Tommy Fleetwood wins Tour Championship to finally break US duck

about 21 hours ago

It was not Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley, Scottie Scheffler or any other golfer that Tommy Fleetwood had to battle with at the Tour Championship.Instead, the Englishman had to see off the burden of recent history.Fleetwood prevailed, taking his maiden PGA Tour title on his 164th start.Sometimes the good guys win.East Lake delivered one of the most heartwarming tales of the sporting year, a victory for persistence and proof that a relatable golfer can be a triumphant one.

Fleetwood displayed magnificent mental strength to brush aside scar tissue caused by falling short, agonisingly so, twice since late June.The most remarkable thing about this success was how unremarkable it all looked.Fleetwood’s closing 68 was so blissfully simple.Amusingly, for a golfer who had endured so many near misses in the United States, Fleetwood actually lifted two trophies at East Lake.He is the latest winner of the FedEx Cup.

The acclaim that met Fleetwood, in a land so far from home and in direct competition with Americans, served to demonstrate his huge popularity.“Tommy, Tommy,” chanted the adoring crowd as he approached the final green.Even those nudged into lesser leaderboard positions could not reasonably deny Fleetwood his moment.He is a nearly man no more.LeBron James posted words of celebration towards the Southport man.

LeBron James!“There was Travelers, there was Memphis, obviously plenty before,” Fleetwood said of ones that got away.“This probably wasn’t the most comfortable I’ve been because, as they rack up, you obviously start to think of [negative] things.“I’m proud of what I’ve done before.Whether I’ve won or not, I’ve still been proud of my career so far, knowing that I still have a long way to go and lots of learning.This doesn’t change that really.

This is hopefully just one win, the first of many to come,You cannot win plenty if you don’t win the first one,I’ll continue to try to get better and be the best I can be,” Indeed, with an orangutan removed from his back, Fleetwood is seriously dangerous,A further endearing element is added by the fact Fleetwood still had his life long friend Ian Finnis on the bag for the biggest victory of his career.

Golfers of less substance would have blamed and sacked caddies as the wait went on.Finnis has sampled the pain and now the glory.By the time Fleetwood took to the 71st tee, he held a three shot lead.Cantlay had erred at the 16th just when Fleetwood had blinked with a bogey at the hole before.Fleetwood split the fairway with a superb drive at the 17th.

Cantlay refused to wilt, hitting his approach shot to 8ft.When Cantlay’s birdie try, a tame effort, fell short Fleetwood had one hand and four fingers upon the tournament.“When you have had a few close calls and let a few trophies slip, a three shot lead doesn’t feel like much,” said Fleetwood with a smile later.A straightforward par at the last meant he won by that margin, at 18 under par, Cantlay sharing second with Henley.Cantlay’s wait for a ninth PGA Tour victory stretches back to 2022.

Scheffler’s stunning PGA Tour season closed with a 68 for 14 under in total,The world No 1 tied Corey Conners, who shot a 62, and Cameron Young,For Young, a Ryder Cup wildcard pick seems inevitable,Keegan Bradley, who will captain the US at Bethpage next month, closed on 13 under alongside Sam Burns and Justin Thomas,The latter duo are also likely to feature at Bethpage, with the lingering question for the coming days involving whether Bradley will pick himself.

To his credit, Bradley hung around here to congratulate Fleetwood as he headed for scoring duties,Shane Lowry, Harry Hall and Justin Rose provided European flavour by doing likewise,Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionRory McIlroy signed off with a 71 before expressing deep desire that Fleetwood could blast through the tape,McIlroy, who will next appear at back-to-back events in Europe, revealed he was reduced to tears by the Masters during his latest visit to Georgia,“I actually did a couple of things for Augusta National this week,” McIlroy said.

“I didn’t go there but there was a couple things I had to do.I had the Green Jacket on for a few hours on Wednesday doing something.It was nice to reminisce.They made me cry again.” Grown men were blubbing with joy as Fleetwood ended his drought.

This feels the first of many,Tommy’s time,

technologySee all

AI lovers grieve loss of ChatGPT’s old model: ‘Like saying goodbye to someone I know’

Linn Vailt, a software developer based in Sweden, knows her ChatGPT companion is not a living, breathing, sentient creature. She understands the large language model operates based on how she interacts with it.Still, the effect it has had on her is remarkable, she said. It’s become a regular, reliable part of her life – she can vent to her companion or collaborate on creative projects like redecorating her office. She’s seen how it has adapted to her, and the distinctive manner of speech it’s developed

3 days ago

Hundreds of TikTok UK moderator jobs at risk despite new online safety rules

TikTok has put hundreds of UK content moderators’ jobs at risk, even as tighter rules come into effect to stop the spread of harmful material online.The viral video app said several hundred jobs in its trust and safety team could be affected in the UK, as well as south and south-east Asia, as part of a global reorganisation.Their work will be reallocated to other European offices and third-party providers, with some trust and safety jobs remaining in the UK, the company said.It is part of a wider move at TikTok to rely on artificial intelligence for moderation. More than 85% of the content removed for violating its community guidelines is identified and taken down by automation, according to the platform

3 days ago

There’s an app for that: finding a sunny cafe in Paris, the city of light

In August, Paris is uncharacteristically quiet as hordes of residents scatter to the country’s beaches and coasts for a yearly month of vacation. Businesses close and the city nearly grinds to a halt. Among those who remain, there is an eternal, quintessentially Parisian quest: hunting for a balmy terrasse bathed in sunlight for an evening apéritif.Finding the perfect seat on the pavement outside a cafe may be a matter of a chance stroll or a timely text from a friend. This summer, though, a digital solution has gained popularity in an extremely French instance of the old Apple slogan “there’s an app for that”: Jveuxdusoleil, an app that tracks the sun’s movement through the city’s maze of buildings to pinpoint exactly where you can claim a sunny spot on a terrace for your coffee

4 days ago

Australian livestreaming platform Kick broadcast a man’s death – could it face repercussions from regulators?

The death of a man in France that was livestreamed on online platform Kick has sparked a police investigation and calls for regulators to examine what happened and how it was allowed to be beamed out live on the internet. What is Kick, what happened, and what could happen next?Raphaël Graven, 46, from southern France and known online as Jean Pormanove, had built a profile on Kick, where he had reportedly gained over a million followers.He died during an extended live stream on the platform this week. Leading up to his death, he was allegedly physically assaulted and humiliated by co-streamers as viewers watched. Excerpts of hours-long videos, which the Guardian has seen, appear to show Graven being hit, insulted, strangled, and shot at with a paintball gun

5 days ago

Google launches Pixel 10 with AI tools that anticipate users’ needs

Google’s latest Gemini AI upgrades attempt to anticipate what useful information you made need from your life to address a potential issue, make you to better photographer or become your personalised health and sleep coach.Shipping on the just-announced Pixel 10 Android phones, the new Magic Cue feature enables the chatbot to comb through your digital life and pull up relevant information on your phone just when you need it.Placing a call to an airline will automatically display your booking information from Gmail in the phone app. Or when a friend texts about brunch on Sunday Gemini will suggest a suitable coffee shop and show your calendar in line with your messages.The feature is part of a series of artificial intelligence upgrades for the newly announced Pixel 10, 10 Pro and 10 Pro Fold phones

5 days ago

Microsoft workers occupy HQ in protest against company’s ties to Israeli military

Dozens of Microsoft employees occupied the company’s east campus in Redmond, Washington to protest against what they say is the use of its software by the Israeli military to carry out operations in Gaza and enable the surveillance of Palestinians.Less than a week after the company said it was launching an independent investigation into the use of its Azure software, current and former staff occupied a space they declared the “Free Zone”, holding placards that read “Join The Worker Intifada – No Labor for Genocide” and “Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza”.The protests, organised by the No Azure for Genocide group, has demanded Microsoft divest from Israel. Earlier this year, employee Joe Lopez interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella at the annual developer conference.“Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians,” said Lopez

6 days ago

sportSee all