Tommy Fleetwood admits it might be "asking a bit much" to complete a hat-trick of Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA titles as he prepares to defend his crown once again.
Fleetwood won his second European Tour event in Abu Dhabi in 2017 and successfully defended the title 12 months ago thanks to a closing round of 65, which included six birdies in a back nine of 30 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
But despite an incredible 2018 where "Moliwood", himself alongside Francesco Molinari, helped Team Europe to an emphatic Ryder Cup victory over the United States and he finished the year as World Number 12, Fleetwood registered just one European Tour victory - something he is determined to improve on in 2019.
"I was disappointed, which is a strange thing to say, really, because again, I had such an amazing year," Fleetwood said.
"It was a very different year, and I kind of solidified my place in the Top ten, 15, 20 in the world, which was big because I had made a rapid climb, but that's all well and good.
"You've got to keep going and keep improving, and it gets much harder to stay there.
"Only winning once, after winning straight off was disappointing, but I think at the same time, given the good golf I played, it just shows how hard and difficult it is to win.
"It's not a reflection on me doing things wrong. It just says it's very difficult to win. I came close. Just didn't do it. But at the end of every year, you sit down and you look at how you can improve.
"We're just going to go along that path of trying to get better, whatever I need to improve. That's where our main focus will be."
Fleetwood discovered this week that his 2018 victory has yet to be reflected on the trophy in Abu Dhabi, where he will partner World Number Two Brooks Koepka – who pipped him to the US Open Championship last year – and Tyrrell Hatton in the first two rounds.
Given the good golf I played, it just shows how hard and difficult it is to win - Tommy Fleetwood
"2018 is actually not on it yet, there’s still only 2017 so they need to sort that out," Fleetwood joked as he examined the trophy.
"It might be asking a bit much wouldn’t it to win it three times in a row, but you never know."
The 27 year old also spoke about the major changes made to the Rules of Golf in 2019, including dropping the ball from knee, rather than shoulder height, and the removal of a penalty for hitting the pin while putting on a green.
Asked if he will leave the flag in when putting, Fleetwood added: "Yes and no. I don’t really have any science to it or anything like that.
"I know that there’s lip-outs that you can have that can catch friction off the pin that go in when they might have a chance of missing. But you can also hit the pin dead-centre and it can jar out. I don’t really know if there’s a formula for it. Until we’ve tried it, we won’t know.
"It’s a little bit odd, isn’t it? But we grew up just putting with the pin in on the putting green and scooping it out."
