popular, too.

Tommy Fleetwood began the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship with a precious one-shot lead.

That presented the prospect of glory or heartbreak in almost equal measure, but the popular Englishman knows better than most about the latter where the PGA Tour is concerned.

Fleetwood had placed third on five occasions and six as runner-up on the circuit before the event, but he had yet to get over the line with his maiden title.

He came close in June at the Travelers Championship, but a three-shot lead at the start of the final round was whittled away with the title eventually going to Keegan Bradley.

Now, just two months later, Fleetwood has that feeling of what might have been again after finishing T3 in the first of the FedEx Cup Playoffs at TPC Southwind.

Afterwards, he admitted his latest close call had left him disappointed, but that he was determined to stay positive, particularly with the BMW Championship to focus on.

He said: “I'm obviously going to be disappointed. I think I said last time, there's a lot of positives to take, as much as I don't really, I won't feel like that right now.

“I'm just going to look at what I feel like I could have done and how close it was. You know, we move on. There's another week that's next and I've just got to reflect on today and obviously keep pushing forward and try and put myself in that position again.”

The longer Fleetwood’s wait for a PGA Tour title goes on, the more it seems his many fans are willing him to break the curse, and he admitted he is grateful for their support.

He added: “Well, as long as they stay with me and stay on my side, then we can all look for the positives.

“Yeah, I'm lucky with the support that I get, and I have enjoyed - I haven't been in contention much this year.

And then Travelers obviously leading and I felt like it was a great atmosphere and I enjoyed playing in that atmosphere and then today again I get the crowd on my side and I love their support. I'm so appreciative of it. Kind of on this journey together here.

“You just have to keep - all these experiences and these close calls, like I say, there's no point in making or allowing them to have a negative effect on what happens next. What would be the point?"

Despite his disappointment, Fleetwood reiterated it had been a positive week overall.

He added: “It was a great week. I did a ton of good stuff, and as disappointed as I am, I have to try to find the strength to make it all a positive experience and hopefully next time go again, put myself in that position again and we just go again.”

While Fleetwood’s latest flirtation with a title, only to narrowly miss out, will be a blow, the bigger picture is that he heads to next week’s second Playoffs event in fine form as he continues his quest for a maiden FedEx Cup win.

One previous winner is Justin Rose, who took the title in 2018. Fleetwood had warm words for his playing partner, who went on to win the tournament in a playoff against JJ Spaun: "Yeah, he's great, isn't he? I love his dedication. I really do.

"I've always loved how he's gone about the game. I'm an admirer of his career. I just happen to be very close to him, so I'm lucky that I get to spend a lot of time with him."

World No.15, Tommy Fleetwood has the opportunity to end an unwanted PGA Tour record on Sunday by securing his first US title at the 162nd attempt.

The Englishman leads compatriot, Justin Rose by one stroke at the FedEx St Jude Championship and will tee off alongside his good friend and Ryder Cup teammate in the final group knowing the 45-year-old is just as desperate to win as he aims to lock down a spot in Luke Donald's Team Europe roster.

Making the situation more complicated for both is the fact that World No.1 and four-time Major winner, Scottie Scheffler is directly behind them despite not having his best game in operation this week.

In the past, Fleetwood has shrugged off criticism from those who have labelled him the $20 million loser (in reference to his total career earnings on the PGA Tour, which now stand at over $31 million).

He has also been pipped to the line on several occasions - arguably coming closest when Nick Taylor sunk a 72-foot eagle putt to win the RBC Canadian Open in a playoff in 2023.

In his career, the 34-year-old is three for six on converting 54-hole leads into wins. Fleetwood is 0 for two on the PGA Tour, per Justin Ray.

Nevertheless, one of Team Europe's leading lights at the upcoming Ryder Cup is optimistic about his chances at TPC Southwind. And even if it doesn't happen this week, Fleetwood feels he could easily rock up to the BMW Championship next week and put himself in position once more.

After a third-round 69 (-1) on Saturday, Fleetwood said: "I just think I would way rather be there and fail than not be there at all. So either way, like, it's a good thing.

"Yeah, it hurts when it doesn't happen for you and that sort of streak, if you like, and people talk about it more and more, that goes on. Obviously it's not my favorite time, like walking off the 18th at that point.

"But I practice so hard at my game, and I work so hard and I enjoy being out here for days like this, going into tomorrow. And all the times when you're 40th place going into Sunday, 30th, 20th, you might have a great day and you might feel good, but it's just not the same as being in contention.

"As I say, I just look forward to the opportunities and continue to give myself a chance in chasing my dreams, and whether they happen or not tomorrow or the next week or the week after, that's another story. But I'm looking forward to it nonetheless."

What makes Fleetwood's latest title tilt more impressive is that it arrives so soon after a painful defeat at the hands of Keegan Bradley in last month's Travelers Championship.

The seven-time pro winner was leading by one heading down the last at TPC River Highlands before a clumsy bogey on the 72nd hole unlocked the door for Team USA's Ryder Cup captain to barge through and snatch victory.

But, rather than going into hiding after such a shocking end, Fleetwood took his loss on the chest and came out immediately after the final round to explain his thoughts.

Several weeks on, the Englishman believes he learned plenty of valuable lessons to take into his final round at TPC Southwind.

Fleetwood said: "I played well last time. I came very close. I led the tournament for such a long time and it didn't happen.

"I said then, yeah, there's an element to me, sort of it's taken me a long time to win out here, and I still haven't done it. But the best possible scenario at that Travelers straight away was 'can I put myself in that position again sooner rather than later?'

"[Sunday] is just another opportunity for me to go out and try and have the best round of golf I can, enjoy being in that position. The more I put myself there, the more chance there is of it happening, and just go out and keep learning from every experience.

"But tomorrow might be my day, it might not, but being there is the most important thing, and I'll continue to try and do that."

Fleetwood's tee time is 12:40pm local time (6:40pm BST) at TPC Southwind alongside Rose, who is a shot back on 13-under-par.

At the halfway stage of the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship, Tommy Fleetwood had built a commanding three-shot lead following rounds of 63 and 64 at TPC Southwind.

Not for the first time this season, that left the prospect of a PGA Tour victory firmly in his sights.

It is unlikely he spent Friday evening getting too ahead of himself with 36 holes to play, though.

That’s because he had a similar advantage with just one round to play of June’s Travelers Championship before a nervy final round saw him relinquish a three-shot advantage to finish behind Keegan Bradley.

That was the sixth time he had placed runner-up at a PGA Tour event, but he has yet to claim victory despite this week’s tournament marking his 162^nd attempt.

That is a jarring statistic, but another further highlights just how unusual it is for a player of Fleetwood’s caliber to fail to win on the PGA Tour after coming close so often.

Ahead of the first of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Fleetwood had amassed PGA Tour prize money of $31,360,669.

Before the tournament, Fleetwood was one of 62 current or former PGA Tour players who had earned more than $30m on the circuit, but he was the only one yet to claim a win.

That unwanted record could go on Sunday evening, and if Fleetwood is seeking inspiration, he doesn't need to look any further than just a week ago when Cameron Young finally got his maiden PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship.

That understandably generated plenty of interest given how long the American had been trying to get over the line, having first played on the PGA Tour in 2021, and racking up seven runner-up finishes in 93 previous tournaments.

Even with one more runner-up to his name, though, it’s safe to say his record had nothing on Fleetwood’s, as shown by Young's PGA Tour earnings, which passed the $20m mark with the win.

All that could be put to one side for Fleetwood over the final two rounds of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Fans of the popular Englishman and many neutrals alike will be hoping that’s exactly what happens.

Ahead of the year's final men's Major in a couple of weeks, two golfing stars have been enjoying some time away from preparing for The Open by attending one of the most iconic British institutions in a different sport - Wimbledon.

The Championships, as they are also known, take place in south-west London every July and feature nearly all of the game's very best talent across two weeks on grass courts so pure that they initially rival the surfaces at Augusta National.

And something which has become almost as traditional as strawberries and cream or Brits talking about the weather, big names from across the world of celebrity have descended on SW19 to catch a glimpse of the action.

Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood have been among the first stars to arrive at Wimbledon in 2025, with the 2013 US Open champion and his wife, Kate pictured enjoying Tuesday's matches on Centre Court alongside the likes of Russell Crowe, Cliff Richard, Cate Blanchett and Rebel Wilson.

Rose saw 2024 women's champion, Barbora Krejcikova take down Alexandra Eala in three sets to eventually begin her title defence in a successful manner before gentleman's No.3 seed, Alexander Zverev was shocked across five sets by unseeded Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech.

The final match on Wimbledon's Centre Court on Tuesday featured avid golfer, Novak Djokovic and France's Alexandre Muller, with the Serbian coming through in four sets.

Less than 24 hours later, it was Fleetwood and his wife Clare's turn to be invited into the Royal Box. They were photographed near John Cena, Olivia Rodrigo, Dave Grohl, Thomas Tuchel, Tom Daley, Judd Apatow and Nick Jonas - among others.

On Wednesday, the 34-year-old - who recently narrowly missed out on landing his maiden PGA Tour title at the Travelers Championship - watched World No.1, Aryna Sabalenka see off Marie Bouzkova in straight sets before reigning gentleman's champion, Carlos Alcaraz faced off against unseeded British talent, Ollie Tarvet.

Prior to his first-round match a couple of days earlier, the Spaniard was filmed practicing his golf swing before walking out into one of the most famous tennis stadiums in the world.

Fleetwood and Rose have been regular visitors to Wimbledon in the past, with the likes of Luke Donald, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Aberg, Charley Hull and Tyrrell Hatton also visiting The Championships recently.

In the days after their visit to SW19 is over, Fleetwood and Rose will travel north to take their place among the big names joining defending champion, Robert MacIntyre at the Scottish Open.

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele are among the bumper field at The Renaissance Club for the co-sanctioned event as they prepare for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush the following week.

Fleetwood has a number of top-10s at the Scottish Open over the past few years while Rose is no slouch when it comes to links golf, either, having made it through Final Qualifying for The Open in 2024 and then run Schauffele extremely close at Royal Troon.

Tommy Fleetwood has made a putter change for the RBC Heritage. That's despite a reasonable week on the famously undulating greens of Augusta National during last week's Masters, where, on his way to finishing T21, he averaged 1.57 putts per green in regulation.

For context, that’s 12^th on the overall list, just four places lower than winner Rory McIlroy. However, for this week’s tournament, Fleetwood is using a new putter. Per TaylorMade’s official website, it came about after a putting session the day after The Masters.

According to TaylorMade, the Englishman tested a prototype zero-torque Spider and a Spider Tour Black, in a bid to correct a marginally left aim and closed face at impact.

Fleetwood liked what the putters gave him – namely, the ability to place his hands lower and allow the face to open naturally and arc back into his stroke.

The difference was the ZT’s small milling marks on the crown by the face, which help with alignment. Fleetwood, who is still looking for his maiden PGA Tour win, wanted a similar feature, but on a Spider-style putter. TaylorMade putter rep James Holley then used a ruler and a sharpie to add the same lines to Fleetwood’s Spider Tour.

The results were immediate. In the first round of the PGA Tour’s signature event, Fleetwood gained 0.711 strokes on the putting surfaces to leave him T10 after a four-under 67.

Fleetwood’s switch from a blade putter to a mallet putter follows a recent trend. For a long time, blade putters were the go-to flat stick for many of the world’s top PGA Tour pros, and there’s no denying some of the results since they made the change.

The most high-profile of recent times was arguably Scottie Scheffler, who ranked 162nd in Strokes Gained putting with a -0.301 average in the 2022/23 season while largely using his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 blade. Those struggles continued into the 2024 season, until the Genesis Invitational, when Rory McIlroy joined the CBS telecast at Riviera Country Club.

There, he suggested Scheffler might benefit from a switch to a mallet putter, saying: “For me, going to a mallet was a big change. I really persisted with the blade putter for a long time, but I just feel like your stroke has to be so perfect to start the ball on line, where the mallet just gives you a little bit more margin for error.”

Soon after, Scheffler made the switch and the rest is history, with the American going on to largely dominate for the rest of the year. As for McIlroy, he used a torched, mallet-style TaylorMade Spider Tour X putter at Augusta National. Despite a few wobbles, he largely put previous putting issues to one side to claim his maiden Green Jacket.

Presidents Day in the US marked arguably the biggest day in TGL’s short history, with a triple-header as part of a bumper four-match week.

The day’s action could barely have got off to a more dramatic start as two teams with a 100% record, Atlanta Drive GC and Los Angeles Golf Club, played each other in the opening match - and it all came to a head in the second overtime in TGL’s history, with the highlight being a hole out from Los Angeles player Tommy Fleetwood.

The Englishman was heavily involved from the start of the match. At one point, his team, which also had Justin Rose and Sahith Theegala in the line-up, appeared to be cruising to its third straight TGL victory, taking a commanding 5-2 lead over Atlanta Drive's line-up of Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay.

Despite having a mountain to climb, Atlanta Drive fought back brilliantly to reduce the deficit to one, and the team looked like making that 5-5 on the penultimate hole, when Cantlay left himself two feet for a birdie at the par-3 14th.

However, his singles opponent was an inspired Fleetwood, who served notice of what was to come during overtime with his own birdie from 17 feet to keep his team in the lead.

There was even more drama at the 15^th, with Thomas needing to chip in for birdie to take the match to overtime. After having the flag removed, he rose to the occasion, the match was tied at 5-5 and TGL had its second overtime after Tiger Woods’ Jupiter Links GC beat Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf in the same manner in week four.

Overtime features a best-of-three, closest-to-the-pin competition, with each player taking a shot against an opponent, and Atlanta Drive took an early lead when Horschel got a couple of feet closer than Rose.

Thomas then piled further pressure on Los Angeles when he got to within eight feet. Step forward Fleetwood, who judged his effort brilliantly, landing the ball perfectly on the green and watching it disappear into the hole to level things up.

While that was undoubtedly one of the highlights of TGL's first season so far, the celebrations proved premature. It all came down to Theegala and Cantlay, with the Atlanta Drive GC player bringing all of his Ryder Cup experience to bear by landing his effort closer than his opponent to deny Fleetwood’s team in the most dramatic of circumstances.

However, while it was a case of so near yet so far for Fleetwood and his teammates, his hole out alone ensured a packed day of TGL action began with a bang.

Tommy Fleetwood has used the same Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 almost exclusively for as long as any golf fan will remember. However, ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship at Yas Links, the first event of two that make up the DP World Tour Play-Offs, Fleetwood has been seen with a prototype TaylorMade Truss Soto putter in his bag.

This new putter, according to a video published on Instagram by SMS on Tour, looks set to feature the same flow neck style the Englishman has used for a while blending into the triangle shape used in Truss putters to provide stability and forgiveness. Despite the Truss triangle being extremely evident when looking at the face or rear of the putter, from address this technology is neatly hidden and the flow neck hosel allows for around half a shaft offset - the usual amount on this style of neck.

This new putter boasts a fairly shiny chrome finish with a contrasting black face, which looks to feature TaylorMade’s Pure Roll Insert seen on the TaylorMade Spider putter - widely regarded as one of the best putters in the game. Where a lot of blade putter players typically opt for a longer sightline for alignment on the flange, Fleetwood has once again stuck with a shorter sightline on the top edge of this new putter.

While this may be the first time we have seen this putter in public, it’s clear that Fleetwood has put in some serious practice time with this putter given the wear mark on the centre of the face. After all, this is a large tournament with a big purse and a good chunk of Ryder Cup points up for grabs.

Fleetwood spoke to the DP World Tour media earlier this week praising the TaylorMade Tour team and how he’s managed to squeeze some good practice sessions in what is a busy schedule. “I love testing like my equipment and testing things that are new and different, but it's so difficult with the way the schedule is. The tournaments are packed in so close to each other, and there's never not a big event or not an important event it seems.

"To have that time at home to work on something that I've put a lot of effort into and something I'm really interested in; and like I said, TaylorMade have done an amazing job with it, and it's felt good.

"Looking forward to going out there tomorrow and getting it in competition because that's the only thing I haven't done yet, so that's exciting.”

With details on whether this putter is likely to make it retail and the exact technology used still under wraps, it will be interesting to see how Fleetwood gets on with his new found hope on the greens but if he sees success, it’s likely TaylorMade will see some serious demand from other tour players heading into a busy start to the new season shortly after the Tour Championship concludes.

Tommy Fleetwood has managed to become one of the best drivers on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, despite not being among the longest hitters out there.

The PGA Tour average for driving distance in 2024 was 301 yards, but Fleetwood was coming in just under that at 300.4 - ranking him 98th among his peers in that category.

Where the Ryder Cup star manages to stand out, however, is in terms of his driving accuracy. Fleetwood was ninth among all PGA Tour players in 2024 thanks to landing his tee shot on the short grass 69.22% of attempts.

Nevertheless, the distance he can blast his tee shot should not be underestimated as data released by TaylorMade showed his stock yardage with driver in hand is 300 yards - more than long enough to stay in contention and around 75 yards further than the average male amateur can manage.

As the Everton FC fan moves down through his bag, he loses around 20 yards with each wood, going from 280 with 3-wood to 260 with 5-wood and 240 with a 7-wood.

Fleetwood's stock yardage with a 3-iron is 230 yards, and it is a negligible drop with a 4-iron at 225. As we mentioned above, that is the same distance as the average male amateur can strike a golf ball with their driver.

Five and 6-iron sees a 15-yard difference at 215 and 200 yards, respectively, while seven, eight, and 9-iron are separated by 13 yards each at 186 to 160 yards.

Into the wedges, and Fleetwood's stock yardages with a full swing are 145 yards (pitching wedge), 125 yards (gap wedge), and 100 yards even (lob wedge).

Below is a complete list of how far Tommy Fleetwood hits every club in the bag.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD STOCK YARDAGES

Tommy Fleetwood has a relaxed attitude to being on the bubble for the Tour Championship - saying “it beats the heck out of sweating on actually keeping your card, doesn’t it?”

Fleetwood is 31st in the FedEx Cup rankings, and is determined to climb into the top thirty and qualify for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.

But he says he will not let that target become an obsession as he tees it up in this week’s BMW Championship in Colorado.

He commented: “Look, it’s always a big achievement to make it to Atlanta given how cut-throat the qualifying process is. A lot of great players miss out every year.

“And being on the bubble obviously brings more attention, as well as the knowledge that you’re so close - yet so far away.

“It’s naturally at the back of my mind, but I’ll only let it become the main focus if I find myself without a chance of actually winning the tournament come Sunday.

“If that is the case I’m sure I’ll be made aware of all the various permutations, and spend a lot the day staring up at leaderboards to see how things are chopping and changing.

“But if I’m honest, I’m actually disappointed to actually find myself in this position.

“I just don’t feel 31st in the FedEx is a fair reflection of the golf I’ve played for most of this year. I feel like I’ve performed really well on a lot of occasions, without getting the most out of it.

“I’ve had a lot of finishes between 15th and 25th - which is pretty good, but well short of what I’m looking for, and what I expect of myself.

“Last week at the St Jude Championship was a great example. I led the field in strokes gained tee to green, but was stone last of the seventy-man field in putting.

“I made the fatal mistake of trying to force things on the greens, probably because I was playing so well that I felt I should be shooting much lower scores.

“I actually putted OK in the first round, but wasn’t quite on it on day two. I missed a short one on 18, and I think that played on my mind a bit over the weekend. I hit a few good putts that didn’t go in, then a few not-so-good ones that didn’t drop either, and the bad ones never go in.

“Yet I’ve putted really nicely in the past at that course. I just need one week when I put it all together - and hopefully this week will be a week, and the ‘bubble factor’ won’t be an issue on  Sunday.

Fleetwood was encouraged by the way he performed in the pro-am at Castle Pines near Denver, nicknamed the ‘Mile High Course’ because it was laid out at an altitude  of around 6,000 feet.

It measures 8,150 yards, easily the longest course in PGA Tour history, but Fleetwood says thankfully, it plays a lot shorter.

He added: “At this altitude the ball flies about ten per cent further than at sea level, which means it equates to about 7,300 yards, which is around the usual yardstick for the PGAS Tour.

“The big adjustment is the elevation changes and the visuals, and it’s easy to airmail a green, or to overcompensate and come up short.

“But it’s the same for everyone, and I think it’s been set up with some great risk and reward elements to it. It’s a beautiful lay-out and with the Rocky Mountains as a back drop I think it will look fabulous on TV.”

How does Tommy Fleetwood feel about golf? He loves it, and it is his "absolute favourite thing to do."

That is hardly surprising given his talent and the run of consistency he is on. The Englishman has been chaining together impressive results all season to back up his Dubai Invitational victory over Rory McIlroy and co. on the DP World Tour back in January.

Having only missed one cut all year, there have been 10 top-25 results from 17 starts on both circuits, including a career-best T3 at The Masters back in April. That Augusta finish means the man from Southport, England has now achieved top-fives in all four Majors, too.

Yet, for a player who is so good, questions have long been sent his way regarding the lack of a PGA Tour title - a glaring omission on the resume of a golfer who has played no small part in two Ryder Cup victories.

And despite the quality of his game and the impressive sequence of finishes, Fleetwood knows all that really matters are wins. All in all, the highly-popular 33-year-old has only tasted success once since his second Nedbank Golf Challenge win in November 2022.

So how does he feel about that? And how does he deal with it? Speaking ahead of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon, Fleetwood candidly explained.

He said: "I try not to dwell on it too much. I get frustrated like anybody else. I get down on myself like anybody else. I don't win anywhere near as much as I would like, and I'm probably not in a position in the game where I want to be, even though I'm doing perfectly well. It's not where I believe I can be, and the results don't always show that.

"But like I said, I try not to dwell on it. I try to focus on positives and what I need to do to actually get to where I want to be or contend in tournaments and win tournaments.

"I try to focus on that every day, but yeah, the game's annoying. Even when you play well, you come off frustrated because you might have missed a putt or you might have finished a shot or two behind where you thought you could. You always start a new week fresh, and I try to focus on that as much as possible really."

Fleetwood is hardly alone regarding the perceived theory that he has somewhat underachieved so far. Cameron Young, for example, is just one of many other world-class golfers who is long overdue a first PGA Tour victory.

But the man who turned professional in 2010 and only really began playing on the PGA Tour regularly in 2018 has willingly admitted he is yet to prove just how good he really is - outlining plans to win several more tournaments while maintaining his childlike joy for the game.

Fleetwood said: "I still love golf. I think golf is my absolute favourite thing to do, and I still don't believe that I've reached my potential at all in what I can do. I think I'm still very driven by that.

"I still wake up every day and want to be the best player I can be, and I still want to find things that will make me better and what I can improve on. There's still so many tournaments that I enjoy playing, tournaments that I want to win.

"I'm sure one day I might wake up and might not have the same enthusiasm for it, but it's never left me yet, and it continues. I'll wake up tomorrow excited to play The Open.

"Whether I play good or bad, I might be disappointed, but I'll probably want to go and practice afterwards and see if I can get better. Yeah, like I say, it's still my favourite thing to do. I love the game."

Fleetwood begins his quest to become Champion Golfer of the Year alongside Jon Rahm and Scottish Open winner Robert MacIntyre at 9:36am on Thursday and 2:37pm on Friday.

A message from the editor, Neil Tappin:

My first Open Championship as a reporter for Golf Monthly was back in 2007 at Carnoustie. I walked the final round with Sergio Garcia and was just to the left of the final green as his putt to win kissed the lip and stayed above ground. 

When top-level golf is exciting and the key moment plays out to a deafening silence, there’s nothing quite like it. Sadly, last year’s Open was at the other end of the excitement spectrum. Brian Harman won by a whopping six shots in the torrential rain and the destination of the Claret Jug hardly looked in doubt throughout that final day. It was hugely impressive but, for the neutral at least, it was disappointingly anti-climactic. 

If, like me, this is your abiding memory of the 2023 Open, then I urge you to read David Facey’s superb interview with Harman in this issue. The American speaks with great candour and humour about becoming a first-time Major winner aged 36 and being dubbed ‘The Butcher of Hoylake’ in the aftermath of last year’s victory. That Harman is an interesting character, well worth engaging with, comes through loud and clear. 

Our interview with Harman is part of a 22-page Open preview section which also includes exclusives with Tommy Fleetwood and Henrik Stenson, plus Monty's guide to Royal Troon. And, as you can see below, there's plenty more to get your teeth into this month...

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Tommy Fleetwood Exclusive

David Facey sits down with Tommy Fleetwood to discuss this year’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, his Major record, the Ryder Cup and more…

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Our comprehensive instruction section offers you tips on every facet of the game from our Top 50 Coaches, including a guide to the five essential tee shots all golfers need. This month we also have a bonus 8-page wedge masterclass from PGA Tour coach James Ridyard.

Brian Harman Exclusive  

Brian Harman produced some brilliant golf at Royal Liverpool last year to surge clear of the field and land his first Major title. Here, he talks about that week at Hoylake, the response to his victory, appreciating his success and more… 

Monty's Guide To Royal Troon

Eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner and Royal Troon member Colin Montgomerie gives his take on how the pros will try to navigate the famous old links this summer.

Rules Of Golf

Our regular rules section is there to make sure you don't get caught out on the course this season.

The Best New Gear

We feature 23 pages of the best new equipment to hit the market this month, including the Cobra Limit3d iron, the Scotty Cameron Phantom 9 putter and much more.

The Best Courses You Can Play

Our team of course experts travel the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland to bring you a mix of well-known clubs and hidden gems to add to your wish list.

Henrik Stenson Exclusive

Henrik Stenson reflects on his epic shootout with Phil Mickelson in 2016, a duel which will always be remembered as one of the greatest in Open history.

As Tommy Fleetwood's long-standing caddie Ian Finnis continues to recover at home from open-heart surgery last month, the World No.11 has borrowed former Ryder Cup teammate, Ian Poulter's current looper for this week's PGA Championship at Valhalla.

Finnis was admitted into hospital a few weeks before The Masters, leaving Fleetwood to secure his best-ever finish (T3) around Augusta - and a life-changing payday for Gray Moore, a former caddie master at the golfing nirvana - without his regular sidekick.

As the Englishman broke his top-10 duck at Augusta, though, his 44-year-old caddie was undergoing successful open-heart surgery at the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital after medics discovered life-threatening issues.

Somewhat surprisingly, Fleetwood's caddie of seven years revealed he was asked to do limited exercise the day after being in intensive care. But Finnis admitted it did do him some good and he is aiming to be back alongside his mate Fleetwood at the Scottish Open in July.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Finnis said: “They had me attempting to walk the day after in intensive care. It’s a balance, but you need to use your heart to get it better. I’m aiming to get back in July for the Scottish Open and then the Open the week after.”

Fleetwood insists he has told his buddy not to rush back and make sure he is absolutely fit before returning to the strenuous role of caddying.

He said: “I’ve spoken to him a lot through the whole thing, obviously, and the process went from not knowing what’s wrong to finding out and not believing this is actually happening, to worrying about the operation.

“But it’s great that the operation was a success and that he’s on the mend. His aim is Scotland, but I’ve told him the thing is not to rush. You get wrapped up in what you’re doing out here, but this has told us that health is everything.”

For now, Fleetwood is making do with temporary caddies - his latest being David Clark - Poulter's assistant. Also an Englishman, Clark has worked for the likes of Justin Rose, Vijay Singh, Adam Scott, and Michelle Wie West during a 20-plus-year career.

Discussing what he brings to the table as a caddie in a 2021 PGA Tour interview alongside Rose, Clark said: “That is one thing I think I help players with – loosening them up and being happy and trying to just take them away from what they’re trying to do out there.”

Clark also helped out Cameron Champ at the Wells Fargo Championship last week and could well return to Fleetwood's side for the third men's Major of the year at Pinehurst No. 2 course.

“It’s great to have him, as he is very experienced,” Fleetwood said of Clark. “I spoke to Poults and he was great about it. Clarky worked last week and is here this week, and hopefully will be at the US Open next month. It doesn’t conflict with Poults’ schedule so all good.”

Fleetwood is set to tee off alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Akshay Bhatia at 8:59am in round one of the PGA Championship on Thursday.

Almost everyone with an advanced knowledge of men's pro golf - and especially the man himself - knows Tommy Fleetwood is yet to win either a Major or a regular PGA Tour title on American soil. But he is getting closer.

In his past six events on the other side of the pond to which he was born, the Englishman has secured a T10, a T7, and a T3 result - the latter of which was at The Masters as he finally cracked the first page of the leaderboard at the eighth attempt.

Going back further, Fleetwood has five runner-up finishes to his name on the PGA Tour, with the most painful possibly arriving via a playoff defeat to home favorite Nick Taylor at the 2023 Canadian Open.

Still, it's not like he hasn't won at all. Far from it. The 33-year-old has eight international wins under his belt and a couple of starring roles in two Ryder Cup victories.

And it could have been even better for Fleetwood in 2019 when he battled Team Europe buddy Shane Lowry for the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush. But while everyone was literally and figuratively blown backwards during disgusting weather conditions in the final round, it was the Irishman who battled on to lift his first Major by six shots.

“It almost seemed to be pre-ordained that Shane would win that week, especially after Rory (McIlroy) missed the cut," Fleetwood said. "I played great golf that week, but I ran into a wrecking ball in Shane.

“And for as much as I was gutted at not winning, I had to admit that he was a worthy winner, and a really fitting one considering it was the first time the Open had gone back to Ireland in almost 70 years."

The Southport-born player carded a final round three-over as Lowry managed to limit the damage to just one-over and finish on 15-under. American Tony Finau finished third on seven-under thanks to an impressive even-par Sunday.

Fleetwood admitted that the sting of defeat was an extremely painful one to take for a while after, but time proved to be a great healer for him in understanding that there were plenty of positives to take moving forward.

He said: “But I didn’t feel that way at the time. I couldn’t bear to watch the film of [Royal] Portrush for ages after it finished. It was only when the Covid lockdown came along that I sat down and watched the footage with the kids.

“There were so many positives to take that I told myself I should never be so hard on myself again. I gave it my best shot, and it just wasn’t meant to be."

No one can accuse Fleetwood of anything but trying his best in every event he tees it up in, and especially after the Englishman provided what was arguably the fightback of the week at the 2024 Masters.

In some of the most blustery conditions Augusta has seen in its many years hosting The Masters, Fleetwood gritted his teeth and toiled away for a one-under score through three rounds.

And it was on Sunday that the 33-year-old really proved his maturity and experience of all seven previous visits to Augusta - knitting together a wonderfully neat three-under-par 69 to shoot up into a tie for third.

Yet, for some, it wasn't enough to save Fleetwood from the stick many critics choose to beat him with.

He said: “It’s strange, because I was also proud of myself after I finished third at The Masters this year. But I got criticised because some people felt I hadn’t thrown the kitchen sink at it during the final round.

“On a course playing incredibly difficult, I shot a bogey-free 69, one of the best rounds of the day. And I get stick for it! What is that all about?

“There were a couple of birdie putts I would have loved to have taken a run at, but I’ve done that in the past and just look at my final round scores at Augusta in previous years.

“Before this, I’d made the cut six years in a row - and finished with four 74s, a 76, and a 73. And on every one of those occasions I reckon I must have given up at least two shots by trying to be too aggressive on those super-slick greens.

“And having become the first player to shoot 63 in the final round of the US Open twice, I don’t think you can say I’m not willing to attack a Major championship course if I think it’s on.

“So don’t ask me to apologise for finally learning to play smart on a Sunday at the Masters. I reckon I got every ounce out of my round this year, and a share of third represents massive progress after failing to crack the top ten in the past.”

Fleetwood's career is hardly a disappointment, with the aforementioned highlights on his C.V., but even he knows the keyboard warriors will not be pacified until either a Major or multiple PGA Tour wins are secured.

Last year, someone on social media called Fleetwood the '$20 million loser' after he became the first player in PGA Tour history to surpass the financial earnings mark without winning a contributing event.

However, in Fleetwood's eyes, there is no added pressure to break that US duck. He simply wants to keep grinding away and believes his time will come.

He said: “Every pro knows you are going to lose far more often than you win, even if your name is Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus. So you had better get used to it.

“But I don’t buy into this notion that second is the first loser. To me, it means you’re the guy who had the winner looking over his shoulder. You’d rather swap places, but keep putting yourself in the mix, and that is bound to happen for you eventually.

“And give me second over third any day. The same thing applies whatever your finishing position. I always bust a gut to finish as high as I can even when things aren’t going great.

“And it’s not about the money, although after I was told about the ‘twenty million dollar loser’ rubbish at Augusta, I was tempted to say they’re already out of date. Third at the Masters was worth another $1million to me, although I never even knew that until the money reached my account.”

There were many highlights in Team Europe’s 16.5 to 11.5 win over Team USA at the 2023 Ryder Cup, one of which was a pairing that had never been tried before.

The team put a marker down early at Marco Simone as it became the first European side in history to open up a 4-0 lead after the Friday morning foursomes.

One of those winning matches saw Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, and a new favorite pairing was born, with the duo quickly being dubbed “Fleetwood Mac” by fans and the media.

The pair were at it again a day later in the Saturday morning foursomes, closing out another 2&1 win, this time against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. But how had it come together? According to Fleetwood in an exclusive interview with Golf Monthly, contrary to popular opinion, it hadn’t been a last-minute decision.

He said: “I think the whole ‘Fleetwood Mac’ thing took a few people by surprise, and there was a perception that it was a bit of a last-minute combination. But that wasn’t the case at all. It was planned for quite a while, and Rory and I knew about it at least three months before we landed in Rome.”

So, what are the crucial elements of a successful foursomes partnership? Fleetwood admitted that while complementary personalities helped, there is another, more practical factor given that the format sees each teammate play the same ball.

He explained: “Our personalities and games match up pretty well - although it would be hard for anyone not to match up with Rory and profit from it - and we use a very similar TaylorMade golf ball. So there were a lot of things going for us. We have been close to playing together before, particularly in foursomes, but it just didn’t work out.”

It wasn’t the first time Fleetwood had enjoyed a successful Ryder Cup partnership that gave rise to memorable nickname.

At the 2018 match in Paris, Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari defeated Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed 3&1 in the Friday morning fourball before beating Thomas and Spieth 5&4 in the foursomes that afternoon.

The pair then got the better of Woods and Reed again in the Saturday morning fourball, before Woods came a cropper for a third time to Molinari and Fleetwood in that afternoon’s foursomes, this time alongside Bryson DeChambeau.

The similarities between 2018 and 2023 are not lost on Fleetwood either. He said: “Obviously in Paris we had the whole Moliwood thing with Francesco Molinari, and they didn’t want to split up me and Frankie - and quite rightly as it turned out since we won four out of four.

“I have always been lucky enough to have great partners, and I definitely hope the pairing with Rory is not a one-off. And I know he feels the same way. We were both very happy with how well it went.”

So, could “Fleetwood Mac” eventually stand alongside legendary Ryder Cup pairings like Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, and Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam? It’s too early to say, although Fleetwood thinks there’s every chance the band will get back together at Bethpage Black next year.

“We’re going to have to continue playing great golf just to make the team again next year,” he began. “But if we’re both there at Bethpage, I’m pretty sure you’ll see us teaming up again.”

17-year-old amateur, Oscar Craig, battled some late-round nerves to make the cut on his Challenge Tour debut alongside his caddie for the week, World No. 11 Tommy Fleetwood.

Craig, who is the stepson of Fleetwood, opened with an impressive bogey-free 69 and was able to withstand a shaky back nine to become the only amateur into the weekend's action at the UAE Challenge.

A second-round one-over-par 73 featured two birdies and four bogeys, with Craig ending the day in a tie for 42nd.

“(Emotions) were all over the place to be honest, I was pretty nervous,” said Craig after the round. “Coming down the last hole, realising I needed to make par to be safe, I was just like 'let's do it' and I ended up making birdie. I was so happy.

“I'm feeling really relieved, but really, really happy, it's a dream come true. At the start of the week, I wanted to make the cut, but I just wanted to make sure that I tried my best on every single golf shot that I hit.

“I enjoyed the experience as well. It's the first time I've played on the Challenge Tour and in any professional event.”

Having started his round positively with a birdie on the second hole, Craig made bogey on the fourth before capitalising on the par-5 ninth to make his second birdie of the round.

The teenager carded three bogeys on the back nine - at 11, 16 and 17 - but ended with a flourish, chipping superbly from the greenside rough to within tap-in range before knocking in for his par and an embrace with Fleetwood.

Posting on social media, the seven-time DP World Tour winner shared his pride at his stepson's achievements, with Craig admitting his experience had been of great assistance throughout the first two rounds.

“He's been an unreal caddie, to be fair," he added. "Just keeping my head straight, on the front nine today I was close to losing my head. We agreed on every single golf shot and talked about it to make sure it was the right one to hit so very happy.”

Young amateur golfers often lean on their family when making their way into tournament golf, but for Oscar Craig he's got a bit of an advantage as he could use his stepdad Tommy Fleetwood on his bag in Abu Dhabi.

The 17-year-old is teeing it up in the UAE Challenge in his Challenge Tour debut at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and he's got none other than the World No.11 to help him out.

And the move paid off initially with Craig shooting an excellent first-round 69, three under par, to sit in T13 and just four shots off the lead.

Dubai resident Fleetwood has been keeping a close eye on his teenage stepson's blossoming career, and the next step was to pull on the caddie's bib for Craig's Challenge Tour adventure.

Craig qualified for the UAE Challenge after winning the Ras Al Khaimah Men’s Open, taking one of the 30 spots for local professionals and amateurs available for the Emirates Golf Federation.

Craig, who has been out on the PGA Tour with Fleetwood recently, plays off a healthy +4.5 handicap and thinks having his famous stepdad on his bag will only help him. 

“I feel good to be fair, but I’m dead nervous,” said Craig ahead of his first round. “It’s like excitement nerves, but I’ve got Tommy on the bag this week, which kind of helps the nerves a bit.

“I’ve been travelling with him a little bit, going on Tour and stuff, so I’ve kind of learned what the vibe is. I’m just going to try and get on with it and play the golf I know I can.

“Obviously it helps experience-wise as he knows what he is doing.

“It also helps calm me down because he’s been through it all before. What he’s telling me I need to do to calm down, not even calm down, just manage my nerves in the right way, is really cool. That’s very beneficial."

Fleetwood himself was a Challenge Tour graduate before going on to win seven times on the DP World Tour, and Craig hopes to follow a similar path.

“I hope so, I do hope so!” Craig added.

“I’m working as hard as I can, so we’ll see where that takes me. It’s obviously a dream, even playing this week is such a dream.

“I couldn’t get to sleep Sunday night before tournament week, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to get going. I’m going to make the most of it and embrace it.”

Tommy Fleetwood secured his best-ever result at The Masters in 2024, carding four rounds of par or better and finishing T3 alongside Max Homa and Collin Morikawa in what was a Ryder-Cup-themed top of the leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler bested all before him to win a second Green Jacket on 11-under, four strokes ahead of Major championship debutant, Ludvig Aberg in solo second.

Although Fleetwood could not break his winning duck on US soil, he did match Scheffler's Sunday score (-4) and earn his stand-in caddie a very healthy pay check at the same time.

The Englishman's regular looper, Ian Finnis, was forced to stay on the east side of the Atlantic during Masters week after contracting a chest infection. As a result, the 33-year-old called on former Augusta National caddie master, Gray Moore to fulfil Finnis' duties.

With Moore at his side, Fleetwood produced some consistently excellent golf and worked his way up into a tie for third - consequently landing a very healthy $1,040,000 in prize money.

Caddies typically earn 10% of a player's prize money for a win and between five and eight per cent otherwise - depending on the finishing spot and the made agreement before the event begins.

Given Fleetwood finished so high up and working on the basis he shared eight per cent of his prize money with Moore, the caddie who also teamed up with Tom Watson in 2004 may well have taken home $83,200 for his week's work. Should Moore have agreed to five per cent, he would still have collected a shade over $50,000.

The man who secured the winning point for Team Europe at the most recent Ryder Cup was full of praise for his temporary caddie on Sunday, calling him "a wonderful human being."

Fleetwood said of Moore: "We had a great week. I've known Gray since I first came to Augusta and I asked him to caddie this week. Yeah, it was always going to be a fantastic weekend when we made it through to the weekend together.

"It's been absolutely amazing, and I've loved spending time with him on the golf course this week. [He's] just like a wonderful human being. I've loved every second out here with him.

"I always enjoy seeing him and spending time with him at Augusta every time the Masters comes around, but actually being out with him was a real treat. I just hope he's had as good a time as I have, with me as I have with him this week. It's been great."

Fleetwood was also not the only English player to go without his regular bagman this week after Tyrrell Hatton's caddie, Mick Donaghy suffered a bad fall days before the first Major of the year.

Hatton employed one of his friends to loop for him at Augusta, and the combination appeared to work quite well - with the LIV golfer claiming a T9 finish alongside Will Zalatoris and Cameron Young.

Higher lofted woods on tour have made a comeback over the past few years and Tommy Fleetwood is one of a number of players to carry one.

The Englishman, one of the game's best ball strikers, is employing a 9-wood to help him win his maiden Major title at The Masters this week, with his TaylorMade Qi10 fairway coming in at 24 degrees of loft.

Fleetwood, who also has a veteran Augusta caddie on the bag this week due to his regular looper Ian Finnis recovering from a chest infection, says he has the 9-wood in play to fit the gap between his 5-wood and 4-iron.

The 3-iron replacement will allow him to hit higher shots that are able to stop quicker on the slick, sloping Augusta National greens.

"You get a lot of courses where there's thick rough, firm greens and firm fairways and there's always a balance between having something that you can drive down the fairway but also something that you can hit into greens or out of the rough," he said via his equipment sponsor TaylorMade, who he signed a multi-year extension with at the start of 2024.

"I went higher up in loft in woods to find something that could do that. I don't like hitting hybrids and 7-wood numbers are too close to what my 5-wood produces so we found the 9-wood to fill that gap between my 5-wood at 250-yards and my 4-iron at 225-yards."

The World No.13 also had the 9-wood in play in January's Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished T14th after winning the Dubai Invitational the previous week.

He also has the Qi10 driver, BRNR Mini driver, a Qi10 5-wood, P7TW irons among his set up as well as a TP5x pix Season Opener - which features peaches to celebrate Georgia, the 'Peach State'.

Dustin Johnson, the 2020 Masters champion, also has TaylorMade Stealth 7-and-9-woods in the bag this week, too.

He has played eight times so far this year, making seven of eight cuts and recording two other top-10s along with his victory. He's making his eighth Masters start this week, with his best finish of T14 coming in 2022.

"Glad I played last week. I think I struggled with a couple of things in Florida in the during the Florida swing," he said.

"Had two weeks off, practiced well, and I think playing last week was a good idea for me, really. I grew a lot of confidence from that. I played pretty well in practice, doesn't always follow, but it's just time to go out and play now."

Tommy Fleetwood’s preparations for The Masters have been dealt a blow due to the absence of his long-time caddie Ian Finnis, who is recovering from a chest infection.

The Englishman has addressed that issue by enlisting the services of the former caddie master at Augusta National, Gray Moore, for his eighth successive appearance at the Major.

Despite that relatively long run of starts at Augusta National, Fleetwood’s Masters record is mediocre, with a T14 two years ago his best effort to date. However, in Moore he could barely have picked someone with more experience of the course - he began working at Augusta National in 1996 and is nicknamed “Mr Augusta.”

Fleetwood has known Moore for a number of years after previously using him as a caddie in Masters practice rounds earlier in his career.

"Yeah, he's not been well all year. At the moment he's at home trying to recover and get the right treatment," Fleetwood said of his usual looper Finnis.

"Hopefully he'll be back out sooner rather than later. Yeah, it's definitely different being without him. Like we've been together every tournament for the last eight years pretty much. 

"So, yeah, we just wish him all the best. The sooner he can get better, the better for all of us. Everybody has been asking about him, which has been great. I know he'll be desperate to come back out here as soon as possible.

"This week, my caddie is called Gray Moore, so he's an Augusta caddie. The first two or three years that I came here I always had Gray in practice and would always sit and speak to him. So I've known him well for the last few years and I just asked if he could do it this week."

Moore has plenty of experience with others who have taken on Augusta National, too, including one of the honorary starters at the year’s tournament, Tom Watson, who enlisted his services in 2004. Moore also worked with Andrea Lee at the 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur as she finished T26.

During last week’s Valero Texas Open, Fleetwood gave an update on Finnis’ condition, and expressed his hope he would still be fit for The Masters. 

Per PGATour.com, Fleetwood said: “He was sick before Christmas. He came out at the start of the year, and he’s basically had some sort of infection. It’s been prolonged. He’s definitely moving in the right direction. Hopefully he’ll be good enough to come out next week.”

Despite the event coming too soon for Finnis, Fleetwood will be hoping the temporary link-up with Moore stands him in good stead, particularly after he competes in the tournament on the back of at T7 at TPC San Antonio, where his temporary caddie was TaylorMade tour fitter Adrian Rietveld.

That was Fleetwood’s best result since victory in January’s Dubai Invitational, his seventh on the DP World Tour. Another high point of Fleetwood’s year so far came a month later when he finished T10 at one of the PGA Tour’s prestigious signature events, the Genesis Invitational.

With the help of Moore, Fleetwood will be hoping he can build on those results with the highlight of his career to date – his first Masters title.

Elsewhere, Tyrrell Hatton will also have a temporary caddie, with Hugo Dobson filling in after Mick Donaghy sustained a shoulder injury.

Tommy Fleetwood has explained why he decided to attend the LIV Golf Las Vegas event and described the differences he noticed between the breakaway circuit and the established tours.

The sight of the Englishman on the ground at February’s tournament at the Las Vegas Country Club sparked fresh speculation over his future, especially given his previous links to LIV.

Speaking to the Guardian, Fleetwood admitted he was curious to get a taste of the on-site experience but insisted the visit was entirely innocent and was more about catching up with old friends.

“I really didn’t think that much about it,” Fleetwood said. “I was over there, lots of us talk about LIV but never see it so I wanted to see what a tournament was like.

“There are also so many people there that we don’t see any more, who I would still class as friends. Players, people who work on the tour, my trainer works there. So I had a free morning, went for a few hours and that was it.”

LIV Golf, fronted by Greg Norman and backed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, notably landed the signatures of two of Fleetwood’s Ryder Cup teammates ahead of its 2024 season.

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton both opted to make the switch and team up together, while Fleetwood decided to remain on the PGA Tour.

“I obviously know what I am doing, where I am playing,” he added. “You can’t do much about what’s said elsewhere. It was the same as going to that event, I knew why I was there. I don’t find it distracting at all.”

As for what he took from his time on the ground at Las Vegas Country Club, where Dustin Johnson won the individual title and Smash GC topped the team standings, he noted some differences but ultimately walked away feeling like he had attended “another golf tournament.”

“They are obviously doing pretty well for what they are,” Fleetwood said. “The players seem to enjoy it, seem to enjoy playing on that tour. One of the first things I noticed was that everybody seems happy, chilled, relaxed.

“There are certain things I wasn’t used to. The music, I don’t know how I would feel about playing with that.

“Beyond that my biggest takeaway was that it was just another golf tournament. Everyone seemed very professional and working very hard. It’s basically just a bunch of people who you knew out here that are now there. So many things have just carried over.”

Fleetwood tees it up at the Valero Texas Open ahead of The Masters next week at Augusta National.

Tommy Fleetwood is one of the world's best players, and one of the best ball strikers, too - which he illustrated in a viral TaylorMade video earlier this week where he was seen demonstrating a plethora of different shots with his fairway wood.

The Englishman, however, won't be playing this weekend after a card-wrecking 10 on the par 5 6th hole at Bay Hill ensures he'll be one of the players to miss the Arnold Palmer Invitational cut.

Fleetwood's 10 started in good fashion, with a 318 yard drive but he required nine more shots after sending three balls left into the water.

By the time he reached for his fourth ball, the Ryder Cup star was playing his eighth shot and it ended up being a beauty. From 202 yards he struck it to within 25ft to set up a chance for nine, which he two-putted for a dreaded 10.

It dropped him well down the leaderboard after a poor start that included three bogeys in his first five holes. He turned in 45 (+9) after another dropped shot at the ninth.

His 10 is nowhere near the highest score recorded on the hole, after John Daly's infamous 18 on the par 5 back in 1998, where he hit six balls into the lake.

Fleetwood has had a brilliant opening to 2024, having started with a victory at the Dubai Invitational where he birdied the 72nd hole to pip Rory McIlroy. He was also T10th at the Genesis Invitational and T14th at the Dubai Desert Classic.

The World No.12's next start will be at TPC Sawgrass in the Players Championship, where he was T5th in 2019.

Watch: Tommy Fleetwood's ball striking prowess in TaylorMade video -

After Hideki Matsuyama claimed $4m for his win at the third of the PGA Tour’s signature events of 2024, the Genesis Invitational, it’s back to a regular event this week with the Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta.

As a result, many of the world’s best players have opted not to head south from LA, while the prize fund of $8.1m if significantly lower than the $20m available at the Riviera Country Club tournament.

Despite that, there is still an eye-catching first prize on offer, with the winner set to claim $1.458m – over half of the entire purse of $2.5m for the other big men’s tournament taking place this week, the Magical Kenya Open on the DP World Tour.

The purse is also $400,000 higher than the 2023 edition of the tournament, when Tony Finau held off the challenge of Jon Rahm to win $1.386m. This week’s runner-up will have the consolation of an $882,900 payday. There are also 500 FedEx Cup points for grabs.

Below is the full prize money payout for the 2024 Mexico Open at Vadanta Vallarta.

Mexico Open Prize Money Payout 2024

Who Are The Star Names In The Mexico Open?

Four of the world’s top 50 are competing at the tournament, including defending champion Tony Finau. Last year, the American beat Spaniard Jon Rahm to claim the trophy by three shots, and he will be confident of a similar outcome given he is the highest-ranked player in the field at World No.24.

Ten places beneath Finau in the rankings is Team Europe Ryder Cup player Nicolai Hojgaard, who is still looking for his maiden PGA Tour win. Will this be the occasion?

Emiliano Grillo, who won the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge, and Ryan Fox who was one of 10 DP World Tour players to secure PGA Tour cards for the 2024 season, also play.

Rahm, who won the title in 2022, is unavailable after signing LIV Golf, and that also applies to Mexico’s two best players, Abraham Ancer and Carlos Ortiz, but there is a place in the field for another Mexican, 2021 winner Alvaro Ortiz, whose three-shot win came in the tournament’s last as a PGA Tour Latinoamerica event.

Eight-time DP World Tour winner Thorbjorn Olesen, another member of Luke Donald’s Ryder Cup team, Robert MacIntyre, and Charley Hoffman, who finished runner up at the WM Phoenix Open, also play.

PGA Tour player, Tommy Fleetwood has been spotted on site at LIV Golf Las Vegas this week as he sharpens his game ahead of The Genesis Invitational.

The Englishman is coming off the back of a very good start to the season, which has included a win at the Dubai Invitational on the DP World Tour. It was at that tournament in which Fleetwood saw off Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy to land the top prize.

And following results of T14 and T31 in the Dubai Desert Classic and Pebble Beach Pro-Am, respectively, Fleetwood has chosen to spend his free period in the same city that Super Bowl LVIII is taking place in order to practice a little and catch up with some Ryder Cup and ex-PGA Tour friends.

Working with coach, Butch Harmon - who also looks after several other players, including Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler - Fleetwood spent time honing his skills with a couple of LIV golfers, one of which was the 4Aces captain.

In the days before the three-day event began, Fleetwood and Johnson were seen hitting balls together - while the American's teammate, Harold Varner III has also been working with Harmon this week.

Meanwhile, Majesticks GC's Instagram story showed the 33-year-old watching former Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter, Varner III, and Louis Oosthuizen on the party hole at Las Vegas Country Club.

Despite the harmonious relationship of Fleetwood and those particular LIV players, the Englishman is highly unlikely to join LIV Golf full-time after recently turning down the opportunity to make that exact switch in the same window as fellow Europeans, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk.

Speaking to The Scotsman recently, Fleetwood said: “I think it comes at that time of the year where there are always rumors flying around. It’s nothing, really. There’s nothing going on. I’ve been playing here for the last two years and I’m still playing here now. You know, I’m pretty boring news-wise, so that’s just what it is."

He continued: “I’ll speak for myself as a professional golfer and still someone who is still chasing my childhood dreams and still trying to be the best golfer I can be. Until I decide I’ve had enough or retire, I’ll always be doing what I think is best for my golf game and, at the moment, that’s what I am doing. Who knows if that changes in the future. But, for now, that’s where I feel I want to be.”

Fleetwood is due to be back in PGA Tour action at The Genesis Invitational - hosted by Tiger Woods at Riviera Country Club - next week.

The new season has only just begun but there are plenty of moves being made by club manufacturer TaylorMade after it announced Tommy Fleetwood has signed a new multi-year deal.

One of Europe's Ryder Cup heroes, Fleetwood grabbed the winning point in Rome and did so using TaylorMade equipment, which he'll continue to do for the next few years.

Coming hot on the heels of news that Scottie Scheffler has also signed a new contract with TaylorMade, it's been quite a couple of days for the manufacturer.

Fleetwood, a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, will keep his P·7TW irons in the bag and the BRNR Mini Driver which he is so fond of, and will go to war with the new TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver and Qi10 5-wood this year, while also using his Hi-Toe 3 wedge and TP5x pix™ golf ball.

“Deciding on your commercial partners plays a huge role in your career," said Fleetwood. "Being a member of Team TaylorMade is something I am proud of, so renewing my contract is a natural progression for my continued improvement. 

"Working with such a great team had a huge impact on the decision. Adrian (Rietveld) has become so important in my life, and along with Keith (Sbarbaro) and the rest of the team I know they do everything to support us on Tour. 

"I appreciate the faith that David (Abeles) has in me, and I look forward to working together far into the future.”

Since signing with TaylorMade in 2021, Fleetwood has 15 top-10 finishes including top fives at three Majors - The Open and PGA Championship in 2022 and last year's US Open as he continues to hunt down a maiden Major.

TaylorMade Golf President and CEO David Abeles was naturally delighted with re-signing Fleetwood.

“Tommy is one of the classiest golfers in the game," said Abeles. "From how he carries himself on the course to how he interacts with people off it, he truly epitomises the TaylorMade values of high-level performance and relatability to golfers from all walks of life. 

"We couldn’t be prouder to continue our relationship with Tommy, he’s an elite athlete and one of golf’s foremost ambassadors. We’re thrilled to have him on Team TaylorMade.”

Tommy Fleetwood is one of the most recognizable names in golf, with the Ryder Cupper appearing on the European side for a third time in 2023. 

It has been a good year for Fleetwood, who has posted many great finishes throughout the season, one of which came at the US Open, where he fired a seven-under round of 63 to move inside the top 5. Along with his incredible scoring, it was also an item of clothing that caught the eye of viewers during the final round at Los Angeles Country Club, with Fleetwood's hat gaining a lot of search volume. A question we saw a lot was 'how do we buy it?' because it wasn't actually available to purchase at the time of the event. This has now changed though as Nike has just put it on sale at $30.

You may wonder why a hat was gaining such popularity? Well, the model in question is the Nike Speckled Print Hat, which has an eye-catching paint splatter design of pink and black, as well as Nike Golf written in a flamboyant font.

It also has a classic six-panel design, with soft cotton and an adjustable strap making it a "one size fits all". It is not the first time that Nike have brought out limited edition products for big, major events.

We have seen plenty of special editions throughout 2023, with Brooks Koepka donning a yellow pair of Nike Air Zoom Infinity Tour NEXT% NRG's during the Masters. Along with the Masters, Nike staffers, including Fleetwood, were seen wearing Beatles-inspired footwear at The Open Championship.

Although Fleetwood won't be donning the Speckled Nike hat at the Ryder Cup, he may well be wearing a European version of their Air Max 1 '86 OG golf shoes, with the brand releasing a limited edition for the team event. Ranked as some of the best Nike golf shoes on the market, they have a yellow and white colorway, with stars running around the upper of the golf shoe. 

Along with the Nike, Europe will be wearing Loro Piana clothing, with the Italian design company providing the European side's apparel for a fourth consecutive Ryder Cup.

Local hope Tommy Fleetwood will make up the final twoball pairing on Saturday after battling his way to a level-par 71 to sit on five-under. 

The Englishman was part of the early wave on Thursday and he blitzed his way into the Championship with a back nine of 32. This was a very different affair, finishing well after 8pm as the temperatures dropped over the closing holes.

Not a lot was happening over the front nine and then he kicked off the run home with a 60-footer at the 10th and then dug deep to stay at five-under, helped by back-to back birdies at 14 and 15, going into what promises to be a very wet Saturday at Hoylake. 

"It turned into a grind in the end. I actually think for the most part of the round I actually felt like I played really, really well. I just never got any momentum built and didn't hole any putts, and eventually I had the long one on 10. I felt like I played well for a lot of it, but just in the end it was hard," said the World No. 21.

"One mistake on 16 with the tee shot; the bunkers are the ultimate hazards. You know I stuck in there and overall level par wasn't really a bad round. It feels good."

Fleetwood will tee off alongside and five shots in arrears of Brian Harman who, like the Englishman, is yet to chalk off a Major and has little experience of being involved in the big ones.

"Brian had two amazing days. I was watching his round this morning and he was playing great. 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 do your thing, play 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. 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."

The forecast for Saturday is for a soft course after heavy overnight rain and then more of the same throughout the third round. But, if there is one certainty along with the weather, it's that the vast majority of the local crowd will be pulling for their man.

"They've been insanely amazing, 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. The North West 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. I really am."

Despite all of his successes, Rory McIlroy is yet to claim a Scottish Open title. On Saturday, following a three-under round of 67, that could all change, with the Northern Irishman one shot ahead of Tom Kim at the Genesis Scottish Open.

Carding five birdies and two bogeys, McIlroy looked calm and measured at The Renaissance Club as he tackled the North Berwick layout. Come Sunday though, there are a number of huge names in pursuit of the 34-year-old, including Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry.

Beginning the third day, McIlroy led Kim and European Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton by one, with conditions certainly scoreable and more friendly than some players finished in on Friday night.

Out of the blocks, it was Fleetwood who made the early charge, with the in-form Englishman carding a superb round of 63 (-7). Along with Fleetwood, Eric Cole fired a 64 to sit three back, with former Champion Golfer of the Year, Lowry, also finding a five-under 65 to sit in the logjam at 10-under.

Saturday was about McIlroy though and, through 10 holes, he was four-under and two shots clear of nearest challenger, Kim. However, a bogey at the 12th for McIlroy did cut the margin back down to one, with a birdie at the 14th and a bogey at the 15th meaning a one-over score over the final seven holes.

With the weather set to be... interesting tomorrow, McIlroy is looking for a second DP World Tour title of 2023 following his Hero Dubai Desert Classic victory in January. "It was another really good round of golf," stated the four-time Major winner. "Very solid. I feel like I've left a few out there over the last couple of days, but at the same time, at least the last few holes, it was quite tricky conditions.

"I played well. It's been a good three days and looking forward to obviously being in the final group tomorrow and seeing how my game holds up under that sort of pressure."

The dramatic and historic ending to the Canadian Open reportedly drew record-breaking numbers with Sunday’s telecast the most-watched final round of the tournament in over 20 years. 

Nick Taylor’s 72-foot putt on the fourth play-off hole saw him defeat England’s Tommy Fleetwood to end the 69-year wait for a home winner, with a frenzied Toronto crowd present at Oakdale Golf & Country Club.

Having broken the course record with a nine-under-par 63 on Saturday, the Canadian birdied his final two holes to set the clubhouse lead, before getting the better of Fleetwood in a nervy back-and-forth play-off.

Taylor’s performance created an impassioned home crowd on the course but the drama over the final day also translated to viewing figures, with CBS reporting that their coverage of the final round peaked at 6.767 million viewers, with 3.304M viewers watching the 35-year-old's winning moment.

Such figures mark the highest final-round numbers for that tournament since 2000, when Tiger Woods’ incredible bunker shot on the 18th secured a one-shot victory over New Zealand’s Grant Waite.

Sunday’s numbers were also up 19 per cent from last year’s 2.78m, when Rory McIlroy secured his second successive Canadian Open victory with an eight-under-par final round 62. 

With these figures, the Canadian Open was the most-watched sports programme on Sunday and undoubtedly the most-watched regular PGA Tour event of the season, outside of the elevated events and the Majors which are bolstered by a star-studded field.

Such viewing figures will provide huge encouragement for the PGA Tour, especially given the event's non-elevated status and the fact that the field consisted of just 11 of the top 50 players in the world. 

In addition, it comes just three weeks after CBS recorded its lowest PGA Championship viewing figures in 15 years, with the final round seeing a 14 per cent drop in its Sunday viewership compared to Justin Thomas’ 2022 victory at Southern Hills. 

With the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club fast approaching, TV execs will no doubt be hoping that the drama in Canada, alongside the return of LIV golfers to a stacked 156-man field, will ensure good viewing figures for the week to come. 

Canada’s 69-year wait for a home winner of their national open is over after Nick Taylor secured a dramatic playoff victory against England’s Tommy Fleetwood in front of a frenzied home crowd. 

Taylor's win was unusual in more ways than one, with the playoff stretching to a fourth hole before the 35-year-old drained the longest putt of his career - a whopping 72 feet - to finally secure victory.

The subsequent celebrations were also of note, with PGA Tour professional, Adam Hadwin, wrestled to the floor by a security guard as he went to embrace his fellow Canadian. 

Earlier in his winning round, Taylor was also the centre of attention as he undertook the new mic’d up segment following his tee shot on the 15th hole. Despite holding the lead and having just four holes remaining, it saw Taylor speak to CBS analyst Trevor Immelman live on air about the crowds and his nerves heading into the final stretch. 

Now, Immelman has revealed on social media how Sunday’s segments with Taylor came to be. On Twitter, he wrote: “Just to let everyone know how these things work…..the players are asked on Saturday night if they are interested in doing the walk and talk, it’s completely up to them, and they can change plan at any moment. Kudos to Nick for going ahead with it in that situation.”

The new feature has been a part of CBS’ golf coverage since the start of the year with many high-profile names taking part. Max Homa was the first at the Farmers Insurance Open, with Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas both providing insight at points in their round at The Masters. 

Last month, PGA professional Michael Block also took part in an on-course chat during his remarkable run at the PGA Championship.

The interviews have often been somewhat of a curse, with McIlroy’s round faltering after he took part at The Masters, while Thomas went on to miss the cut at Augusta National just a few holes after he took part in the second round. 

However, it appears to have worked for Taylor on this occasion who, despite making a bogey on the next hole, was able to birdie his last two holes in regulation before edging out a nervy play-off victory with a monster putt on the 18th hole.

It remains to be seen whether the segment will be used at the US Open which starts on June 15th.

The playoff contested between Tommy Fleetwood and Nick Taylor for the RBC Canadian Open title was anything but a bog-standard affair.

There was the sheer intensity of it, as the duo couldn’t be separated over the first three holes despite multiple errors from both players giving ample opportunities for each to close out the victory.

There was also the incredible atmosphere. The crowd created something more akin to the Ryder Cup than the PGA Tour as the majority willed Taylor to finally break the 69-year run without a Canadian winning the trophy.

Then there was the unforgettable moment Taylor granted their wishes courtesy of an outrageous 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole to spark bedlam on the 18th at Oakdale Golf and Country Club.

Among all the chaos, one more extraordinary moment was about to come to pass. Following Taylor’s mammoth putt that handed him his third PGA Tour win, fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin – who tied for 12th in the tournament - decided to join in the celebrations by running onto the green and spraying the victor with champagne.

He would have managed it, too, if he hadn’t been wrestled to the putting surface by a security guard using a technique that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the NFL!

Clearly, Hadwin had been mistaken for a fan rather than a player with a PGA Tour win and two Presidents Cup appearances to his name. 

Of course, it is to be hoped Hadwin was not hurt in the mix-up. If anything, though, the incident seemed almost fitting among the general pandemonium of an occasion that anyone present is unlikely to forget.

Rory McIlroy showed signs of returning to his very best during the third round of the RBC Canadian Open, and he remains well in contention for his first PGA Tour win of 2023 and his third in a row in the tournament.

The 34-year-old heads into Sunday’s final round on 12-under following his six-under 66, which included a 29-foot birdie on the 13th, to leave him two shots behind overnight leader C.T Pan.

McIlroy's far from alone chasing the Taiwanese player, though, with five other players tied for second to set up an intriguing fourth round. 

Tommy Fleetwood hit five birdies on the back nine to leave him in contention for his maiden win on the PGA Tour. Fellow Englishman Justin Rose also rallied brilliantly on the back nine, with six birdies in his last seven holes, while Mark Hubbard, Harry Higgs and Andrew Novak complete the chasing pack of six.

A birdie for Pan on the 17th was enough to separate him from the others, and his round got even better on the final hole with another birdie on the par-5 to take a two-shot cushion into Sunday as he looks for his second PGA Tour win. 

With his recent history in the RBC Canadian Open and his current ranking of third in the world, though, much of the attention will be on McIlroy on Sunday as he aims to become the first player to win the tournament three times in a row.

Despite holding such a strong position, he will not be taking anything for granted, particularly after heading into the final round of last week’s Memorial Tournament tied for the lead before fading on the Sunday.

McIlroy eventually had to settle for a tie for seventh at Muirfield Village, which hinted he hasn’t quite seen off his difficulties over recent months after missing the cut at both The Players Championship and The Masters.

Nevertheless, he was encouraged by his round at Oakdale Golf and Country Club that included six birdies. He said: “I got off to a great start. Three under through that first nine holes I felt was a really good effort. Kept it going through the first part of the back nine. Then the putter went a little cold on me over those last five holes. 

"But, yeah, overall, it's great to put myself in with a shot tomorrow. There's a lot of people up there around the lead, so it's going to be a fun day. I would love to win the Canadian Open for the third time. I've never won a tournament three times in a row."

A message from the editor, Mike Harris:

The team at Golf Monthly strives to deliver consistently informative and interesting content, not only to guide and assist golfers but also to entertain, inspire and offer food for thought. We pride ourselves on our feature section and the variety within it. I think this month provides a superb example of the quality and diversity of features we produce.

With a tour focus, Fergus Bisset has written a considered and measured profile piece on Rory McIlroy, offering some interesting theories on why the Northern Irishman seems to have such a split golfing personality just now. I think we all want to see more of the brilliant Rory, the man who wins tour events for fun, producing those winning performances in the Majors. I hope The Open returning to Hoylake, the site of his victory in 2014, may inspire him to glory on the grandest stage once again.

Elsewhere, David Facey talks with new kid on the block Max Homa. The American has emerged as a star of the world game and is one of the most popular and engaging players out there. On the equipment side, we sent Carly Frost to Phoenix to gain an insight into one of golf’s most exciting brands, PXG. It’s a company that’s been able to challenge the established manufacturers by taking a dynamic and different approach.

What’s more, our women’s golf editor, Alison Root, meets Kate and Justin Rose to talk about the highly successful Rose Ladies Series. The couple have a real passion for the project, which is a great concept that showcases the best of women’s golf. 

I’m proud of the features we’re sharing with you this month and have no doubt you’ll find something to get your teeth into. 

FREE Longer, Straighter, Better Magazine

There’s no denying that a good short game can be a godsend for many, but if the state of your driving and long game means you’re only ever chipping and putting to save par or bogey, you’re only really limiting the damage instead of achieving your true scoring potential.

What if there were a way to improve your driving and long game such that there were less need for any chipping and a greater number of birdie chances to try and convert? That highly desirable mix of more length and greater accuracy could help you achieve just that, which is why we’ve teamed up with TaylorMade and Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Dan Grieve for this Longer, Straighter, Better supplement.

Dan covers everything from distance-sapping slices to uncontrollable snap hooks and much more, with easy-to-understand explanations and highly practical tips. Some will require work and practice, but others may pave the way to fairly rapid gains as they get you thinking about things in a fresh way.

Rory McIlroy

The Northern Irishman continues to deliver at the highest level in regular events, but Majors still elude him. Fergus Bisset considers the excellence and exasperation of Rory McIlroy.

Max Homa Exclusive

David Facey meets golf’s ‘King of Twitter’ Max Homa, who lives up to his reputation as one of the most likeable men on tour.  

Short Game Problem Solving

No matter the level of player or your technical skill, if you’re not reading the situation you have to tackle properly, you’re reducing your chances of being able to put it close to the hole. Here, Top 50 Coach Alex Buckner explains how to tackle some of those awkward lies you can find around the greens.

Rose Ladies Series

Alison Root catches up with Kate and Justin Rose at Wentworth to find out more about the successful Rose Ladies Series and the couple’s motivation for raising the profile of women’s golf.

The Best New Gear

Our gear section featuring all of the hottest releases this month, plus we look at the best game-improvement irons and DMDs of 2023.

Bob Parsons

Carly Frost travels to Scottsdale, Arizona, to find out from billionaire PXG owner Bob Parsons how the forward-thinking brand is making big waves.

Know The Rules

Our regular section explains rules you may not know and features our popular quiz so you won't be caught out on the course this season.

The Best Courses You Can Play

Our courses section features a trip along East Anglia’s northern coastline, a tour of Kent, a visit to Cork and much more.

Rory McIlroy has been confirmed as one of the players who will be in attendance at the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open. 

The Northern Irishman will tee it up alongside a list of huge names for the co-sanctioned event. 

Some of those will included World No 1 Scottie Scheffler, two-time Major champion Justin Thomas and Olympic champion Xander Schauffele. 

Plenty of golfers from the UK and Ireland will also be in the field, with Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Seamus Power all set to add to the stellar cast of names. 

McIlroy is the latest addition to that list, after it was announced today that he will compete at The Renaissance Club on July 13, just a week before the Open Championship kicks off on July 20.

After it was announced this morning, McIlroy said: “I’m pleased to be able to add the Genesis Scottish Open to my schedule again this season. 

"The Scottish fans have always been very supportive of me and it would be great to win a title in the home of golf.”

A press release said: "The four-time Major winner brings further excitement to a stellar field that includes World Number One Scottie Scheffler, fellow Major champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas, defending champion Xander Schauffele, European Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, PGA TOUR winners Sam Burns, Max Homa, Im Sungjae and Seamus Power and Scotland’s number one, Robert MacIntyre."

His attendance at the Rolex Series event was teased this morning on Twitter, with the Scottish Open posting a picture of a golf bag featured the 34-year-old's trade-mark St Bernard dog head cover sitting in front of a grand stand at a previous tournament. 

The four-time Major winner was not in attendance at last year's event as Xander Schauffele, who despite hitting a bogey on the 18th, held on to beat Kurt Kitayama by one stroke. 

The Northern Irishman, meanwhile, had previously excluded himself from that event claiming he "hadn't got what he had been looking for" in his past two outings at the Scottish Open. 

After missing the cut in 2021 placing T88, McIlroy admitted that he was left with "more questions than answers" going into the Open Championship that season, and decided that he would abstain from the tournament in 2022. 

He has only played the Scottish open four times in the last 13 years, with his best finish coming in 2014 where he placed T14. 

But he will return this season to take on the North Berwick golf course, as he hopes to find his groove ahead of the Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club the following week.

Despite having won at the CJ Cup earlier this season, it's been a very difficult few months for the World No 3. 

He came into the season bounding in form after clinching both the FedEx Cup and the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai title. 

And it looked like McIlroy could end his career grand slam woes and finally claim a coveted green jacket too, after he came second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational before coming third at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play. 

But after a disappointing opening two rounds at Augusta National, he missed the cut at the Masters and that knocked him off his stride, with the 34-year-old taking some time away from the game to focus on his wellbeing, notably missing out on one of his designated events. 

He rallied at the PGA Championship to card a solid T7 finish and will now participate in this weekend's Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.