In India, Tommy Fleetwood achieves a double dream

Tommy Fleetwood gives son Frankie a dream moment with victory at the DP World India Championship

Tommy Fleetwood crowned a personal and family dream by winning the DP World India Championship by two strokes, signing his eighth title on the European circuit. But this victory, more than for statistics, will remain special for a specific reason: for the first time, his 8-year-old son Frankie was able to run onto the green on the 18th to embrace him as the winner.

“It’s something I had in my head all day – confessed Fleetwood, 34, visibly emotional -Frankie wasn’t there when I won on the PGA Tour in August, and in 2024 he was still too young. Today I wanted to create that moment for him, and I did it”.

Fleetwood closed with a solid -7 in his final round (65), scoring -22 overall at Delhi Golf Club. He had started second, two shots behind Japan’s Keita Nakajima, but took control thanks to four consecutive birdies between holes 7 and 10, and two masterful shots on holes 14 and 17 that sealed the overtake.

A flawless Sunday

New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, who got off to a rocket start with seven birdies in ten holes, collapsed with a double bogey at the 14th, losing momentum. Nakajima, while solid, could not replicate the brilliance of Saturday’s 65, and had to settle for yet another second place finish of the season.

Fleetwood, on the other hand, did nothing wrong. After a difficult Saturday with the putter, he found rhythm and accuracy just when it mattered most. The birdie from distance on 17, celebrated with a closed fist, sealed all talk.

“There were so many times when things didn’t go as I hoped. But the last two times I have been in the fight, I have won. Maybe, finally, the balance is returning” added the Briton, who is also back from a Ryder Cup victory in New York and eight top-10s on the PGA Tour in 2025.

The other protagonists

Following him, Shane Lowry and Alex Fitzpatrick (author of three consecutive 67s) finished third at -18, along with South African Thriston Lawrence. Norway’s Viktor Hovland figured well on the last hole to climb to -17, in the company of Jayden Schaper and Joost Luiten.

Rory McIlroy, never really in the running, finished 25th at -11, tied with Frenchman Frédéric Lacroix and American Brian Harman.