Tommy Fleetwood was caught off guard by a rogue golf ball at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which forced him to take evasive action. Fleetwood dodged the ball in instinctive fashion, earning him the nickname ‘Tommy Jackson’ after the iconic King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
Fleetwood was in action last weekend in an event that pairs professionals and amateurs from the celebrity and world over three Scottish courses - St. Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. He finished in third place, three strokes behind eventual winner Tyrrell Hatton.
But the Englishman, 33, first had to evade a ball which came rolling his way just as he was about to putt. The commentator could be heard exclaiming: “Tommy about to tap-in. Hold on, woah woah woah. Tommy, Tommy! Look out!”
Tommy Jackson#dunhilllinks pic.twitter.com/XptLxG7Xnb
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 5, 2024
Fleetwood looked up in bemusement and watched as the ball came towards him. But while some other golfers would have made a fuss, the Merseyside star opted to make light of the bizarre moment.
He proceeded to creep up on his toes to avoid the ball in a manner not seen since the 'Billie Jean' singer in his heyday. The hilarious move triggered laughter from the commentators, as one of them pointed out: “Nice footwork!” The official DP World Tour account on X aptly captioned the clip “Tommy Jackson”.
Fans seemed to agree, with one writing: “Thriller!!” while another joked: “Tommy are you ok are you ok Tommy.” A third added: “Legendary. Coolness personified.”
Fleetwood earned himself a cool $300,000 (£230,000) for his third place finish. Hatton, who won the Dunhill Links Championship for a record third time on Sunday after a birdie at the 18th at St. Andrews, pocketed an eye-watering $800,000 (£612,000).
Fleetwood is a seven-time winner on the European Tour. He has been in good form this season, winning a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Games and finishing T3 at the Open de Espana last month.
Despite his success, he admitted last Saturday that he was still unhappy with his long game. “It doesn't feel that great, to be honest," Fleetwood said. "But I keep hitting it where I can hit it. I keep hitting it in play.
“It's a strange game, really. I think you look at the middle part of the year, I felt like I was playing as good as I've played for a long time and I was consistent without getting any results."
