Asked at a DP World Tour event in India this week if he was still practicing yoga, the popular pro said unfortunately he had stopped. But spiritual depth exploration—an activity he did as a yogi—remained his priority.
Meditation, he said, helped him when he was struggling financially. This year has been the best factor of his career.
“I remember I was really struggling in the game and I was in a bad spot,” Fleetwood said. “Going through the worst period I’ve ever had in golf, I feel like I was a part of that – as hard as I worked and all the decisions I made at the time to try to get back to playing, I feel like meditation was a big part of it. Because I had to really rebuild my confidence and things like that.
“I still do it to this day. I probably use it a little bit sporadically, but I really feel like it’s a powerful tool and I feel like it’s very, very important. I think I set a lot of goals or do a lot of visualization during the week or a tournament or you know, wherever it is, I feel like meditation is a big part of it and it helps me a lot.”
Something deeper. This is a theme.
Fleetwood? He also talked about failure. Rory McIlroy? He discussed his opinions. Ben Griffin? He talks about stopping. Kudos to Indian journalists for unearthing a moment of introspection.
The exchange is below, with questions in italics. Some additional thoughts following the Q&A.
Tommy Fleetwood on losing
How do you get up again? I remember watching the St. Jude Classic Rossi winsand finish in the top five all of them, and then go on to win the FedEx Cup, how do you do that?
“I think the first thing that’s obvious is, whatever happens, I mean, what’s the point of having it negatively impact what happens next?” Fleetwood said. “I mean, it makes no sense.
“It’s obvious, but obviously harder to do. I think it’s really important every time I have to do an interview after something like this happens. I feel the same way as everyone else. I might mope or sulk or get angry. But I really want to try to regroup as quickly as possible and see the bright side because there’s a lot of things you can blame yourself for. There’s a lot of things you can go wrong about.
“But you’ve got to play next week, or the week after that, or the next week after that, and there’s absolutely no need to let anything have a negative impact on what happens next. All those times I’ve been really close, I’ve had a bad week, and then a lot of people that week — sometimes I’ve gone into tournaments and I’m happy to have finished 20th because I had a good Sunday. So there’s a lot of good stuff there, and that’s what you should focus on.
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“Of course there are things I want to improve on, there are things I know I may have done wrong and I will work on those things. I’m not going to kid myself and say everything is great. I know I did something wrong.
“But the important thing for me is to give myself the best chance every time I go out to play and having a positive attitude and a good mentality is really important for that.”
Is it harder now that you’ve won the FedEx Cup?
“Not really,” Fleetwood said. “I think everything has different challenges. One of the hardest things any athlete has to deal with when things are going well is your own expectations. You have to manage your own expectations. Like I said, different things have different challenges.
“You know, I’ve missed a lot of wins and I always knew I wasn’t going to let one win change anything. My game is still the same as it was the week before in Atlanta. Even on Sunday, my game was still the same, even when I walked off the 18th green, I knew I had to improve myself to be the best player I thought I could be, and I just wanted to keep working hard.”
How to understand a quote: At the FedEx St. Jude Championship earlier this year, Fleetwood held a one-shot lead heading into the final round, where he won in a playoff behind Justin Rose, leaving Fleetwood winless on the PGA Tour once again. However, two incidents later, he had a breakthrough.
Now we know at least one reason why.
Rory McIlroy’s perspective
Congratulations on everything you have achieved so far in your career. You’re one of the greatest athletes of our generation and, like you said, being treated like a professional – when you talk about the future of sports, it’s very different from where it is now, do you think those days are gone where people watched sports for pure fun, just for the love of it, as opposed to now watching sports to have a perspective on the players, the coaches, everything that’s going on? I specifically ask this question because obviously after what happened at the Ryder Cup, how out of control things got. Do you think looking at the scenery and enjoying watching sports has become what it is now? Do you have a point of view?
“Yeah, so I would say — that’s a great question,” McIlroy said. “I would say, at its core, the essence of watching sports is the realism of reality shows that we have. We don’t know the outcome. We don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s great. There’s very little content on TV right now that really does that.
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“So my sport will always be what it is and I think most sports fans will watch it because of that. But yeah, you know, you start to see, look, this is a big business and big business and money comes from looking at things and more eyeballs is ultimately a good thing if it’s leveraged in the right way.
“But, yes, it has definitely changed. When people watch sports to gamble and they spend their money on the games, especially in the United States, it’s a changing landscape. But I think the core of watching sports, whatever it is, is still very pure, it’s still pure competition, and I think that’s a great thing.
“But, yeah, as an athlete you know you’re going to get criticized for your performance, good or bad or whatever, and I think at this point in time and in this modern world, I wouldn’t say that’s the price to pay, but, yeah, that’s the way you are.
“I think athletes today have to do a better job of blocking out the noise. So don’t go on social media, try not to read anything about yourself — that’s easier said than done. But I think more and more athletes in this day and age, if they can do that, I think that’s better. I think it’s better for their performance. I think it’s better for their mental health, and I think it’s better for their longevity in a particular sport.”
How to understand a quote: Yes, it’s an opinion of an opinion of an opinion. With this thought in mind, I still go back to what McIlroy said at the Ryder Cup, following the abusive behavior from fans, when he noted that while he heard a lot of negative comments directed at him, he didn’t hear much support for the American. I think that says a lot.
Ben Griffin on Stopping
I imagine quite a few Indian golfers are on the verge of giving up on your golfing journey. What lessons can you share?
“It’s important to always chase your dreams,” Griffin said, “but it’s also very healthy to take an occasional break from your dream, step back, and somehow see it holistically and be able to learn from your journey.
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“For me, I did completely quit the sport. I worked there for a few months, and honestly, it was a good time for me to take my mind off golf completely. I had no intention of going back to golf. It’s crazy how things turned out the way they did. It’s been quite a journey, you know, and I’m just trying to take it all in while continuing to work hard and let things happen naturally.
“Getting to the top in this sport is a very difficult challenge. There are a lot of different paths and a lot of it is playing golf in tournaments and places around the world, not making a lot of money at the beginning and then just trusting the process.
“I’m lucky that I not only have a lot of support from my family and friends, but I also have sponsors that give back a lot to golf and it gives me the opportunity to not only play for myself, but feel like I need to play for them and work hard and make sure I do the right things off the golf course to make sure I’m the best I can be. It’s a lot of sacrifice and change in lifestyle, but it definitely pays off in the end, and, yeah, it’s been quite a journey.”
How to understand a quote: Griffin’s story has been well documented over the past few years, with one of the best coming from Golf Magazine’s Josh Berhow, which you can read here . But what struck me was how eloquently he always answered questions about his “journey”. That should tell you something.
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