Giving Back

In the world of golf, where elegance meets precision, few players possess the ability to capture hearts both on and off the fairways.

But Tommy Fleetwood has managed to do just that thanks to his laser-like iron play and deft touch on the greens to his love of giving back to the game away from the professional ranks.

Outside the realms of being a six-time winner on the DP World Tour, Fleetwood is a champion of creating opportunities to play the game in a fun and relaxed environment through his two Tommy Fleetwood Academies – one in Southport where he grew up and one in Dubai, which had it’s grand opening at last season’s DP World Tour Championship.

The opening of the venue in Dubai, which builds on DP World’s commitment to growing grassroots golf in the region, is the latest passion project for the Englishman, who wants to help grow the game across the world.

“The goal is to get as many people playing the game of golf as possible,” said Fleetwood.

“There’s a lot of amazing things that the game of golf does. There’s a lot of amazing things it’s done for me. And I want to bring that to as many people as possible.

“The ultimate goal is to have somebody from the academy winning on the DP World Tour. That would be absolutely amazing if we could do that, and that’s what we’ll continue to strive to do.”

While he dreams of producing the next generation of talent in professional golf, you’d be a fool to think that’s all Fleetwood cares about at his two academies.

“Whether the dream is to win Majors or whether the dream is to, you know, be a dentist, I don’t really care,” he said.

“I do think that the academy and the game of golf can help you in so many ways achieve other things in life.

“Overall, we want to challenge them to their very limit of their abilities but give them the confidence they can reach that limit and not be afraid to fail on any given day. Failure is just another attempt, we want to keep them as positive as possible and give them the confidence to go out and do that.”

That confidence to not be afraid to fail on any given day has seen Fleetwood become one of the finest players on planet golf, boasting six DP World Tour titles, including two Rolex Series events, captaining Team Great Britain & Ireland at this year’s Hero Cup and becoming a three-time Ryder Cupper after Luke Donald announced his European side last week.

He will be hoping to improve on that Rolex Series tally this week at Wentworth, with the former European Number One aiming to convert his strong run of form into a win at the BMW PGA Championship as he looks to add another prestigious trophy to his increasingly impressive CV.

The 32-year-old has had six worldwide top tens this year, and his most recent victory came with his successful Nedbank Golf Challenge title defence at the end of 2022.

“I always enjoy playing the BMW PGA Championship, and it’s an event I would love to win,” he said.

“Being an Englishman, to have your family and friends with you all week is a real treat for us, but on top of that, we have the biggest crowds who are just so unbelievably loud and supportive for all of us, it makes it a unique week that is for sure.”