3M Open: Top 10 power rankings
NORTHWICH, ENGLAND – MAY 26: Tommy Fleetwood of England practices at Sandiway Golf Club on May 26, 2020 in Northwich, England. The British government has started easing the lockdown it imposed two months ago to curb the spread of Covid-19, abandoning its ‘stay at home’ slogan in favour of a message to ‘be alert’, but UK countries have varied in their approaches to relaxing quarantine measures. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Long time no see, Tommy! Tiger Woods was one of the last holdouts to finally return to competition last week at the Memorial Tournament.
Adam Scott is still quarantining, but Englishman Tommy Fleetwood has decided to emerge and head to the US with the PGA Championship looming two weeks away.
Fleetwood is making his tournament debut, but the competition will have one trip around TPC Twin Cities, at best.
Despite not playing since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, Fleetwood dropped just two spots to No. 12 in the world. That’s a credit to the fantastic golf he was playing late in 2019 into the new year.
Fleetwood finished second on the European Tour’s 2019 Race to Dubai thanks to a win and runner-up in the tour’s Final Series. The 29-year-old began 2020 with another runner up and a T-11th on the Euro Tour before swapping for the PGA Tour.
The long-locked lad recorded T-18th at the WGC-Mexico Championship and solo third against a tough field at the Honda Classic. Fleetwood did miss the cut at the API, but that was his first after 30 makes in a row worldwide.
He doesn’t have enough rounds recorded by Shotlink to be in the 2019-2020 PGA Tour statistical rankings. If he did, his .61 shots gained per round off the tee would be among the leaders. Fleetwood’s iron play has also been solid, per usual, at .467 SG approach per round.
If last week’s 3M Open results hold true, a hot putting week isn’t a be-all end-all to win. That’s good news for Fleetwood, who’s gaining just .102 shots on the green.
Whether at the majors or just week to week, Fleetwood’s shown he can take it low. That’s the formula this week.
Rust could obviously be a factor, but I like a well-traveled golfer like him to be ready to go at TPC Twin Cities.