RYDER CUP HERO Tommy Fleetwood admits this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship will be a ‘return to reality’ after the highs of victory at Le Golf National on Sunday afternoon.
The Englishman played a starring role, picking up a total of four points, as Europe regained the crown from their US rivals.
Fleetwood now returns to the course at St. Andrews and speaking ahead of Thursday’s opening round, the 27-year-old insisted he has set himself fresh targets to hit before the end of the season.
“There’s still plenty of golf to be played,” he said. “There’s still six or seven tournaments left on my schedule. There’s still certain goals that I have.
“I’d love to win again by the end of the year in December. That will be our time off and we’ll go away for Christmas and new year and really switch off for a while. For now, I’ll have to keep working.
You don’t know how you’re going to feel after the Ryder Cup. There’s such a build-up to it and it’s such an intense week, you don’t quite know what happens after it or how you feel.
“I think it’s the perfect kind of week to follow. St Andrews is my favourite course.”
As for his recuperation from the weekend, Fleetwood says he is still feeling the effects of the tournament.
“I could honestly sleep for a week, I’m sure, but I feel all right physically at the moment.”
Fleetwood also addressed the viral video he starred in alongside this year’s Open winner and Ryder Cup playing partner, Francesco Molinari.
The Italian picked up maximum points from his five matches and on the back of their victory in Paris, the pair shared a bed together alongside the Ryder Cup trophy.
Fleetwood maintains the video was ‘legitimate’.
“It was real, we just got caught,” he said to laughter among members of the press.
“I don’t know how it happened but we got caught, and it’s gone out but luckily we’ve had a good response from it. But me and Fran have been caught out a little bit there.”
Of the pairs performance, he said: “It was great for us to have that contribution for the team. We didn’t lead by any means.
“We were just part of that whole environment and that whole team.
“I think from Friday morning when we were at our most nervous, to have that contribution which kind of sparked a bit of momentum I think was very important.
“The ‘bromance’ has sort of come alive and it’s been a big talking point.
“Just to have our contribution to the team [recognised] I think was the most important thing for us.
“I’m very, very happy for Fran to get that winning shot, which he deserved, and making that bit of history for himself.
“Honestly he didn’t care one bit whether he got zero points or five points as long as the team won, and that’s just the way he is, really.”
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