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ATLANTA: Asked and now answered.

Emphatically.

Stop questioning Tommy Fleetwood about finally getting his first PGA Tour victory. He got his win, after so many close calls, in a big way. The Englishman captured the FedEx Cup championship with a victory in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday. He takes away the coveted playoff championship and a $10 million winner’s check.

Fleetwood finished 18 under par with a final-round 68. Patrick Cantlay (71), who played in the final pairing, and Russell Henley (69), the first- and second-round leader, tied for second at 15 under.

Fleetwood had a huge smile, maybe of relief, after making his tap-in putt to finish as fans circled the 18th green. They chanted “Tom-my, Tom-my,” as he hugged his caddie. Then he looked upward and let out a scream of delight. He raised both hands as he walked off the green and was greeted by several players.

The win came in Fleetwood’s 164th career start on tour, which included 30 top-5 finishes. Two of those near misses came in these playoffs, a tie for third at the St. Jude’s Championship and a tie for fourth at the BMW Championship. He’s had to answer questions about finally breaking through, especially when he entered the final round holding a share of the lead.

“It’s a shame the story is gone,” Fleetwood said of finally breaking through. “I enjoyed it while it lasted in a sick way. ... I’ll be proud of the strength that I had to show to keep coming back and showing that it can be done if you’re resilient enough and you keep putting yourself in those positions.

“I’ll look back at it and I’ll be able to tell people that I am really, really pleased that I get to talk to kids or aspiring golfers or aspiring sports people, whatever they’re trying to do, and I can genuinely talk about showing resilience or keep coming back after tough losses and keep working and all of those things and the skills that you have to use in order to put yourself there again and then finally get it done.”

Fleetwood, who entered fifth in the points standings, became the first player in the FedEx Cup era (since 2007) to claim his first career PGA tour title at the Tour Championship.

Cantlay found trouble early with a bogey at the first hole and a double-bogey at the second. When Fleetwood birdied No. 2, he was 17 under to Cantlay’s 13 under. Henley took over second place at 15 under.

Fleetwood took a three-stroke lead, at 18 under, into the second nine over Cantay and Henley.

When Cantlay birdied and Fleetwood bogeyed the 10th, just a stroke separated the two. Cantlay bogeyed the 11th, and Fleetwood’s edge was back to two strokes. A Fleetwood birdie at the 13th, and the lead was back to three at 19-under.

When Fleetwood’s tee shot at the par-3 15th landed on dry land — after he hit water in the third round — the tournament was all but over even though he took a bogey. He would play the final hole with a three-stroke lead.

“I think it’s easy for anybody to say that they are resilient, that they bounce back, that they have fight,” Fleetwood said. “It’s different when you actually have to prove it. There’s different types of mental strength. I’ve clearly got things wrong in the dire moments of tournaments, and I might have made the odd dodgy decision, might have put a bad swing on it.

“But I’ve had to have mental strength in a different way. I’ve had to be resilient in terms of putting myself back up there, getting myself back in that position, no matter how many times it doesn’t go my way, no matter how many doubts might creep in. Think the right things, say the right things to yourself, say the right things outwardly, and I am really pleased that I can be proof that if you do all the right things and you just keep going that it can happen.”

Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player and FedEx Cup points leader, started four strokes back. He hit his opening drive out of bounds and managed bogey. He would get two within two strokes of Fleetwood on the back nine but put his tee shot on the par-3 15th in the water and made double-bogey. Scheffler’s chance at back-to-back FedEx Cup titles was over. Scheffler (68) finished tied for fourth at 14 under.

“I wasn’t as sharp as I would have hoped to have (been),” Scheffler said. “I had a good first round, but outside of that didn’t really play my best.”

The Tour Championship changed formats this year to a winner-take-all final with all players starting at even par. However, had they used the starting- strokes format from the previous six years, Scheffler would have won the tournament and the title. Fleetwood, starting at 5 under, who have finished at 23 under; Scheffler, starting 10 under, who have finished 24 under.

NEW YORK: Defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was given an early test before she moved into the second round while Emma Raducanu won her first match at the Grand Slam since her 2021 triumph as the tournament began a day earlier than usual on Sunday.
Under the new extended 15-day format, first-round singles action will be contested from Sunday to Tuesday, rather than two days as in previous years, spreading out the star attractions and allowing access for another 70,000-odd spectators.
Sabalenka was among the marquee names on the opening day’s schedule and the Belarusian fed off the vocal Arthur Ashe crowd to overcome determined Swiss Rebeka Masarova 7-5 6-1 and move into the next round.
“When I won that first set and you cheered for me, I got goosebumps,” said Sabalenka, who will take on Russia’s Polina Kudermetova in the second round on Wednesday.
“Your support means a lot to me, thank you for coming. It was an amazing atmosphere.”
Novak Djokovic, the record 24-times Grand Slam singles champion, headlines the evening schedule on the main showcourt against American Learner Tien and he will be followed by 2024 finalist Jessica Pegula, who plays Egypt’s Mayar Sherif.
Italian Jasmine Paolini kicks off the later program on Louis Armstrong Stadium against Australian qualifier Destanee Aiava, followed by the 2021 champion and 13th seed Daniil Medvedev, who faces France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

Compelling wins
Earlier, the extra crop of local ticketholders witnessed compelling wins from 2024 finalist Taylor Fritz, who beat compatriot Emilio Nava 7-5 6-2 6-3, and 2023 semifinalist Ben Shelton, who beat Peru’s qualifier Ignacio Buse 6-3 6-2 6-4.
Fourth seed Fritz and the sixth seed Shelton have emerged as two of the brightest hopes to end a 22-year US men’s drought at their domestic major, as their women’s counterparts have long carried the torch for American tennis.
Briton Raducanu, the first qualifier to win the tournament four years ago, made the second round for the first time since hoisting the trophy as she defeated Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-1 6-2.

“I did feel different coming into it this year,” said Raducanu, who lost in the first round in 2022 and 2024.
“I felt like I was doing the right things day to day, but still, it’s in the back of your head. So I’m just very pleased to have overcome that.”
 

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who lost to Raducanu in the final four years ago, defeated compatriot Rebecca Marino 6-2 6-1 while 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova saw off Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3 7-6(3).
Former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko made smooth progress with a 6-4 6-3 win over Chinese qualifier Wang Xiyu.
There were a handful of surprises, as qualifier Janice Tjen earned Indonesia’s first win in a Grand Slam main draw in 22 years when she knocked out 24th seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 4-6 6-4.
Alexandra Eala of the Philippines got the crowd on their feet as she battled back from 1-5 in the deciding set to defeat Denmark’s 14th seed Clara Tauson 6-3 2-6 7-6(11) in a nerve-searing affair at the Grandstand.
“It was so, so difficult,” said Eala. “This match is one for the books for me.”