U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

June 18, 2023

Tommy Fleetwood

The Los Angeles Country Club

Flash Interview

Q. 7-under 63, the first player in U.S. Open history to shoot two rounds of 63 or better. Can you talk us through the round out there today?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, missed a six-footer on the first, missed a five-footer on the last, and then everything in between was really, really good.

I got off to a nice start, and I think -- I holed like a 15-footer for par on 5 and then eagled the 6th, and I think those two holes there were just a huge part of the round really, momentum-wise and one of those days, Sunday, you want to get the best out of it that you can, and I just happened to be playing really well and got momentum on my side.

I hit some amazing golf shots. I hit the tee shot on 6 and then the 5-wood off the tee into 11 that I had to cut against the wind a little bit. I mean, those two shots stand out for me, and then even down the last few holes.

So amazing coming down the stretch and playing so well and shooting those scores on a Sunday in a U.S. Open.

Q. Shinnecock in '18, now today. What is it about Sundays at the U.S. Open for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I don't know. I just need to be higher up the leaderboard coming into Sunday and then have another day like today.

It's a nice little piece of history, of course, it is. And you can be disappointed with what I didn't get out of today, but I think having something like that and shooting multiple 63s in a major, and I think anything like days like today where you can put in the memory bank and know that you can get rounds going and your game can stand up on a major golf course and shoot low scores is really nice to have.

Q. It's obviously firming up as the sun dries it out this afternoon, but were you surprised how gettable it was this morning?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I was a little bit, yeah. The weather, it was sunny from the get-go yesterday. I even thought yesterday might actually be a bit harder, and I thought the guys at the top of the leaderboard, they handled it really, really well.

It's hard to judge it when you have such a good day and things go your way all the time. I think there's two or three pins later on that will cause issue. Like 17, I couldn't have hit two better golf shots and couldn't hit the green.

So there is the odd one, but I think overall it's been gettable, of course it has, because there's been scores out there, but we'll see. Coming in late on a Sunday in a major is always difficult.

Q. When you get to 8-under on the day, do you allow yourself to think about 61, 60?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, it was possible. Yeah, I didn't hit that bad of a tee shot on 16. I hit a lovely shot into 15.

I think what you have to do at that point is just trust yourself because it's easy to get ahead of yourself and start thinking of any kind of score.

Just trust the game for the last few holes coming in. I didn't have the scores I wanted to on the last four holes.

I hit a great shot into 15 and a good putt.

16 tee shot was only slightly out.

17 played the hole perfect.

18 I did as well I missed a short putt.

So I think at that point you just have to trust what you've been doing all day and just keep hitting shots, and I actually think I did that really well today.

Disappointed with the sort of scores on the final four holes and the putt on the last, but overall I just felt like I kept playing and really enjoyed it out there.

Q. Give us your views about the pin on the 15th. Ian was speaking fairly strongly about it.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: On 15? Yeah, I mean, it's tricky, but I guess you're only hitting some kind of wedge or gap wedge into it. Green is the defense of that hole in a way, and we hit a good shot.

I think above the hole it's very, very difficult. Sam, who we played with, hit a lovely shot and came up just below the hole and had a nice chance.

There's a lot of pins, especially in a U.S. Open, where you hit good shots that are the wrong side of it, and it's easy to get frustrated and feel hurt a little bit by the setup.

There's been tricky pins. There's been some tough pins this week. Overall generally fair, but I guess it's all part of a U.S. Open.

Q. As you found yourself climbing the leaderboard as your round progressed today, was there a specific point in your mind where you thought you might actually be able to put up a score good enough to win today?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No. No. Never really. I think even -- I was just looking to try and put the best score I possibly could. You don't know what the conditions are going to bring or what the weather is going to bring, but I was pretty conscious of trying to shoot the lowest score I possibly could.

Never really felt in contention. I think that was one of the differences between today and Shinnecock really. Shinnecock, as soon as I got midway through the back nine I was in with a chance so I had a longer period where I was trying to win a major, whereas today it was just about shoot the best score you can, and I was enjoying it and trusting my game.

Of course a couple more birdies and a ridiculous round like a 61, maybe you'd start thinking about it, and at 7-under I would definitely be thinking about maybe the wind picking up and hoping for the worst.

As it is, no, I never thought too far ahead.

Q. Your game has just been trending in a really good direction. Just wondering what's changed, what's working for you right now?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I'm playing well. I'm lucky to have the people that I am working with. I think I have a good mix of sort of coaches and people that have been with me for a long time, and then the addition this year of Butch and Colby have been great. I speak to Bob Rotella regularly.

I think I've drawn on a lot of people. I enjoy talking to people around the game. I enjoy -- I want to be able to help people with the game, as well, when I'm done in my playing days, so I really enjoy learning about the game and taking in every bit of information I can.

I think the consistency of speaking to those guys as well as there's parts of my game that have always remained pretty solid. My short game is always solid, iron play is pretty good. I think I'm driving it better now this year particularly.

So from the start of the summer I think I've started driving it much more consistently, which is such a huge part of the game these days, and if you're not doing that, it's very difficult to post any kind of challenge on any week I feel.

Yeah, I feel like I've been doing a lot of good things for a really long time. I've said it many times. The standard is so high that you can be very close and it looks like you're not doing that great, and it just takes something to turn it. You look at a ton of examples.

I know Rickie is playing amazing this year. I don't think Rickie will have been that far away for a while.

Wyndham Clark playing amazing this year. I don't think he's done that much different.

They'll have done things differently, but the change from all of a sudden winning in tournaments, being in contention, trying to win majors sometimes isn't that far away if you're doing all the right things.

There's always times when you are a long way off and you're struggling, but I don't feel like I've been there for a year and a half at least, and sort of now I guess there's a few results and rounds that are starting to show.

Q. How do you compare your game and your mental game and your swing compared to some of the high points of your career so far?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I would say I'm probably a bit more knowledgeable now, which might not always be a good thing. In the peak, I guess, in '17 and '18, '19, I was so confident at any given time, so no matter when I played badly, or poor or good, I always felt I was going to play well at some point, and I always felt that that game was going to be good enough to be in contention and win tournaments.

When you've struggled for a little bit, it always takes time for your confidence to grow.

I think I'm a better all-around player than I ever have been for sure, and I think the more I can just keep doing the right things, putting myself in contention and keep experiencing Sundays like last week, keep having rounds like today, the more your confidence builds and the more examples you give to yourself that everything is good enough and it can be your time anytime soon, I think that stands you in good stead.

But I think overall my game is better than it was, and it's starting to show, I guess.