Tommy Fleetwood’s wait for a victory on the PGA Tour continues after his near-miss at the Valspar Championship.
The Englishman trailed by one shot heading into the final round but ended up finishing in a tie for third.
It will have been a sore one for him because it looked like he had a great chance to win.
He has been knocking on the door in America plenty of times – eventually, it will happen. He has really settled into playing on the PGA Tour.
He looks very comfortable in that environment and it really is only a matter of time before he gets across the winning line.
It is so hard to win on the PGA Tour but I’m certain his day is coming.
Tommy Fleetwood is a consistent performer
Tommy has turned into a very consistent performer.
I’m sure he will take inspiration from Matt Fitzpatrick who also took a while to get that first PGA Tour victory but then managed to win the US Open last year.
They are similar players with their games suited to a lot of the courses on the PGA Tour.
It’s inevitable Tommy will get that PGA Tour win soon.
I’m sure he would be happy to accept missing out at the weekend if it meant that further down the line he was to win an event of a similar stature to Fitzpatrick’s US Open triumph.
The nappy factor
One of the great stories of the week was Adam Schenk who finished second and almost holed a 41-foot putt to force a play-off.
He was playing in his 10th event on the spin because his wife is eight months pregnant and he wants to spend as much time as possible at home once the baby arrives.
Ten tournaments in a row is extraordinary. You don’t hear many players teeing up at so many successive events but I can understand why he wanted to do that.
The motivation of trying to get as high up the rankings as possible before the birth of his child seemed to bring the best out in him.
He might want to play another 10 weeks in a row if the baby doesn’t sleep very well!
It was a nice story and lovely to see him do well. That runner-up finish has given him a bit of stability as he is now 31st in the FedEx Cup standings. He will be able to be there to support his wife when the baby arrives and take some well-earned time off.
Adam Schenk to force a playoff … pic.twitter.com/PLkR0fxotP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 19, 2023
Matt Wallace also did well to finish in the top 10.
He received a bit of attention for a heated exchange with his caddie that was caught on camera.
Matt is clearly a fiery competitor as it’s not the first time that has happened.
He is getting a bit of a reputation which is something you don’t want.
The relationship between a player and his caddie is so vital.
Different players want different things from their caddie. Some caddies can almost be like psychologists helping keep the player in the right frame of mind throughout the round.
Other players may not want to have too much conversation when they are playing and prefer to keep it simple with the main details such as the yardage, the right club and the wind.
A great caddie can recognise when a player’s mindset is affecting their game and try to help get things back on track – even if that is just getting the player to have something to eat or drink.
There can be a lot of high pressure situations throughout a round, especially if you are playing for a title or trying to save your card.
The players have to know what may trigger them to lose their cool on the course and have a plan in place to prevent that from happening – or to snap out of it quickly.
Some players snap a club but after that they are quickly back playing without a care in the world as they have got that frustration out of their system.
If a player allows a bad feeling to linger then it will do them no good throughout the rest of their round.
An amicable split
Webb Simpson announced his split from his long-term caddie Paul Tesori this week.
They have been together for 12 years but sometimes a relationship runs its course.
Tesori is now going to work for PGA Tour rookie of the year Cameron Young.
Sometimes a player feels like they need a change, sometimes a caddie is offered what they perceive as a better job.
— Webb Simpson (@webbsimpson1) March 20, 2023
There are right ways and wrong ways to end those working relationships and the way Webb Simpson has done it seems to be in the right manner.
Scottie for the Scottish
Scottie Scheffler is the latest big name to commit to playing this year’s Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.
Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre have also confirmed the event will be in their schedule.
Scheffler has committed to the Scottish Open early in the season so he obviously feels playing in that event will give him the best chance to lift the Claret Jug at Hoylake the following week.
The Scottish Open continues to grow from strength to strength.
We are seeing more of the top ranked players in the world coming over to tee up at Renaissance.
But the news the world number one is going to be there in July is excellent. I’m sure others will follow his lead as it is the perfect way to prepare for The Open.
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