Tommy Fleetwood has changed his equipment despite having a relatively successful year so far.
Rory McIlroy started the 2024 season with a victory at the Dubai Invitational, thanks to a water crash on the 18th hole. However, the British player was unable to record a win after that, continuing his winless streak on the PGA Tour.
He missed just two cuts all year at Bay Hill and Royal Troon, and had a career-best finish with a tie for third at Augusta National. He also won a silver medal at the Olympics. It's been a successful year by all standards, and that extends to his last three starts on the DP World Tour, all finishing in the top 12 or better.
Still, Fleetwood will arrive in Abu Dhabi this week with a new putter. He has spent the last month testing TaylorMade's new prototype at home and is excited to use it in the first event of the DP World Tour Playoffs this week. Perhaps it will pay off and bring another victory soon. After all, Fleetwood's putting statistics regressed significantly in 2024 compared to 2023.
Think about it. In 2023, when Fleetwood earned Ryder Cup winning points, the British player was ranked 14th on tour in strokes gained putts. Even more impressively, he needed only one stroke 44.4% of the time, ranking him first on the PGA Tour in one-putt percentage. He also ranked 6th in putts per round and 20th in birdie conversion rate. When Fleetwood hit his approach near the hole, he usually converted. No wonder he made 15 of 28 matches on the PGA Tour in 2023 and had eight top-10s, double this year.
In 2024, Fleetwood's birdie conversion rate dropped more than four points, from 33.64% to 29.22%, plummeting from 20th to 151st in the metric. Additionally, the number of strokes gained putts, number of putts per round, and one putt percentage decreased significantly. But not all hope is lost. Fleetwood ranks 18th on tour in hole putts from inside 10 feet, hitting nearly 90 percent of the time. But his other putting stats pale in comparison to previous seasons.
He felt obligated to experiment this week because something needed to change. It's the perfect time to do so, considering it's not the most intense part of the PGA Tour season.
“I love testing my equipment and testing new and different things, but schedules make it very difficult. Tournaments are packed very close to each other and , it seems like there are no big events or insignificant events,” Fleetwood said Wednesday.
“I'm looking forward to going outside.'' [on Thursday] Putting it into competition is the only thing I haven't done yet, so it's very exciting. ”
While on the putting green on Wednesday. Fleetwood spoke with former European Tour executives Ken Brown and David Howell. They are currently working in the broadcasting industry.
“We've had great conversations about putting over the years, but I always like meeting players and talking about the game. I'm still around people who are passionate about the game. I'm really happy about that,” Fleetwood added.
“We were just talking about my putting and some things. [they are] Two great putters, two of the best putters I've ever come across. So you're figuring things out and you're always learning. ”
Perhaps Fleetwood will follow in the footsteps of Scottie Scheffler, who switched from a blade putter to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Scheffler won eight tournaments in 2024, including the Masters and the Olympics. He will also win the Player of the Year award again. Interestingly, McIlroy appeared on the air during the Genesis Invitational in February and suggested that the No. 1 player in the world should switch to a mallet. Scheffler struggled on the greens in January and February, ranking last in the field almost every week. The mallet then turned the tide for Scheffler, who had a historic year.
As for Fleetwood, it's anyone's guess how this move will pan out in Dubai this week, next week or beyond. But sometimes pro golfers need to make small changes to improve small parts of their game, and those moves often pay off. If Fleetwood does that, keep an eye on him in 2025. After all, he's going to be on the PGA Tour.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
