After low point, Tiger says he’s loving life

OVERVIEW What stands between Tommy Fleetwood winning for the first time on the PGA TOUR and becoming a bona fide star in 2019? Not much, and he seems to know it. There was Fleetwood, all by himself on the practice putting green, before the other 29 players had even shown their faces at the TOUR Championship at East Lake last season. There was Fleetwood, going 4-0 with partner Francesco Molinari at the Ryder Cup in France just a week later, leading the European rout. Oh, and don’t forget Fleetwood coming within a dimple or two of making birdie at the 18th hole at Shinnecock Hills, a birdie that would have given him a U.S. Open record 62 and tied him with eventual winner Brooks Koepka. (Fleetwood finished second.) Fleetwood, 27, stands on the precipice of stardom. He’s a four-time winner on the European Tour, has all the physical tools from driving to putting, and is fearless. Birdies? He makes a ton. In addition to his final-round 63 at the U.S. Open, he shot a third-round 62 at the BMW Championship at Aronimink. He had six top-10s in 19 starts and finished 19th in the FedExCup. Whether or not his terrific Ryder Cup performance fuels a bigger career leap remains to be seen; he finished T7 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in his only TOUR start of the fall. — By Cameron Morfit Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 82nd Playoff appearances: 1 TOUR Championship appearances: 1 Best FedExCup result: 19th in the 2017-18 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Tommy Fleetwood led the PGA TOUR in Par 5 Birdie or Better Percentage last season at 56.32 percent (107 of 190). INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Tommy Fleetwood in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Fleetwood is one of those players who seems to be good at everything. His strength is probably driving, where he was 17th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last season, but it’s a hard call because he was inside the top 50 in every major Strokes Gained category. A rare disappointment was his final-round 73 and T12 at The Open Championship, his national Open. If Fleetwood can come up with the big shot in the big moment in 2019, the way he did alongside Molinari at the Ryder Cup, it won’t be long before he’s raising his first TOUR trophy. — By Cameron Morfit        FANTASY INSIDER: It’s rare when an international non-member transitions seamlessly onto the PGA TOUR and generates as much value as he did in just 19 starts in 2017-18. It’s rarer still that he’s done nothing to deter us from investing confidently in every format despite his relative inexperience in the United States. Yet, gamers must continue to respect the Englishman’s curtailed schedule due to obligations on his home circuit, but he’s the strongest talent with a TOUR card and without a TOUR victory. Go with the flow. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Fleetwood’s irons were the topic of arguably the most interesting equipment story of 2018. Former Nike staffer Fleetwood uses VR Pro Blade irons, but the issue is, it’s the last set of the irons he has. That’s obviously a problem, in case something happens to one of the irons. That being the case, he offered to buy fellow ex-Nike staffer Paul Casey’s VR Pro Blade irons … but Casey wouldn’t give them up. Fleetwood’s irons are still going strong, however. While Fleetwood uses a new TaylorMade M3 driver and a Titleist 917F2 3 wood, he still games a Nike Vapor Fly 5 wood (the one with the blue crown). He fills out his bag with Callaway Mack Daddy wedges and an Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Fleetwood is one of the players who is bringing a modern streetwear vibe to the course. Nike’s Roshe shoe is one of the brand’s most iconic streetwear models, and Fleetwood has fully embraced the golf-specific version of the shoe. Expect the Ryder Cup star to lace up the 2019 version of the Roshe G Tour with a cleated outsole and waterproof upper next year. — By Greg Monteforte

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The Monday qualifier for the RBC Canadian Open had a distinct local flavor with all four spots going to Canadian players – but not before some playoff excitement. Michael Gligic and Russell Budd, who grew up close to Glen Abbey, took medalist honors with solid 4-under 67s at Heron Point Golf Links. But Justin Yong Woo Kim and Mitchell Sutton had to come through a 5-for-2 spot playoff against American’s Tyler McCumber and Blake Austin and Korean Seung-su Han to book their place in Canada’s national Open. Kim birdied the first playoff hole to advance, Sutton made birdie on the second. “Wow, that was pretty exciting coming down the last few holes and into the playoff,� said Sutton, who won back-to-back Canadian Junior Boy Championships in 2008 and 2009. “I’m pretty pumped up right now and looking forward to playing in my first RBC Canadian Open. I’ve played Glen Abbey a couple of times, but not in a while. I’m excited to go back.� Gligic has been in nice form of late on the MacKenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada but even he must have been worried after falling 3 over through three holes. Seven birdies in his last 13 holes, including three in the last four holes, helped him surge into his third national Open. But this is his first one at Glen Abbey – the venue he dreamed of playing at as a youngster. “I’ve been looking forward to playing one there, so it’s nice to finally punch my ticket,� Gligic said. “I definitely feel the best I ever have going into a RBC Canadian Open. My nerves got to me in my first one and in the second one my game wasn’t that great. But now I feel like my game is in a really good spot, so hopefully I’ll play well.� Two of this season’s most successful qualifiers missed out on earning a spot. Chase Seiffert, who finished T9 at the Travelers Championship, missed the playoff by two shots, while T.J. Vogel was not at his best as he chased an eighth successful qualification this season. There will now be 21 Canadians in the field. Here’s a closer look at this week’s qualifiers: RUSSELL BUDD (67) Age: 26 Hometown: Toronto, Ontario Alma mater: DePaul University PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: He has made eight starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2018, missing the cut in five with a best finish of T39. MICHAEL GLIGIC (67) Age: 28 Hometown: Burlington, Ontario  PGA TOUR starts: 2 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2012 & 2014 RBC Canadian Open’s. Notes: Grew up just 10 minutes from Glen Abbey. Two top-6 results on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in last three starts. Won the ATB Financial Classic Presented by TELUS on MacKenzie Tour in 2012. JUSTIN YONG WOO KIM (68) Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: Has had handful of starts on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and also tried to find his way in the PGA TOUR China Series over the last five years with limited success. A former winner in Canada’s Golden Horseshoe Area Tour. MITCHELL SUTTON Hometown: London, Ontario PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: Played MacKenzie TOUR – PGATOUR Canada in 2015 and 2016 with limited success. Played one event this year on same tour for a missed cut. Previous winner of multiple Canadian junior titles. BARBASOL CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS T34. John Oda, 69-69-69-68 MC. Kevin Foley, 72-69 MC. Domenico Geminiani, 74-67 MC. Ryan Wenzler, 70-76 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 83 Made cut: 26 Top-10s: 4 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston; Chase Seiffert, T9 at Travelers) Top-25s: 6 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (7)

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Ernie Els played with two guys Thursday – Adam Scott and Kiradech Alphibarnrat — who dearly hope to be on his International Team this December at the Presidents Cup in Australia. Given the way Els played in the first round at PGA National, maybe there were three potential players in the group. Els’ 4-under 66 is his best opening round in his last 37 PGA TOUR starts and leaves him near the top of the leaderboard going into Friday. He had a much better day than his two International hopefuls, as the Aussie Scott shot a 2-over 72 while Thailand’s Aphibarnrat had a birdie-free 75. The World Golf Hall of Famer from South Africa turns 50 in October, about two months before he captains the International Team at Royal Melbourne. Unlike his U.S. counterpart Tiger Woods, whom Els expects will be a player-captain now that Woods is back into winning form, Els hasn’t been in contention enough the last few years to merit such talk. Els currently is 94th in the International Presidents Cup standings, but should he win this week, perhaps the chatter would start. When the International Team won its only Presidents Cup in 1998 at Royal Melbourne, Els was 3-1-1 that week. He’s won three Heineken Classics at the course, and in 2004 he shot a 12-under 60 that remains the composite course’s record low. “The success he had at Royal Melbourne, he can pick himself, the way he’s playing,â€� fellow South African Charl Schwartzel said Thursday. But Els told GolfChannel.com after his round that it’s simply “not in the equation.â€� “There’s so much to do, especially on my side of the captaincy,â€� Els explained to GolfChannel.com. “Tiger could be a little bit more comfortable doing it. He’s got a team of guys who have played Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups and who have been around it for many years. “I can see doing it from their point of view, but, from my point of view, I have a lot of work to do. I have to educate the guys around the golf course, how it sets up, how to play it. There’s a lot of things on my mind. It would be a difficult decision.â€� Of course, on top of those protestations, it’ll take more than one good round for the chatter to really crank up. He had just one poor shot – an 8-iron at the par-3 15th that found the water and eventually resulted in a double bogey. “That freaking 15th hole is no good at all on this golf course,â€� he said. After that, though, he was a bogey-free 4-under on his last 12 holes, with his longest putt on the final nine holes less than 8 feet. It was 11 years ago when Els won at PGA National. Although the course has undergone a couple of renovations since then, including one that was completed in November, Els thinks it’s actually closer now to the kind of track he won on in 2008. “The greens are firmer,â€� Els said. “They’re still very new. I remember back in ’08, the course was very dry and the ball was running and the greens were very firm, and it’s kind of similar now. It’s really important to get the ball in play. I don’t think length is going to be a huge factor this week.â€� Els’ last TOUR win was in 2012 at The Open Championship. That was his 19th career win on TOUR, and so he’s now seven years into his quest to get that coveted win No. 20. Last week at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, it was Dustin Johnson who won for the 20th time on TOUR. Will Els make it two straight weeks of career-defining milestones? “I’m 49 now, so it’s not going to mean too much, but obviously 20 is a great number,â€� Els said. “Secretly on TOUR among the players, you know when you win 20, you get some benefits. It’s late in my career, but I’ll take any win now. “I’m not thinking about it. I’m just thinking about tomorrow’s round and so forth. But it would be magic.â€� The bigger magic trick, of course, might be swinging a club instead of driving a golf cart this December in Australia. It seems far-fetched, but a string of 66s and a win or two might force him to reconsider the possibility.

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