New coach pays dividends for Tommy Fleetwood

“My swing is getting better, the technique for my short game is improving and everything is moving in the right direction.”

Tommy Fleetwood is one of a host of young players hoping to ride the wave of golf’s new generation.

Rory McIlroy is beginning to dominate as World No.1, while American stars Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler have won the biggest two events of the year so far.

With those three aged between 26 and 21, golf suddenly appears to be a young man’s game again.

At 24, Fleetwood is being inspired by what his peers are doing as he tries to make his mark on the European Tour.

And the aim is simple to keep working, so he can join the party at the top.

“Rory and the others have set the standard and you have to do whatever you can to catch up with them,” he says.

“Rory has raised the bar and everyone else is following, and what Jordan has done this year is fantastic.

“You do the best you can all the time and you can only be the best you can be. But you have to practise and work hard, otherwise you’ll have no chance of catching them.

“But they’re the best players, and with them at the top, golf is in a really good place at moment.”

In his own efforts to improve, Fleetwood has started working with Pete Cowen to take his game up a notch.

Cowen has had success with the likes of Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson and his new pupil showed good signs by reaching the quarter-finals of the WGC World Matchplay three weeks ago.

That strong finish means Fleetwood is only just outside the top 50, but he’s in line for his US Open debut next month.

He missed out on a first appearance at Augusta earlier this year after a poor spell, but he feels on the up again as he looks to build on his sole victory at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles two years ago.

“It feels like things are pretty good overall and I’m in great shape,” he admits.

“I got on a good run at the Matchplay and played great and it was a good event to play well in. Since I’ve been working with Pete for the last couple of months, I have made massive progress.

“My swing is getting better, the technique for my short game is improving and everything is moving in the right direction.

“It’s now a question of going out and getting the results. But the more I practise what I am learning, the more it will come good. And this would be the perfect time to hit top form.”