There's a new kind of attention on Tommy Fleetwood heading into 2026 major season.
For a long time recognised as the best player in the world without not only a major, but even a PGA Tour win. It was a remarkable anomaly for a player of Fleetwood's talents, and with the changes to the PGA Tour calendar, winning seemed to get harder rather than easier over time.
Of course, Fleetwood was a hugely accomplished player having won seven times on the DP World Tour and played his part in two Ryder Cup wins at that point.
But the win at the Tour Championship last season checked a huge task off his to-do list.
Despite his winless streak, there was an expectation around Fleetwood given his stature in the game and his eight previous major top-10s.
Still playing golf at an elite level, there's even more attention on Fleetwood, who now knows how to get over the line in the United States.
"[Winning the Masters] would be very special," said Fleetwood. "There's no doubt for everybody that plays the game... winning a Masters, whether it be walking up the 18th, making a putt on the 18th, the moment where you have the jacket put on you... you can rattle them off.
"It's on such a mantlepiece in people's career in how they view it and it's so easy to create those moments in your mind because we watch it every year.
"We've watched some of the best shots of all time hit on the back nine at Augusta over the last however many years, and you can relate to that because you feel like you know it whether you've played here or not."
Fleetwood has had a number of good finishes at Augusta but is yet to find himself in the mix, something he hopes to change this time around.
"I would love to be there late on Sunday, in with a chance, those juices flowing on the back nine of Augusta.
"In 2024 I was very much on the outskirts. I finished third but Scottie [Scheffler] was a long way in front and I was never really in contention. I've never had that joy of playing on the back nine with a chance to win the Masters and I'd love that so much."
