HERO DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

January 25, 2023

Tommy Fleetwood

Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. How do you feel about the week ahead of you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's nice getting back into the season. Getting back into the rhythm and flow of tournament golf, really, and trying to just keep building.

Build on how I sort of finished the year last year, where you're kind of starting again after you left off and you're never quite sure whether it's a month off or two months off or a couple of weeks, after that Christmas break, you're never quite sure, or you never feel quite sure how you're going to play. There's been some positives and there's been some things to work on but overall just great getting back into tournament golf.

Q. Unseasonably, looks like tomorrow might be showing us weather and damp rain. How will the course play?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It will be interesting to see what difference some rain makes. Of course in the wind, the course is going to play tougher at the moment.

Over the last three days, it's Monday, the course has been firming up, firming up, firming up, especially the greens. Rain would soften the greens up but also make the rough pretty horrible.

You know, we'll see. Got to be ready for any conditions and whatever the week throws at you but definitely the course is playing a really good test as it has done the last two or three years. So it will be interesting to see what the conditions are and what difference that makes.

Q. The 8th hole, arguably the most iconic in the Middle East can you recall your first impressions teeing up there?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I think I'm probably of an age, this is my 11th year maybe, I'm not sure but I'm of an age where I got to watch for a few years where it was an iconic tee shot. So as it was getting built into that iconic setting, I got to watch it on TV and then finally eventually get to play it.

Still, it never, ever goes away. You always look forward to standing on that tee and hitting that tee shot. I'd like to hit that fairway more, but overall it's a nice setting to stand up and hit.

Q. Do you have any tips? It's quite an intimidating tee shot, given what the wind is doing.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's nice that it's a raised tee shot, so you're generally happy that you're going to get ball flight. For us, there's people like I'm sure Rory, he can take a nice line way right, or maybe the rest of us, it's more left than you think sometimes. Overall, it's a really good golf.

Q. We have a new tournament sponsor; how important is it to have people like Hero on board?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Absolutely. I'm of an age where something like the 8th tee shot in this tournament was iconic and you see people like Monty, Ernie, Tiger, players like that winning this event and playing the 18th hole at the Majelis; and it's always been a dream event for a lot of us to come out and play.

I would still love my name on this trophy before my career ends, and without people supporting it, without sponsors supporting it, we don't get that opportunity. The sponsors play an enormous role, or the biggest role in helping us chase our dreams.