Tommy Fleetwood says he’s probably not as interested as others are over whether U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley will pick himself for next month’s Ryder Cup matches.
The biennial contest heads to Bethpage Black on the outskirts of New York over 26-28 September and both teams are beginning to take shape.
Five of the six automatic spots in Team Europe have been confirmed, with the final spot going to either former Open champion Shane Lowry or Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.
All six automatic qualifiers have been confirmed and all that is left for Bradley to determine is which six wildcards will join Team USA.
The biggest question on everyone’s lips is whether or not Bradley will pick himself.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy admitted he was just as captivated as everyone else is to find out what Bradley, 38, will decide to do.
Fleetwood, though, was not overly fussed about the topic when he was asked about it ahead of the PGA Tour’s season finale at East Lake.
“Probably not as interested as you are, no,” Fleetwood said. “Like I’m not not interested.
“Obviously it’s the Ryder Cup coming up, and I think it’s a big story. But you know, he’s obviously got a lot on his hands right now. He’s got big decisions to make.
“I think whatever Keegan and the U.S. Team decide to do is not something that is at all in our control or something that we’ll sort of be thinking too much about.
“I think focus on our team, look forward to opportunity to play whoever the 12 players are on that team.
“It’s nothing to do with us. It’s nothing to do with Europe. As a competitor and as a sort of peer, I wish him all the best in whatever decisions he does make.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing time for him either way, and whatever happens, I hope he – I just wish him the best and look forward to playing against him.”
Bradley will name his six picks on 27 August, while Donald will announce his on 1 September following the conclusion of the British Masters at the Belfry.
“Would be pretty funny”
Fleetwood arrives at the Tour Championship off the back of some painful near misses.
You may have read that Fleetwood is still yet to capture his first win in America.
The Englishman collapsed down the stretch at the Travelers Championship in June, allowing the aforementioned Bradley to snatch victory on the 72nd hole.
He endured similar heartache at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, finishing one shot outside of a playoff that was ultimately won by his Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose.
Fleetwood, who is among the betting favourites, did not object to discussing his close calls.
“I’m not going to feed you lies and say: ‘Oh, in Memphis I thought I did everything great, or Travelers I didn’t do anything wrong,'” Fleetwood said. “Of course I got things wrong down the stretch and it didn’t happen for me.
“You learn from those experiences. I would rather you be questioning me about not finishing tournaments off than not questioning me at all about anything.
“So I’ve obviously shown a lot of really good stuff and put myself in great positions.
“I just want to put myself there again. I want to give myself another chance. “I’ll finish it off at some point.
“I’ll get it right and I’ll get it right more than once. But being there is actually the hard part, in a way.”
Fleetwood said he uses disappointment as a motivator and the ‘good stuff’ as a means to build confidence.
He said he is not particularly bothered where and when he finally enters the winner’s circle.
“This one would be a good one,” he said. “I think there’s a bunch. I really, really do. Putting emphasis on one is pretty hard.
“But I think it would be pretty funny if I won this week and then got the FedExCup as well.”