NEW DELHI (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood’s best season got even better Sunday when he ran off four straight birdies around the turn and closed with a 7-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Keita Nakajima in the India Championship.
Fleetwood had cause to celebrate for the third time in the last three months — the FedEx Cup title with his first win on U.S. soil, the leading points-earner in another win for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup and now his first European Tour win of the year.
Nakajima had a two-shot lead to start the final round at Delhi Golf Club and played bogey-free. He just couldn’t keep pace with Fleetwood, who made four straight birdies starting at the par-3 seven to turn a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead.
“I feel like for all the good that’s happened this year, a couple of things have disappointed me,” said Fleetwood, who had not won on the European Tour. “Another win, it feels great.”
Even after another Ryder Cup highlight, the 34-year-old from England felt he had more to achieve this year and winning on the European Tour — his eighth career tour win — was high on his list. Fleetwood, for all his success on the PGA Tour this year, was still not eligible for the closing two events on the European schedule.
Now he is. The victory moves him from No. 94 to No. 25 in the Race to Dubai, making him eligible for the Abu Dhabi Championship and season-ending Tour Championship in Dubai.
Most pleasing to Fleetwood was watching his 8-year-old son, Frankie, run onto the 18th green after he tapped in for par to finish on 22-under 266.
They were playing golf recently when Fleetwood said his son told him he had never won a tournament where the boy could run out to green to greet him.
“All day today, I had in my mind, ‘Could I put myself in position to make that happen?'” Fleetwood said. “It’s just one of those little things it means a lot to me. It means so much to me. That was really cool. That’s what I wanted to do all day.”
Nakajima struggled with accuracy off the tee when he needed to make up ground late in the final round, though he holed enough putts to stay close. He shot 69 and moved into the top 10 on the list of European Tour players who would be eligible for PGA Tour cards next year.
Shane Lowry (68), Thriston Lawrence (65) and Alex Fitzpatrick (67) tied for third at 270.
Rory McIlroy, playing in India for the first time in his career, birdied his final hole for a 71 to finish in a tie for 26th, 11 shots behind Fleetwood.