Tommy Fleetwood is hoping he can discover “that missing piece” as he looks to kickstart his 2024 campaign on the DP World Tour with a victory at the inaugural Dubai Invitational.
The Englishman finished eighth on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex last season, closing out the year with a runner-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship.
Since the Genesis Scottish Open last summer, Fleetwood, whose last title came at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in 2022, has recorded six top tens in his last ten starts worldwide and missed just one cut.
During that period, the World Number 15 played a vital contribution as he claimed the winning point that saw Team Europe regain the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.
With the chance to add to his six DP World Tour titles this week at Dubai Creek Resort, it is no surprise he arrives for the first of back-to-back events in the United Arab Emirates with optimism for the year ahead.
"I played really well last year, particularly from like early summer onwards, late spring. I think my consistency levels were great," he said on the eve of the Dubai Invitational, the opening event of the International Swing on the DP World Tour.
"Like most people in the world of golf, I don't win anywhere near as much as I would like, so you're always looking to that missing piece that would lead you to more victories.
"But overall in terms of the depths of my performances throughout the year, I was very, very pleased, and to finish the World Ranking (at the end of last year) in a high place again, knocking on the door of that top 10.
"Hopefully I can just carry on with that consistency and doing the right things and try to kick on. It's been a nice break.
"Obviously one of the issues with that is that when you have so much momentum and you stop, you don't want to stop. There are times when you do want to stop, and times when you don't, but happy to get going again."
While this week marks the first event of 2024 on the DP World Tour, it is not the first competitive outing for Fleetwood after he began his year by playing at The Sentry, a Signature Event on the PGA TOUR.
After more than six weeks away from action, the 32-year-old finished in a tie for 47th last week at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii.
Despite the long travel distance, Fleetwood is a Dubai resident so he is in familiar surroundings and is glad to be "straight back into the swing of things" as he looks to begin his DP World Tour season with a victory for the third time in his career, having won the Abu Dhabi Championship in 2017 and 2018.
"It can go either way," he added. "I've started seasons well and I've started seasons poorly. I suppose with the way the world of golf is, every tournament is important. But at the same time, win, come last, come middle of the pack, I think whatever you do in those events, you've still got to carry on to the next week and the week after that and keep going the rest of the season.
"Take confidence if you do start well, and if you don't, just keep working your way into the season. So, I try not to putt too much significance on the start of the year but still it's all better to start good than bad."
The Dubai Invitational sees a 72-hole strokeplay tournament played concurrently with a three-day Pro-Am team event, with Sunday featuring professionals only.
Nicolai Højgaard and @TommyFleetwood1 will play alongside each other in rounds one and two this week 🇪🇺@RyderCupEurope 👀#DubaiInvitational pic.twitter.com/LzLBLDtFr7
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 10, 2024
Fleetwood, who will play alongside Ryder Cup teammate Nicolai Højgaard across the first two rounds, is excited with the new format for the event, which replaces the slot previously held by the Abu Dhabi Championship which has now moved to the end of the season to form part of the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
"Abdullah (Tournament host Abdulla Al Naboodah) has put so much effort into this and brought another event into the Middle East and the Creek, which we've not played a tournament here for a very long time," he said. "I've never played a tournament here, that's for sure.
"But it's nice, I think everybody loves starting the year in Dubai. Abu Dhabi has moved to the back end of the year, so adding another event to take that place for the one just before the Dubai Desert Classic I think is great."
