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PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA | At several points last weekend, the Honda Classic leaderboard had three English flags at the top. It appeared likely that Tommy Fleetwood (above, right), Lee Westwood (above, left) or Luke Donald would win, but each came up short Sunday at PGA National.
Fleetwood, who has made the cut in 33 consecutive worldwide starts, had designs on winning his first PGA Tour title. He made 116 feet worth of putts during a third-round 67 that put him ahead by one stroke starting the final round, but he never appeared comfortable with his ballstriking under the pressure of being in Sunday’s final pairing.
Following two opening birdies, Fleetwood lost a drive right on No. 6 and pulled an approach shot left of the green on No. 8, both of which led to bogeys. Tied for the lead on No. 13, Fleetwood hit the lip of the fairway bunker with his wedge approach and dropped another shot, appearing to take himself out of the tournament until sinking a brilliant 24-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th to get within one stroke of leader Sungjae Im.
Fleetwood smoked a drive 304 yards down the middle of the fairway on the par-5 18th but flailed his second shot right of the green into a watery grave. His closing bogey and final-round 71 dropped him to third place behind eventual winner Im and runner-up Mackenzie Hughes. Fleetwood’s world ranking, No. 12 starting last week, was projected to improve, but questions of whether he can win on U.S. soil will continue to follow him.
Fleetwood has 12 top-five finishes in PGA Tour events since 2014 without winning, the most of any player.
“I feel fine right now. I think it’s important to make sure that you’re positive about it,” a clearly dejected Fleetwood said after the round. “You have enough people that will critique what you’ve done so I’m going to do the same. I’m going to go back and look at what I could’ve done better.
“I didn’t do much wrong really. It comes down to fine margins. It’s disappointing, but it was close.”
Westwood, who will turn 47 next month and has been resurgent of late, started the final round tied with Donald - the past world No. 1 who started last week ranked No. 456 in the world - two strokes behind Fleetwood.
Westwood, a 25-time European Tour winner, has only two PGA Tour victories to his credit, the most recent being the 2010 St. Jude Classic. The last of Donald’s five victories on the circuit came in 2012 at the Transitions Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla.,, the event now sponsored by Valspar. But after surging into contention, the two combined for just one birdie on the opening nine Sunday and became afterthoughts on a jammed leaderboard.
Westwood struggled tee to green while ranking No. 2 in strokes gained putting for the week. Donald picked up nearly seven strokes with his approach game but lost significant ground off the tee. Westwood (closing 70) tied for fourth, while Donald (72) tied for 11th.
The most surprising result of the pair had to be Donald’s. Since 2016, he has missed 33 cuts while only collecting six top-10s worldwide. Injury, and the game evolving more toward an emphasis on power than precision, have led the 42-year-old into obscurity.
He flashed signs of his old charm while maintaining a place on the leaderboard. On Saturday, the first-tee announcer made a host of errors – he mispronounced Donald’s hometown of High Wycombe, England, incorrectly identified him as the 2016 Honda Classic champion (he won in 2006) and finished it off by calling him “Luke McDonald.”
Donald laughed off the wayward introduction, shaking the starter’s hand and offering some useful instructions. On Sunday, however, Donald’s round was derailed early when he sliced a drive into the water on the par-5 third and managed only a bogey on the course’s easiest hole.
“I’m proud I got into contention,” Donald said. “It's been a little bit of a while out here on the PGA Tour. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
Adding to the intrigue of Donald being in mix was that his older brother, Christian, is the caddie for Brendan Steele. Although Steele and Donald weren't paired together, Steele held the lead through 36 holes and was in the final pairing on Sunday with Fleetwood. (Like Fleetwood, Steele made a watery bogey at the last and ultimately finished T4 with Westwood and two others.)
Christian Donald has previously caddied for his brother, Martin Kaymer and Paul Casey, among others.
“He's staying with me this week, so it's been a happy household so far,” Luke Donald said after the third round.
Sean Fairholm