Tommy Fleetwood will tee it up at the 2026 Hero Dubai Desert Classic as the reigning FedEx Cup champion after the greatest season of his career. For a player who now calls Dubai home, there’s no better place to start the year.
For years, the question hung there. Brilliant ball-striker, yes. Ryder Cup legend, absolutely. One of Europe’s most consistent performers, no doubt about it. But no PGA Tour win.
Tommy Fleetwood heard it all. Read it all. Knew exactly what people were saying. And to be fair to him, he never made excuses, never got defensive, never pretended it didn’t matter.
“I’m not going to lie and say I don’t mind about winning in America,” he said. “Of course I do.”
At East Lake in August, 164 PGA Tour starts later, he finally got it done. Tour Championship. FedEx Cup. Ten million dollars. And most importantly, that particular monkey firmly off his back.
“I’ve been a PGA Tour winner for a long time,” he said afterwards, with typical Fleetwood understatement. “It’s just always been in my mind.”
When he lines up at Emirates Golf Club in January, it’ll be his 15th straight appearance at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He’s played it every year since turning pro. But this one’s different. He’s coming back as FedEx Cup champion. And he’s coming home.
Dubai’s been Fleetwood’s base since 2022. His wife Clare and the three boys – Frankie, Oscar and Murray (“Mo”) – are settled. His Tommy Fleetwood Academy is at Jumeirah Golf Estates. What was just another tour stop has become something else entirely.
“It’s been an incredible year, winning the FedExCup and being part of that special Ryder Cup victory for Europe,” he said when his return to Emirates Golf Club was announced. “I always enjoy starting my season in Dubai and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic has become a tournament that I love. I’m looking forward to teeing it up close to home in front of friends and family once again and trying to get my hands on that famous Dallah Trophy.”
The road to East Lake wasn’t smooth. Thirty top-five finishes on the PGA Tour before he won. Six of them as runner-up. At the Travelers Championship in June, he led walking off the 18th green. Then Keegan Bradley birdied the last. Another near-miss. A month later at the FedEx St. Jude, he had the 54-hole lead. Finished tied-third. “I’m obviously going to be disappointed,” he said after Memphis. “I think there’s a lot of positives to take, as much as I don’t really feel like that right now. You know, we move on.”
That’s the thing about Fleetwood – he just kept coming back. Kept doing the work, putting himself in the frame to knock on the door again. He never sulked, it’s not part of his DNA.
“I’ve had to be resilient in terms of putting myself back up there, getting myself back in that position, no matter how many times it doesn’t go my way,” he said before the Tour Championship.
At East Lake, the doubts crept in. They always do on Sunday. But this time was different.
“The smallest thoughts creep in,” he admitted. “But I never really felt like it wouldn’t happen. But there’s always doubt there. But I always sort of had belief in myself that you keep knocking on the door, you keep putting yourself up there, you keep playing well, keep learning from all the near misses and keep putting that into action in the next tournament or the next tournament or the next time you get a chance.”
When it dropped, his caddie Ian Finnis said it best: “About f*****g time.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m good,” Fleetwood said, trying to process it all. “I think a mix of emotions from – yeah, proud, relieved, happy. There’s a ton of emotions that I’ll probably be feeling. It doesn’t sink in for a while. Winning doesn’t sink in for a while. But what an amazing day.”
The Atlanta crowd had been unbelievable all week. “Tom-my, Tom-my” echoing round East Lake. For a guy who’d never won there, the support was overwhelming.
“To have that buzz and to have the support here, like just to have people chanting your name coming down the last few holes, for people to be carrying you on their shoulders is a very, very special feeling, and I would never take it for granted,” he said.
Why do American fans love him? Fleetwood reckons it goes back to what his dad always told him.
“Why do people like me so much? I’ve always been very lucky that I make a great connection with people. I try and be – if I could give my kids one piece of advice – there’s tons of advice, but I always tell them to be a good person first, and I’ve always tried to do that. My dad always told me that, even when I was a young, aspiring amateur golfer, professional golfer, he always wanted me to be – he always said person first, golfer second. You’re a good person first. Whatever happens after that, you try to be a good golfer second. I’ve always tried to be that.”
Three weeks later, Bethpage Black and hostile beer-fuelled New York crowd…with the Ryder Cup on the line.
Alongside Rory McIlroy in the foursomes, ‘Fleetwood Mac’ did what they do best. With Justin Rose in the fourballs, more of the same. By the end of the week, he’d gone 4-1-0 — Europe’s leading points scorer as they pulled off a historic 15-13 victory, their first away win since Medinah.
The Nicklaus-Jacklin Award followed. Not just for the four points, but for how he carried himself all week.
“When you play in a team event like this, you don’t necessarily set out to win individual awards, but to focus on playing the right way and make the right decisions when it matters most,” Fleetwood said. “But to be acknowledged like this, winning an award that is named after such legends as Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin and in some way follow in their footsteps, is very cool.
Sportsmanship is important to our game, and the Ryder Cup is the most intense environment we experience, and things can always happen that test you, but Luke Donald has instilled in this team an amazing attitude that we should always play with the right spirit. That has really helped us get over the line and win the Ryder Cup once again.”
His Ryder Cup record now stands at 11-4-2 – the highest winning percentage among European players with at least 10 matches. And he’s six from six in foursomes. Unbeaten.
He rode the wave of momentum all the way to India for the inaugural DP World India Championship where a breathtaking final-round 65 saw him finish two shots clear of Keita Nakajima for his eighth DP World Tour title.
But the golf wasn’t what everyone was talking about. The footage of his eight-year-old son Frankie sprinting onto the 18th green went viral.
“We were at home last week and we were driving the buggy – I think we were playing golf together – and he just said randomly: ‘Do you know what you’ve never done? You’ve never won a tournament and then I’ve been able to run onto the 18th green,’” Fleetwood explained. “I had that written down all week. Could I put myself in a position where I can actually make that moment happen?”
The season rolled into November and the DP World Tour Play-Offs. At Abu Dhabi, he opened with a course record-equalling 62 at Yas Links. Eight birdies, an eagle, no bogeys.
“When you shoot a 62, obviously everything is going to have gone very, very well,” he said. “Just happy to have got off to a great start.”
He stayed in it all week but fell at the final hurdle, losing in a play-off to Aaron Rai. Twenty-five under par for the week – 64, 66, 67, 66 – and it still wasn’t enough.
Abu Dhabi holds a special place in Fleetwood’s narrative. He won there back-to-back in 2017 and 2018. Those victories announced him as one of Europe’s elite. The 2017 win, in particular, came at a crucial time.
“I look back to 2017 and where my game was halfway through 2016, there’s definitely an epic personal story there where I felt like I had to find my way back,” he said at the time. “I was in a very dark place game-wise in 2016 and it could have gone either way. When I won this event, which was the first of the year in 2017, I always see it as a big milestone in my career.”
That win kicked off the season that saw him crowned Race to Dubai champion. Eight years on, he’s still fighting for the biggest titles. Only now from a home base in Dubai, not just passing through.
Come January, when he walks onto the first tee at Emirates Golf Club, it won’t be just another start to the season. FedEx Cup champion, World Number Four, back in the city he calls home.
Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director said: “Tommy’s return is another exciting addition to what is shaping up to be an exceptional field for 2026. His incredible FedEx Cup triumph and continued excellence on both sides of the Atlantic, combined with his integral role in Europe’s Ryder Cup success, make him one of the game’s most compelling competitors. As a Dubai resident, Tommy has a special connection with our tournament and its fans, and we’re thrilled to welcome him back as he chases his first Dallah Trophy.”
Fleetwood’s been close at the Dubai Desert Classic before – his best finish across his 14 appearance is tied-third but he’s never quite got his hands on that Dallah Trophy. Yet.
The Majors remain the holy grail. He’s been runner-up at the US Open – shot that ridiculous 63 at Shinnecock Hills the Sunday in 2018 – finished top-five at Opens and PGA. One of the best players never to win a Major. But after what happened in 2025, you wouldn’t bet against him changing that narrative soon.
For now, though, he’ll start 2026 the way he wants to – at home, with his family watching, members from his academy in the crowd, going after a trophy that’s somehow eluded him all these years.
Not bad for a lad from Southport who’s spent his entire career being told he’s too nice to win the big ones. Turns out being a good person first, golfer second, works just fine.
