NEW DELHI (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood’s best season continued Sunday with a two-stroke victory over Keita Nakajima at the Indian Championship, and four straight birdies around the turn to finish with a 7-under 65.
It was Fleetwood’s third celebration in three months. His first victory on American soil earned him the FedEx Cup title, his victory for the European team in the Ryder Cup, which earned him the top spot in points and his first European Tour win of the season.
Nakajima started the final round at Derry Golf Club with a two-shot lead and played without a bogey. He couldn’t keep up with Fleetwood’s pace. Fleetwood made four consecutive birdies from the par-3 seventh, turning a two-shot lead into a two-shot lead.
“While good things have happened this year, I feel like some things have let me down,” said Fleetwood, who was winless on the European Tour. “It feels great to win again.”
Even after his highlight at the Ryder Cup, the 34-year-old from England felt there was still more to achieve this year, and a European Tour win – his eighth overall – was high on his list. Although Fleetwood has had great success on the PGA Tour this year, he has not yet qualified for the final two tournaments on the European schedule.
Now he is. The win moved him from 94th to 25th in the Race to Dubai, qualifying him for the Abu Dhabi Championship and the Tour Championship, which ends the season in Dubai.
The best part for Fleetwood was watching his 8-year-old son, Frankie, run to the 18th green after tapping for par and finishing with a 22-under 266.
While the two were playing golf recently, Fleetwood said his son told him he had never won a tournament where he could run up to the green and say hello.
“All day today I was thinking, ‘Can I put myself in a position to make that happen?'” Fleetwood said. “It’s just one of those little things that means so much to me. It means so much to me. It was really cool. That’s what I wanted to do all day.”
Nakajima struggled with the accuracy of his tee shot when he needed to recover late in the final round, but holed enough putts to come close. He shot a 69, putting him in the top 10 of the list of European Tour players eligible for next year’s PGA Tour card.
Shane Rowley (68), Thriston Lawrence (65) and Alex Fitzpatrick (67) tied for third at 270.
Playing in India for the first time in his career, Rory McIlroy birdied the final hole for a 71 and finished tied for 26th place, 11 strokes behind Fleetwood.
