Tommy Fleetwood Looks Comfortable and Ready to Ride the Wave to Augusta

SAN ANTONIO — Next week Tommy Fleetwood will be squarely on the shortlist of Masters contenders.

But this week in San Antonio there is no debate: he’s the favorite to win.

It may seem a bit disorienting to the popular Englishman, 35, but he’s the fourth-ranked player in the world and one of just two top-10 players at this week’s Valero Texas Open, which begins Thursday on the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio. He’s ready to embrace the role of tourney favorite and appreciates the climb to get here.

“I’ve played plenty of tournaments where I’ve been really, really struggling with my game or down in the rankings or fighting for something. So when you’re at the higher end, you have to make sure you enjoy it,” he said Tuesday at his pre-event press conference. “You don’t know how long that’s going to last. Hopefully it lasts a long time and I can keep improving. That’s a really nice feeling and I think a nice reflection of the work that we’ve done, the consistency of golf that I played for a while now.

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“All of those things as well, I’m very, very aware it has no impact on as soon as I pick up a golf club on Thursday morning, like the clubs and the ball are no different so it has no impact on how you’re going to play.”

This is an important week for Fleetwood’s Masters prep. Last year he barely made the Valero cut and scuttled through the weekend; he then tied for 21st at the Masters.

But two years ago his Masters tune-up was a different story: he finished seventh at the Valero and one week later tied for third at the Masters, a career best. That first trip to San Antonio was sort of a happy accident, but it cemented the Valero as a staple in his playing schedule.

“It’s funny, I played by chance in 2024. I was struggling in Florida, took the next week off and threw this one into the schedule,” he said. “I had a great week. I then had a great Masters right after it. It’s been part of our year ever since.”

It’s easy to forget, but Fleetwood is still pretty new to life as a PGA Tour winner.

He won his first PGA Tour event last August at the Tour Championship to end a long and at times painful drought—he had 43 PGA Tour top 10s before that win. The timing was fortuitous, as it came with the title of FedEx Cup champion and a $10 million cash bonus.

Fleetwood has stayed hot ever since. He was essentially the man of the match in Europe’s Ryder Cup win in September at Bethpage Black, and he won the DP World India Championship in October. This year he’s rung up three top-10 finishes in four events, including T4 at Pebble Beach and T8 at the Players, which led to his current rise in the rankings.

In addition to his event-favorite status, he’s also enjoying his time in the Lone Star State. He said he’s shopped for Texas-themed Driftwood threads for himself and his family while adding, “No cowboy hat or cowboy boots coming onto the golf course just yet.” He also took in a San Antoio Spurs game, and sat in awe of the scene, and of Victor Wembanyama.

“The arena, that's huge, that place,” he said. “[Wembanyama] has all the makings of being an all-time great so to get to watch him earlier in his career, that was pretty cool.”

Fleetwood has also drawn some buzz this year for his own attire. He recently added Blackstone as his hat sponsor, but since his deal with Nike expired last year, he’s been an apparel free agent, and has sported a variety of brands and logos at Tour events.

“I spent 20 years with one company who were amazing to me and had a great time, but there's so many different items out there in the golf world and in the fashion world. So I think I am both like part golf fan, like I still love a great golf logo and I still look to wear those, but also being able to wear stuff that obviously I've kind of chosen or sought out and that I feel comfortable in and that suits me, having that as well has been great,” he said. “That's going to continue.”

Add it up, and Fleetwood seems comfortable as the tournament favorite, and in his freelanced golf threads. It sounds like Augusta can’t get here soon enough.

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