No excuses: Tommy Fleetwood prepares for Players Championship as family remains in Dubai
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Tommy Fleetwood's family is unable to leave Dubai due to conflicts in the Middle East, but the Englishman said on March 9 they are being kept "very safe" by the United Arab Emirates.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – While Tommy Fleetwood is playing PGA Tour events in the US, his family is half a world away, unable to leave Dubai as conflicts in the Middle East continue.
The Englishman counts his family among the lucky ones, telling reporters on March 9 that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has done an “unbelievable job” with the situation as war unfolds in nearby Iran after air strikes by the US and Israel.
“They’re still in Dubai at the moment,” the 35-year-old said at his press conference at The Players Championship in Florida.
“It’s been a strange time. I can honestly say that my family have been very, very safe. I think the UAE has done an unbelievable job at making everybody feel very safe and very secure and handling that.”
Airspace over Dubai has been partially reopened, but Fleetwood did not know a timeline for when his family could join him stateside.
“You know, they’re supposed to travel soon, so I think they’re looking at travelling whenever they can, but the main thing has been that they are safe,” he added.
“I honestly can’t speak highly enough about how well the country has handled things for the people that are over there. Just I haven’t experienced it. I’ve been over here.”
The No. 3 golfer in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Fleetwood tied for fourth at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and finished tied-seventh at the Genesis Invitational in his first two PGA Tour starts of 2026 in February.
But last week he shot a pair of 76s over four days at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and ended up in 49th place at six-over par.
He balked at the idea that concerns for his family affected his play.
“I don’t really like to make excuses. I definitely won’t be one to say whether it has a role in how I play or not. I think Bay Hill’s hard enough, you know,” he said with a laugh.
“But I think you just do the best with whatever cards you’re dealt with and try and, when I’m working or playing or practising, just throw myself into that.
“No doubt I would love my family in and around the area to be in a sort of more comfortable situation, but like I say, they have handled it unbelievably well.”
The reigning FedExCup champion could notch the biggest win of his career this week at TPC Sawgrass. He will need to brush off a poor week and reset, something that he feels is a strength of his.
“I think every week is a fresh week,” he said. “I hope I do have a really good week this week after sort of struggling a bit last week. I will definitely have worse weeks in my career than finishing 49th at Bay Hill.”
Fleetwood tied for 14th at The Players Championship in 2025.
In other news, LIV Golf’s inclusion in the OWGR continues to provide early dividends for its players, with Jon Rahm vaulting 18 spots to world No. 36 following his victory in Hong Kong on March 8.
It is the Spaniard’s highest ranking in more than a year, as the former world No. 1 has steadily climbed since LIV Golf was added to the OWGR.
The 31-year-old, who dipped to as low as No. 84 to finish 2025, had risen up the ranks with runner-up finishes in LIV’s first two events of the season in Saudi Arabia and Australia. REUTERS
