Rolex Series

It's like he's not been away - Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Finnis back together in Scotland

Tommy Fleetwood revealed it felt like caddie Ian Finnis had never been away as the duo were reunited inside the ropes on day one of the Genesis Scottish Open.

Ian Finnis and Tommy Fleetwood

The duo, who are long-time friends, have been working together since 2016, winning six DP World Tour titles, the most recent of which came at the Dubai Invitational in January.

But Finnis was absent from the Masters Tournament and later in April revealed he had undergone open heart surgery and was on the "road to recovery".

The next step on that road was being back on Fleetwood's bag for this week's Rolex Series event at The Renaissance Club, and the 2017 Race to Dubai champion was delighted to have Finnis back by his side.

"It was great to have Fino back and lovely way to start a tournament," he said after carding a 65.

"It feels nice to have had a really good round in his first week, for him more than anything. It's been great. Felt so normal.

"We did a great job. Everything sort of flowed, really, today. He made a couple of great decisions, so it's like he's not been away."

Fleetwood has been doing some caddying himself lately, being on the bag as his stepson Oscar Craig played at the UAE Challenge on the European Challenge Tour in April.

The 17-year-old amateur had a fantastic week at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club as he made the cut, and Fleetwood revealed he had learned a few things himself in the desert.

"I definitely felt like because I wasn't hitting the shot, I have no feelings towards any golf shot," he said. "So when you're caddying, you see what is the right golf shot probably or you give your opinion or you see things very clear for what they are.

"Because it's not like I'm worried about hitting it left, right, long, short, whatever it is, so you say whatever it is.

"I did enjoy that part. I think the way I spoke to Oscar, I would love to speak to myself like that a lot more often and I kind of realised how hard caddying can be at times but I don't really want to tell people."

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