Fleetwood starts bid to conquer America

[February 15, 2018]  (Reuters) - Britain's Tommy Fleetwood believes he needs to win a PGA Tour title to be ranked among the best players in the world as he begins his American adventure at the Genesis Open on Thursday.

The 27-year-old will play his first tournament as a PGA Tour member and hopes to continue the sparkling form which lifted him to 12th in the world rankings earlier this year, having finished last season as the European Tour's order of merit champion.

"The next stage in my career would be to win on the PGA Tour," Fleetwood told reporters. "If you want to be one of the world's best players, you have to do it in America."

Fleetwood kickstarted the new season with a dominant display to defend his Abu Dhabi title followed by a top-six finish in Dubai.

He remains keen to gather further momentum in the U.S. ahead of his second Masters appearances in April.

"I've done it in quite a few different scenarios in the last year – came fourth in the U.S. Open, second in the World Golf Championship in Mexico," he added.

 

England's Tommy Fleetwood during the final round Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough

"So I want to contend and, yeah, it's a slightly different challenge, but I feel courses like this suit my game if I play well. We've got two WGCs, some big PGA Tour events and then the Masters coming up and I just want to stay on that roll."

Fleetwood will tee off the opening round at the Riviera Country Club in the company of American duo Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)

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