The Ryder Cup star won his first PGA Tour title after his middle son had undergone spinal surgery meaning his family were not present at the Tour Championships
Tommy has revealed his teenage stepson Mo missed his Tour Championships triumph last month because he had undergone spinal surgery. The Ryder Cup star won his first PGA Tour title – and the $10m FedEx Cup – at his 164th attempt at East Lake. He celebrated with his other stepson Oscar but his wife Clare, Mo and Frankie were not in Georgia.
Speaking before this week’s BMW PGA, the world No.6 explained why all his family were not at the biggest win of his career. “Yeah, so our middle boy, Mo, had a spinal operation just over a month ago now,” Fleetwood said. “So they were unable to travel. Actually the week of Memphis, they were in the hospital and he was recovering and they actually just got home before we got home. He had three and a half weeks I think in the hospital. He is a lot better. He is here this week.”
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Fleetwood received congratulations from American sporting superstars Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Caitlin Clarke after his win. But he said he was most pleased to be able to give an example of perseverance and patience to his children.
“It’s easy to tell the kids the right thing all the time,” said the 34-year-old. “But being an example that it can happen for you if you keep going, I think more than anything, it was like, I had the opportunity to show my kids what can happen, and then like you can do it. So I think that was the most important thing to me. That was the thing that touched me the most.
“I think the whole thing touched me more than anything, more than any particular person.
“When I finished, you’re in such a bubble, obviously, when you’re playing and very focused on the day. And like I did the two or three hours of like commitments afterwards, a lot of people mentioned Tiger Woods Tweeted and LeBron James, and so throughout it all, I think that story built up quite a lot.
“Throughout it all, I always just try to say the right things to myself and the right things outwardly and I try to have the best attitude possible and be the best example. I probably underestimated, like at the time, how much people appreciated it. I just thought it was the right thing to do and that’s how you should be.
“But yeah, for it to happen the way it did and for that story to build and eventually getting over the line and winning that one at East Lake, which is such a huge one, and to see the story and how people reacted, it was the coolest thing, it really, really was. I was just really touched.
“You kind of get lost in your bubble a little bit. Every week you get close to the finish line and I was there and it didn’t quite happen.
“For me, it was build on the positives and reset from the negatives that didn’t happen, learn from it and go again. I was hearing about it and talking about it but I wasn’t aware of how many people were affected.”
Rory McIlroy won the Amgen Irish Open in a playoff on Sunday and now Fleetwood wants to win his first professional event on English soil.
The 2010 English Amateur champion said: “Being at home and playing in front of home crowds, and I guess as a goal and a dream, you always picture those moments. The crowd is such a huge part of it and the emotional aspect of it.
“Winning on home soil is very special. Look at last week. I think that was one of the coolest things to watch, and what a special moment that was. Pictured myself winning on the 18th green many, many times. Ultimate dream, I’m from Southport, I’ve got Open Championships that come close to home every few years, and like that is like the most powerful image for me. So home crowds are a huge part of what we dream of and having opportunities, so yeah, that can be another one to add to the list of things that I haven’t done yet but I’ll continue to try.”
