bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Nazvi Careem

Tommy Fleetwood was close to tears just a few days ago after failing to defend the prestigious Race to Dubai title.
The affable Englishman was barely able to speak after his Tour Championship third round on Saturday in Dubai left him with little chance of winning the tournament, which he needed to do to capture his second straight Race to Dubai crown.
“You live and breathe the game don’t you? So there’s going to be good bits and bad bits,” he told the European tour in an emotional interview. “At the end of the day, it’s just golf but it does hurt.”
However, he hopes a fresh start to the season at everybody’s favourite course – at the Honma Hong Kong Open – will help him erase the blues and launch a fresh assault on the new season’s Race to Dubai campaign.

An emotional and honest Tommy Fleetwood after his round. #DPWTC #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/7ToNzv75VL
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 17, 2018

“It’s a great atmosphere [at Fanling] ... for a new start. If you play well here, you’re on a head start for the year. It sets your season up perfectly,” he said.
Fleetwood finished third in the Race to Dubai behind his good friend and Ryder Cup partner Francesco Molinari and US Masters champion Patrick Reed, who is also playing in Hong Kong this week.
Hong Kong Open: 17 years after unforgettable round with Spanish great, the dream still burns for Steven Lam
“It’s a great course and I think it’s one of those courses where it doesn’t need length to play tough, and the scoring is never that low. You find very few players that would have a bad word to say about the golf course. Most people love it and love the challenge, and it’s hosted the tournament for such a long time.
“I think that’s credit to the golf course when you have somewhere that has been a constant, you know, part of the Tour and hosting the event, it just shows the course, and everybody wants to play here and everybody has faith that it’s going to put up a great test. For me, I’ve not been coming here long but I’ve always enjoyed it when I have, and I like the challenges that it presents.”

Fleetwood made a strong start to the season last year with a sixth-placed finish at the Hong Kong Open, finishing two strokes behind Australian winner Wade Ormsby.
He faces another testing time at Fanling with Reed, four-time winner Miguel Angel Jimenez, 2014 winner Scott Hend, France’s 2009 champion Gregory Bourdy and a strong Asian field chasing top honours.
Patrick Reed explains why he comes across as aloof on tour ahead of Hong Kong Open
Reed is also ruing his near miss at the Race to Dubai but is delighted to be back in Hong Kong.
“It’s one of those years that you always dream of,” he said of his Masters title. “You always dream of winning your first major, and then to just kind of play consistently and solid throughout the entire year, and to finish the season off correctly and going into Dubai and playing some really solid golf.

“Unfortunately being in a position to win a golf tournament, but to not quite get it done, and to finish second in the Race to Dubai means a lot. It’s definitely making me a little more hungry to go out and try to win the Race to Dubai, and try to cap off a couple wins on the European Tour and play well back in the States.
“I’m really looking forward to it. Any time I can come back and play in Hong Kong, it means a lot to me. I fell in love with this place the first time I came. Not only do I love the golf course, but kind of the nuances that the golf course has and the challenges it has, but also the city and the culture around Hong Kong is unbelievable.”
Spain’s Sergio Garcia goes into the Hong Kong tournament on the back of a good year, with a top-10 finish at the Portugal Masters, victory at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters and second at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

“I think I had a very good start and a great finish on the year,” he said. “That’s where we stand right now, and the last I think four or five tournaments, top 10s everywhere. So that’s obviously a positive, and you know, we’re hoping to finish the year on the same manner, kind of start the season in the same manner, and then take a nice, well deserved rest.”
Ormsby, whose victory last year was his first career title, said it was strange to see pictures of his face sharing the billboards with Reed, Garcia and Fleetwood.
“It’s a bit weird walking into a golf tournament and seeing a picture of my ugly head on the walls,” he said. “No, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a golf course I love and a course that suits my game, so, it’s nice to come back and come to a place where you feel like you can contend.”


Why Hong Kong must rethink Fanling golf course housing plan: if not for its rich heritage then in memory of players who brought glory to the game

‘Shame on you – Hong Kong is not a world city’: golfers furious over course being lost to housing

Face it, the Hong Kong Golf Club needs a friendly landlord more than the doomed Old Course

European Tour and Asian Tour could ditch Hong Kong Open if part of Fanling Old Course is taken away

Honma Hong Kong Open

UBS Hong Kong Open

Hong Kong Open: Tommy Fleetwood wipes away tears and starts new Race to Dubai campaign

Patrick Reed (left), Sergio Garcia (centre) and Tommy Fleetwood at a promotional event for the Honma Hong Kong Open. Photo: EPA

Gregory Bourdy, Lin Wentang and Miguel Angel Jimenezduring the opening ceremony of the Honma Hong Kong Open on 21 November 2018 at Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, N.T., Hong Kong. Mandatory credit: Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com

epa07179020 Golf players Patrick Reed (L) of the USA and Tommy Fleetwood (R) of England attend a press conference in Hong Kong, China, 20 October 2018. Both will take part in the Honma Hong Kong Open golf tournament, which will take place from 22 to 25 November 2018. EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE

Wade Ormsby of Australia speaks during a press conference ahead of the Hong Kong Open golf tournament on November 20, 2018. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)

Patrick Reed explains why he comes across as aloof on tour ahead of Hong Kong Open

Patrick Reed at the launch of the Honma Hong Kong Open on Tuesday. Photo: Richard Castka

Patrick Reed of the US gestures after sinking a putt on the 9th hole during a fourball match on the second day of the 42nd Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, outside Paris, France, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Wade Ormsby and Stephen Lam prior to the press conference of the Honma Hong Kong Open on 20 November 2018 at The Parade Ground at Tai Kwun, Central, Hong Kong. Mandatory credit: Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com

Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia in Pottinger Street prior to the press conference of the Honma Hong Kong Open on 20 November 2018 at The Parade Ground at Tai Kwun, Central, Hong Kong. Mandatory credit: Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com

Sport

Hong Kong

Englishman was emotional after missing out on a second Race to Dubai title
He tees off with Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez at Fanling


Englishman was emotional after missing out on a second Race to Dubai title last week but tees off with Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia and others at Fanling


Hong Kong Open: Tommy Fleetwood wipes away tears and starts new Race to Dubai campaign

Englishman was emotional after missing out on a second Race to Dubai title He tees off with Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez at Fanling

Englishman was emotional after missing out on a second Race to Dubai title

He tees off with Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez at Fanling