Tommy Fleetwood speaking with NBC on-course reporter Damon Hack after choking away the lead in the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Photo Credit: NBC
By Reice Shipley on

The final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday from TPC Southwind in Memphis was not kind to Tommy Fleetwood, who came up short despite coming into the final round with a one-stroke lead. But although Sunday’s round continued a trend of fumbling away leads in the final round for Fleetwood, the Englishman was all class in defeat.

Fleetwood took a two-stroke lead after making a birdie on the Par 4 15th hole. But it would ultimately be a par on the 16th hole and a bogey on the 17th hole that would ultimately drop him from leading the tournament to finding himself outside of a two-man playoff between J.J. Spaun and Justin Rose.

Coming up short has become all too familiar for Fleetwood. At the Travelers Championship back in June, Fleetwood made a bogey on the 18th hole in the final round, opening the door for Keegan Bradley to win the tournament by making a birdie on the 18th.

This week’s event marks the 162nd event that Fleetwood has taken part in on the PGA Tour. And in those events, Fleetwood has never won on Tour, finishing as a runner-up six different times, third place five times, and inside the top 5 28 different times.

The talent of Fleetwood, widely regarded as the best player on the PGA Tour who has never won an event, is undeniable. And while continually being unable to get it done would perhaps make others jaded, Fleetwood was as positive as he possibly could be when speaking with NBC on-course reporter Damon Hack after missing out on the two-man playoff.

“Did a lot of good things today,” said Fleetwood. “Obviously, right at the end again. I’m getting close. I think that’s the good side of it. I think I’m getting really close. Again, on that back nine, managed to get myself ahead. Played some really good golf, putted really well. Obviously, Justin and J.J. have done great there and I just didn’t quite do enough. You get to those last three holes. It’s the Par 5 16th and the bogey on 17. I don’t know, I’m obviously disappointed. Again, when you reflect, look at the positives. I was right in there with a chance. It’s hard, right? There are so many good players. I was next to somebody who was playing some really great golf there. Yeah, just didn’t get it done.”

Shortly after speaking with Hack, Kevin Kisner and Dan Hicks would give Fleetwood props for taking the time to talk about his round despite the obvious disappointment he felt about how the event played out.

“That is now easy to talk about,” said Hicks. “Kudos to Tommy Fleetwood for stopping by and talking with Damon. It’s one of the reasons he has gained a lot of fans, Kiz.”

“I mean, I don’t know how you say it any better than that,” added Kisner. “He was so truthful and honest with us right there about how he felt like he did a lot of things really well today. He wants to stay positive about it. I think that’s the only way to keep marching forward.”

Throughout the 2025 PGA Tour season, several prominent golfers including Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Shane Lowry, have publicly aired their grievances with the current state of golf media, particularly when it comes to the expectation placed on golfers to speak to the media after tough losses.

Most would imagine that someone like Fleetwood would has continually been unable to close tournaments, would feel the same way. But after how he handled his shortcomings on Sunday, several media members in the golf space offered some praise to Fleetwood for constantly handling his tough moments with class.

“So much respect for Fleetwood for that interview with Damon Hack,” wrote Golf Digest’s Shane Ryan. “That’s what a professional does!

“My lasting memory of Tommy Fleetwood will be the way he carried himself during the playoff at the 2023 Canadian Open,” wrote Mike Beauvais, the founder of the short-lived streaming platform Quibi. “A man that classy in defeat deserves victory and it’s gonna come one of these days.”

“Such a classy guy, and the win will come soon,” wrote Piers Morgan. “He’s playing too well for it not to.”

“Credit to Fleetwood for fronting up yet again,” wrote Ben Parsons of Bunkered Golf. “Another desperate Sunday. It’ll happen. One day.”

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley