Tommy Fleetwood endures another familiar feeling of an excellent week coming up short… while fellow Team Europe star Nicolai Hojgaard seals third DP World Tour title at just 22
- Tommy Fleetwood led the DP World Tour Championship for much of the final day
- But ultimately fell short as Nicolai Hojgaard sealed his third Tour title
- It was another strong campaign for Fleetwood, but ultimately another near miss
After a fast start and slow finish, Tommy Fleetwood had the familiar feeling of an excellent week. Just like his favorite football club, he paid the price for stepping a little too far outside the margins.
With a £2.5million prize in sight, this Everton enthusiast had spent most of the final day leading the DP World Tour Championship. That it ended with him contemplating a sixth top-five in a winless season will cause some regret.
He had burst out of the blocks with a birdie and an eagle in the two openings, but at the crucial point, when he stood on the green of the par-three 17th, things suddenly shifted south. Needing just a par to stay within one of Nicolai Hojgaard going into the last, a tricky but attackable par-five, he three-putted from 15 yards for bogey.
After parrying just the 18th via a wild ride in the woodchips, the final accounts of his 68 put him in a share for second at 19 under – a fine finish in a strong campaign, but ultimately another near miss.
The win instead went to his Ryder Cup teammate Hojgaard, who closed with five birdies in his final six holes for a total of 64 and 21 under. The Dane’s satisfaction with a third DP World Tour title at the age of 22 will be considerable, but so will the regret that his twin brother, Rasmus, fell one place short in the season rankings in which 10 cards were available for the PGA of 2024. Tour. Ecstasy and pain within the same family.
Dane Nicolai Hojgaard celebrated winning his third DP World Tour title at the age of 22
Tommy Fleetwood experienced the familiar feeling that an excellent week was coming
Fleetwood led the DP World Tour Championship for much of the final day before Hojgaard closed with five birdies in his final six holes for 64 and a total of 21 under.
Nicolai Hojgaard, who will be playing for bigger jackpots in the US next season, said: ‘This is the best way to end the year. But I really wanted my brother to get that card. I feel sorry for Ras, but he will bounce back.”
Matt Wallace, the overnight leader who was unable to match the brilliance of his third round 60 by carding 69, and Viktor Hovland joined Fleetwood in joint second place. Each of them eventually found water while chasing the eagles needed for a playoff.
For Rory McIlroy, playing for the first time since the Ryder Cup, the season ended with a 70. Tied for 22nd, he managed just one lap in the 60s all week and will now analyze a campaign in which he won a fifth race . to the Dubai crown, but failed to secure a fifth major.
Speaking about Colin Montgomerie’s record eight Order of Merit titles, the 34-year-old said: ‘I think I have a good eight to 10 years left in me where I can play at the very highest level. I want to try to get past Monty.”
Jon Rahm finished in fifth place amid renewed whispers that LIV will take a different approach to the Masters champion. These were firmly rejected by figures close to the Spaniard, who recalled that much of this season was controversial off the course.
Fleetwood ends the season with a sixth top-five in a winless campaign, shooting out of the blocks on the final day with a birdie and an eagle in his first two holes