Tommy Fleetwood is hoping to finish what has been a stellar 2025 by sealing his first DP World Tour Championship crown on what is very much home turf at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week.
It has been a special few months in Fleetwood's career that have seen him win his maiden PGA Tour title, help Europe secure back-to-back Ryder Cups and then seal victory at the inaugural DP World India Championship.
He returned to the UAE last week for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and came close to another win only to be edged out by Aaron Rai in a dramatic play-off on Sunday.
It says something about the standard of play at Yas Links that Fleetwood could post rounds of 64, 66, 67 and 66 to finish the event on 25-under par – and still not come out victorious.
“It was a great tournament, it really, really was. I think there were so many positives for me,” he insisted ahead of Thursday's tee-off on the Earth Course
“Again, I feel like I played so well and played so consistently throughout the week. Gave myself chances coming down the stretch. I hit great putts coming down the stretch. Had a go. Yeah, another really, really good week.
“Like I say, it's easy to just feel that disappointment when you come so close. But Aaron was amazing. He totally deserves it.
“And for me, another week, all the positives and now one more week to go in the season now.”
Dubai resident Fleetwood is back for the DP World Tour Championship for a tournament he has twice finished as runner-up – in 2019 and 2023 – but is yet to lift the trophy.
The world No 4 will be hoping to cap an unforgettable year by adding another Rolex Series crown to the two he has, at the venue of his Tommy Fleetwood Academy.
“This is the last event I'm going to play this year. It has been a great year,” he said.
“So yeah, this will be an amazing way to finish, for sure. My whole family are here. Lots of familiar faces, a course that I know well, and I live very, very close.
“Again, it would be very special to be on the 18th green having won. I've probably had a couple of chances in this tournament over the years.
“I'd like to do a bit better than that. I'd like to present myself with a few more chances. I can clearly see that image in my head. I know it so well. We'll strive for that and see what we can do.
“This has been a very cool event for me and a few of the guys that moved here that live here now that we play in these tournaments the familiarity. It's great. I enjoy spending all my days here and practising and things like that.
“And then when the tournament comes, I enjoy playing, as well. Just looking forward to another challenge.
“I think it's … already is quite an iconic course for us now on the Tour. Nice for me to be in my own bed again.”
Having family around again will be poignant for Fleetwood coming so soon after the scenes on the final hole in India when he celebrated victory with son Frankie – a moment he says will always “have a special place in my heart”.
A superb seven-under par 65 on the final day had seen him finish two shots clear Japan's Keita Nakajima to seal an eighth DP World Tour crown.
“It was a really beautiful tournament,” he added. “If you just talk about the golf itself, the golf course was so unique, and if we continue that tournament at that venue, it will have such a special place on the calendar.
“So unique, very cool to play. The crowds, with the course being so tight, it made the crowds as loud as they were, a very intimate setting. I thought it was a really cool atmosphere.
“For me, the memories I created on the last hole, Frankie running on to the green, it will always have a special place in my heart.
"It was amazing we got the chance to go over there and play, and the country has humongous potential in the growth of the game ahead of it. And for us as players to get a chance to go over there to play to be a part of that, for me, I was the one who got to win that week.
“Yeah, it was a very special week, and when you look back on 2025 and when I look back on the year, it will be one of my favourite parts.”
