What’s the solution for Tommy Fleetwood?

Each week, we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

The BMW Championship this week is the last chance U.S. players will have to alter their Ryder Cup standings or influence Captain Keegan Bradley’s six picks. Currently, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Keegan Bradley, Maverick McNealy and Andrew Novak hold down positions 7 through 12 while others with more team experience such as Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark languish outside the Top 12. If you were Bradley, would you make a change to the current 12 and if so, which players would be involved?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): If I were Keegan Bradley (fortunately, I’m not), I would take myself off the players list and stick to my knitting as Captain.  Otherwise, it looks like my ego has taken over, and if I play poorly, I look like a chump.  In my place, I’d appoint number 13 on the eligibility list, simple as that.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: No changes. I believe in the top 12 as the team or let the captain pick the entire 12.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): I really think this week is a big one for those on the fence, as I can’t believe there’s a clear-cut case to be made for anyone from 10-20 on the points list.  I do hope that Keegan doesn’t select himself.  I like Keegan but I think it’s best for him to stick to the one role for the week.  And I think one of the bottom two (McNealy and Novak) are at risk, so they need a good week this week.  Harman will have to get a good look given his success in big events the past couple of seasons, and beyond that you might have to go down to Bhatia or Gotterup for an off the board wild card pick.  Gotterup has been one of the hottest players this summer, so he deserves a look, but needs to play well this week to nail down a Captain’s pick.

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: Here’s hoping he makes a bunch of picks and they all backfire. Not sporting, true, but call it the Trump effect. In any case, not a fan of the captain’s picks option. If you’ve played well enough for a couple of years to be part of the dirty dozen (sorry, Beth Page effect), then you should get the free shirts, and the bride or significant other should get to the party. Getting bumped by some guy outside the top 12 who happens to be the captain’s pal is offensive and shouldn’t be a part of the sugar baron’s Cup.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): Take the Top 12 as they appear on the list. They’ve earned the right to be on the team. So too has Bradley himself, but if he decides not to be a playing captain, then #13 is the answer.

The PGA Tour has changed their playoff format yet again, but it seems no matter what they do, few people get excited for the golf playoffs like they do for playoffs in team sports. What’s the solution?

Deeks: My solution: one big, final, match-play tournament for the top 32 money earners, in which the top 4 get a bye in the first round.  Unfortunately, the Tour is obsessed with TV coverage and large sponsor dollars, so a single tournament, and limited field, and TV-unfriendly match play, and the risk of number 32 winning the whole thing, means it ain’t gonna happen.  But this format would be much more exciting and nail-biting than three long-drawn-out events with convoluted eligibility, and insane payout.

Schurman: If I knew that I would be rich! The current format is the closest they will get to the right format. Season-long point earners have been rewarded, and now it’s time for a final play-off just like every other sport.

Rule: The PGA Tour season is so long and focused on the 4 majors, so when we get to the end of the Open Championship, it’s natural for the average fan’s interest to wane.  It’s not like team sports where the regular season doesn’t really matter.  The regular season on Tour includes all the big tournaments. So, I guess there is no perfect solution, you’ll never get the interest like other sports, but that’s ok for everyone other than the C-Suite at FedEx. I’ll tune in on Sunday during the playoffs if there is a good battle among players I like, otherwise wake me up the new year.

Quinn: Just might be a square peg and a round hole situation. The game lends itself to single tourney playoffs — three-hole aggregate so superior to sudden victory (as Curt Gowdy would have it). The Tour’s current “playoff” money mill indeed has not generated any excitement and never will. Maybe this $y$tem can be used to produce the two top guys. The rest go home closely followed by the Brinks trucks. Then the two left standing play a prime time (under the lights?) stroke play match for a title (and a bundle) to be named and counted later. Any thing other than a replay of what’s not entertainment would be an improvement.

Mumford: The FedEx Cup is all about determining the best player over the course of a season. So, why fiddle with formats that might let somebody ranked #30 win it all. Extend the season by adding the St. Jude event and the BMW, then award the FedEx Cup to the leading point getter and dole out the bonus money accordingly. Use the last week at East Lake to host the Tournament of Champions for winners only. The end of the season seems like a better time to recognize the current year champions anyway and the January event at Kapalua can still be a Signature Event for the top 50.

On Sunday, leader Tommy Fleetwood stumbled late in pursuit of his first ever PGA Tour victory and missed out on the playoff between Justin Rose and JJ Spaun, which Rose won on the third playoff hole. Fleetwood has won many times on the Euro circuit but like fellow Brits Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood, who both contended many times in majors and regular Tour events and never won, he can’t close the deal in North America. What’s the solution?

Deeks: Gee, I dunno.  Maybe switch to left-handed clubs?  I feel SO sorry for the guy, partly because I can empathize with the ability to choke in my own club tournament history.  No matter how hard you try to focus, breathe deeply, swing slowly… suddenly the drives start fading, the irons are thin, the chips are too short or too long, and the putts graze by the hole.  The pharmaceutical industry needs to come up with an anti-choke pill… Minochoka?

Schurman: My heart bleeds for Tommy, but this is the big leagues. As you point out, he isn’t the first or only victim. However, other UK players like Faldo, Seve, and Jacklin did win in the USA. There is only one answer: keep trying. In his case, perhaps he is just too nice.

Rule: What a heartbreak…again.  I feel for Tommy because he’s such a nice guy and great professional. But maybe that’s one of the issues, he’s too nice and doesn’t have that killer instinct required to close the deal.  I think he either needs a 7-shot lead with 9 to play or plays an hour before the leaders, posts a 62 and back-doors a victory.  I just can’t see him closing the deal in a close battle down the stretch. But I hope I’m wrong and he does it sooner than later.

Quinn: On the occasion of his 80th birthday, had the pleasure of interviewing Canadian Hall of Famer — three PGA Tour wins, 12 Masters with three top 10s, eight Canadian PGA Championships — Stan Leonard. First thing he said: “Quinn, Quinn, any relation to Barney Quinn?” “My grandfather.” “Hmm, lefty, good player.” A founding member of Vancouver’s venerable Marine Drive GC, where Leonard was pro from 1940 to 1955, Ralph Hector ‘Barney’ Quinn was indeed a good player, as was my father and his two brothers. Growing up, getting to clean his spikes before his weekend rounds and eventually carrying his bag, Barney shared a lot about the game with me. One thing he repeated was: “Golf is played between the ears.” Guess that’s why I wasn’t ever really that good. Never was a Barneyism more true than last weekend. Rose gave a master class in mental toughness, Fleetwood the opposite. For both players it was a repeat performance: fabulous for one, familiar for the other. Fleetwood has to find a Rotella for some ‘between the ears’ sessions to stop hitting the repeat button.

Mumford: The temptation is to suggest dramatic changes to force a different outcome. Cutting his hair or brushing his teeth with his other hand might inject a superstitious element to his daily routine but the fact is Tommy is playing some of the best golf of his life and doesn’t need to change anything. Relatively few players get to experience agonizing defeats but those that do rationalize to themselves that they were close and perhaps a bounce here or one more made putt there will be the difference next time. Luck has been against Tommy so far – he should have won the 2023 RBC Canadian Open but for Nick Taylor’s miraculous 72-footer – but that could change in an instant. Just stay the course. And maybe buy a rabbit’s foot.