One of the few universally popular male sports stars, the Briton’s first win in 164 PGA Tour attempts is perhaps golf’s brightest story of 2025
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ome of us have always known that deep inside Tommy Fleetwood lurked a cold-blooded winner. Back in the late 90s I was working at the golf magazine Fore! when the deputy editor Simon Caney returned from the office after being thrashed 6&5 by a tiny eight-year-old who had shown him no mercy. His name? Tommy Fleetwood. Now the rest of the world knows that killer instinct exists, too.
But Fleetwood’s FedEx Cup victory, his first in 164 events on the PGA Tour, also reinforced something else. Everyone loves Tommy. Right. Left. Maga. Liberal. Whatever. It doesn’t matter. At East Lake they were chanting his name as he lifted the trophy – while on X, Tiger Woods, Adam Sandler and Caitlin Clark all tweeted their support. Even on social media, so often a cesspit of anger and bile, the equivalent of a Christmas Day armistice broke out.
Back in 2023 a survey in Sportico found that PGA supporters were among the most rightward fanbases in sport, with 56% self-identified as “more conservative” compared with 44% who were “more liberal”. Yet in our hyper-polarised world, where sides are taken and battle lines drawn, Fleetwood is one of the few male sports stars for whom we universally root.
