Tommy Fleetwood

If Shane Lowry had not been so inspired at Royal Portrush, Fleetwood would be teeing off at Royal St George’s as The Open Champion. He also finished second in the 2018 U.S. Open, his closing 63 at Shinnecock Hills equalling the championship record and leaving him a stroke behind Brooks Koepka.

That was followed by a Ryder Cup debut in Paris, where he and Francesco Molinari won each of their four games together.

Fleetwood was the leading money-winner on the 2017 European Tour and, during a climb into the world’s top 10, he twice won the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship.

He just missed out on The Open in 2008 after finishing as the runner-up in the Amateur Championship at the age of 17. Fleetwood played in the Walker Cup the following season, became the English Amateur champion in 2010 and was the youngest-ever European Challenge Tour No. 1 a year later.

He captured the 2017 French Open at Le Golf National, where his part in Europe’s 2018 triumph will be long remembered.

In November 2019 he came from six behind to beat Marcus Kinhult in a play-off for the Nedbank Challenge, then just lost out to Jon Rahm in a fight for not only the DP World Tour Championship, but also the Race to Dubai title.