Tommy Fleetwood to draw on Le Golf National ‘special memories’ at Olympics

Tommy Fleetwood will look to call on his “special” memories of Le Golf National as he goes for Olympic gold this week.

Fleetwood won the Open de France at the venue just outside Paris in 2017 and another career highlight occurred the following year as he won four points in five matches to help Europe regain the Ryder Cup.

He struck up a winning combination with Francesco Molinari – the pair prevailed in all four matches together – and the Italian claimed the winning point to guarantee victory over the United States.

Asked about his favourite memory of that week, Fleetwood said: “Winning moment. It was my first Ryder Cup, that winning moment on the 16th hole when Fran had finally clinched it, that was the one for me.

“That Ryder Cup was a special week and this is a very special week. Any time you come to a golf course and you’ve played well around there and you’ve got visions of good golf shots, you feel better than somewhere where you’ve always struggled.

“When I was look at making the Olympics, coming to Le Golf National, first of all, there’s knowing the course. If you’ve played it quite a lot, that’s always a helping hand.”

Fleetwood performed well on his Olympics debut in Tokyo three years ago although an overall score of 11 under par was only good enough for joint-16th, seven shots off gold medallist Xander Schauffele.

The 33-year-old goes into Thursday’s first round motivated by the efforts of close friend and swimmer James Guy, who helped Team GB to victory in the men’s 4×200 metres freestyle relay on Tuesday evening.

“He sent me a picture saying “love you, brother” with his gold medal. Watching at home, I was unbelievably happy for him, how well he swam and how well the team did. I’m so proud and happy for him.

“I think the Olympics is amazing, I really, really do. I feel very lucky to be here and be amongst it. It does, it inspires me.”

Unlike Team GB team-mate Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick has won a major after triumphing at the 2022 US Open and while he would not put an Olympic gold in the same bracket, he is relishing the experience.

Ahead of his first appearance at the Games, the 29-year-old said: “The gold medal isn’t at the top of every golfer’s list, the four majors are. There’s no doubt about that.

“But I’d certainly say it’s underneath that. Before I arrived here and kind of got the feel for the Olympics itself, you probably underestimate how big it is.

“Once you are here and you realise the gravity of the whole event and how much it means to other people, not just as an athlete and golfer, you realise that a gold medal would feel very special.

“I always remember growing up watching the Olympics and understanding how big a deal it was.

“I would say it’s a cool feeling that you’re going for something that’s different, and you feel part of something a little bit bigger.”