Tommy Fleetwood delighted with form

• Tommy Fleetwood unsurprised by rapid progression
• The Englishman is now ranked No.49 in the world
• Hopes he can build on ‘really good’ US Open showing

Tommy Fleetwood said he’s unsurprised by the rapid progression he’s had in the game over the past couple of years and is hopeful that his top 30 finish in his first US Open last month can be a catalyst towards future success.

The 24-year-old, who won the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship, has soared up the world rankings since that win at Gleneagles, rising from No.276 at the end of 2012 to No.51 at the end of last year, with the Englishman now ranked just inside the top 50.

That form has seen him involved in a handful of World Golf Championship events, where he topped a group featuring fellow Europeans Sergio Garcia, Jamie Donaldson and Bernd Wiesberger at the Match Play earlier this year, and Fleetwood is not surprised by his rise in the rankings.

“I wouldn’t say my progress has been quicker than I expected” – Tommy Fleetwood

“I wouldn’t say my progress has been quicker than I expected,” Tommy Fleetwood told bunkered.co.uk after his second round at the Scottish Open. “It always seems like you’re a million miles away but you’re not so as soon as you start working on things, you begin to head in the right direction.

“My form’s been very good, especially now since I’ve made some changes. I started working with Pete Cowen and worked a lot on my putting and since I’ve made those changes I’ve progressed really well.

“You always hit a stale patch, for me that was around Doral and at the start of the year I was playing terribly, so I’ve made the changes and it’s been much better since.”

CONTINUES BELOW…

Since Doral, Fleetwood achieved that quarter-final finish at the WGC-Match Play and also finished T27 in his first US Open appearance at Chambers Bay, which was also the first time he’d made the cut in three major championship starts.

And the 2011 Challenge Tour Rankings winner was delighted with his performance in the Pacific Northwest and is quietly confident heading into his second Open Championship appearance at St Andrews next week.

“Realistically, for my first US Open, a top 30 was actually a really good result,” said Tommy Fleetwood. “I played really well to make the cut, had a decent last day and I’ve never played golf like that before. But anything that’s new or bigger and when you’re playing with the top players in the world I was pretty happy with how I did.

“St Andrews, well it’s just something special isn’t it?” – Tommy Fleetwood

“As for the Open, it’s nice that I’m showing some good golf and St Andrews, well it’s just something special isn’t it? It’s something that any golfer wants to do in their lifetime and I can’t wait to play it because I love the golf course and hopefully I can keep my form up.

“If I go there with my game in good shape and I take a liking to the course then hopefully I’ll be able to do something good there. I’ll just take it one day at a time though and see what I’m playing like come the start of Thursday.”

Tommy Fleetwood :: Open outsider?

How do you think Tommy Fleetwood will fare at St Andrews next week? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.