Tommy Fleetwood has admitted that he has been managing his iron play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship as he is not comfortable with his ball-striking.
While the FedEx Cup playoffs hold some happy memories for the Englishman, it is probably fair to say that the pressure on his shoulders is ramping up having not won on the PGA Tour since last year’s Tour Championship.
Fleetwood goes into Sunday in Memphis with an outside chance of victory. He is tied for fourth after his second consecutive round of 68 at TPC Southwind.
However, he is five shots off the lead with 18 holes to play. And unfortunately for Fleetwood, it is world number one Scottie Scheffler who sits top of the leaderboard.
Tommy Fleetwood admits frustration with his iron game at the FedEx St. Jude Championship
Few players seem to strike the ball as well as Tommy Fleetwood. The 35-year-old was sixth on the PGA Tour for strokes gained approach during the 2025 season.
However, it was his short game and putting that kept him in the mix on Saturday.
And when asked about his third round performance, Fleetwood admitted that he is struggling from tee to green.
“Two-under is a good score. Yeah, I think about the score, and it seemed like it was a tricky day. There’s obviously low ones out there, but I didn’t play very well. [I am] not really on it with my irons,” he said.
“So I felt like I did a really good job of scoring, and after 13 sort of had momentum, hit it on the greens and stuff. Yeah, two-under was a good day clearly.
“I hit two straight lefts off the tee or three in the first seven holes were left off the tee. And my irons, I feel like I’m getting closer to it every now and again, but then I’m just not comfortable with a lot of shots. I’ve been managing it well, and I have hit good shots. I’m not going to lie. I’m not saying I’m playing terrible. I’m not going to put that in my mind either.
“Just not quite where I’d want it to be in terms of making the most of being in good position sometimes when I have it in the fairway. Yeah, today, it just wasn’t my best ball striking day. I did a lot of good stuff. I chipped and putted beautifully aside from a couple.”
Fleetwood sets his sights on a fast start as he looks to catch Scottie Scheffler
It is going to be a huge ask for Fleetwood to secure his second PGA Tour victory this week. Scheffler has only made five bogeys across the first three rounds.
But he will hope to put some pressure on in the early stages. Fleetwood was asked about the fact that he is six-under par on the third and fourth holes this week. And he discussed how important it is to fly out of the blocks on Sunday.
“There’s only two par-fives, three and 16. It would be nice to pick up there. I really don’t think they’ll give me birdies by any means. I think they’re really good par-fives, three especially,” he said.
“It’s just nice to get off to a good start. Even bogeying the 1st today, to then get it under par through four holes was nice. You hole it that way, you can struggle a little bit at the start and you’ve got it going again. Definitely don’t take those things for granted. I’ve got one more day. If we can get off to another fast start, that would be great.
“There are good chances. You see a bunch of people start off well, like you can start off well. Just go out, hopefully have a good feeling on the 1st tee. Hit good golf shots. I was four-under through four on the first day. Try and channel that and see if we can get it going.”
It bodes well for Fleetwood that he is so high on the leaderboard while well short of his best.
He has got a good record in Memphis, particularly in recent years, but he can still take plenty of encouragement from the fact that he remains one of Scheffler’s closest challengers this week.