It all started around Christmas last year, not too long after Ian Finnis had recovered—or so he thought—from a bout of COVID. There were night sweats. Despite being naturally fitter than most, Tommy Fleetwood’s long-time caddy was unusually tired. And he was coughing a lot. So, chest infection, right?

Wrong.

When the symptoms persisted, Finnis went to see a specialist at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, England. Tests followed. Then a diagnosis of endocarditis, which begins when germs enter the bloodstream en route to the heart.

“Not the greatest news I’ve ever had,” says the 42-year-old Englishman, an unmistakable figure on tour at 6-foot-7. “But I had a small hole in my heart as a baby. That could have been a factor, too, as the bacteria entered my heart through the hole. The bottom line is that bacteria always finds the worst place to go. One of my heart valves had been completely eaten away. Another was just about as bad.”

Open heart surgery was required, the procedure taking place April 17 and taking Finnis away from working with Fleetwood for the first extended times since they paired together in 2016. Impressively, a little more than two months afterward, he was back working again at the Genesis Scottish Open and is on the bag for Fleetwood at this week’s Open Championship.

While happy to be returning, the story was not without its anxious moments. In preparation for the procedure, Finnis had to spend four weeks on an IV drip. Every four hours he was awakened for the treatment.

“I hardly slept at all during that period,” he says. “I was like a zombie by the end of it.”

Ah, but the worst was yet to come. Told his operation would last around five hours, Finnis spent almost 11 on the table. Worried after three hours, his wife Rachel (a former goalkeeper for the England Women’s soccer team) waited for seven more hours as people came and went from the operating room.

“After the operation, which, amongst other things, involved the insertion of a metal valve, they told me I was going to be in intensive care for five weeks,” Finnis says. “I was out in 10 days. They told me my caddying helped. I was strong enough and fit enough [to recover quickly]. They actually had me walking the day after the operation. I was lucky to have so much stamina.”

During his recovery, Finnis walked nearly four miles every day at 6 a.m.— “without fail”—to get himself back into shape.

“I’m wondering if caddying for me caused him any issues and gave him heart problems,” said Fleetwood, with a smile, during his Wednesday press conference at Royal Troon. “It was all a bit of a shock, and I think it does put things into perspective. I spoke to ‘Finno’ most days through the whole process. He’s obviously very close to me, much more than a caddie. For him to have got back this quick is amazing. I told him I didn’t think he had a chance really of caddying here, so it’s amazing that he’s got back and done so well. He was so determined and motivated to get back to normal life.”

Kevin C. Cox

Fleetwood was also quick to pay tribute to all of those members of the DP World Tour family who took the time to send menages of support during Finnis’ time away.

“It was really lovely for Ian to see just how popular he is and what an impact he’s had on a lot of people,” says the three-time Ryder Cup player. “That side of things was really cool for him. I feel great that he’s come through it.”

Finnis is also understandably more appreciative of a life that he came so close to losing. Former Everton soccer player Kevin Campbell, who entered hospital on the same day as Finnis, recently died of the same heart issues. So he is lucky to be at Royal Troon, a fact the father-of-two is well aware of.

“Before the Scottish Open I caddied for Tommy at Hillside a few times,” says Finnis, who also caddied for Sergio Garcia during a practice round at West Lancashire Golf Club, where Finnis is a member, ahead of the Spaniard’s attempt to get into the Open via Final Qualifying. “He was a bit worried about me, but I felt fine. I really wanted to get back for the Open. I needed a target and that was it. I’m feeling fit now. All I have to do is go to the hospital for a check-up every four months for a year then every six months after that.

“I had the best treatment ever at the Liverpool heart and lung hospital,” he continues. “I was young and went to the front of the queue. I was the youngest patient by about 40 years. Everyone on my ward was 80. I felt a bit bad, but heart trouble is a common thing in older people. Anyway, I feel good and I appreciate things so much more. This week means so much to me. This is not really a job for me anymore. And caddying here in the Open is just the best thing. I’m just out here enjoying myself.”

Main Image: Charlie Crowhurst/R&A

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Tommy Fleetwood was among the wave of players to go low Thursday morning at the Renaissance Club, turning in a five-under 65 during the first round of the Genesis Scottish Open. But the news was not that Fleetwood went low, but with who.

Fleetwood’s longtime caddy Ian Finnis returned inside the ropes for the first time following his recovery from open-heart surgery. Finnis and Fleetwood have been friends since their teenage years, and have been working together since 2016. Until this spring, Fleetwood could only recall Finnis missing one event—the 2018 BMW International Open, for the birth of Finnis’ eldest son.

However, Finnis missed the Valero Texas Open, the Masters and the RBC Heritage with a rumoured heart infection. In late April, Finnis announced he was undergoing a procedure to fix the issue.

“It was great to have Fino back and lovely way to start a tournament,” Fleetwood said Thursday. “It feels nice to have had a really good round in his first week, for him more than anything. It’s been great. Felt so normal. We did a great job. Everything sort of flowed, really, today. He made a couple of great decisions, so it’s not like he’s been away.”

Fleetwood himself has been doing some loop work, carrying the bag for his stepson Oscar Craig on the Challenge Tour. Fleetwood said the experience has proved beneficial for his own game. “Well, I definitely felt like because I wasn’t hitting the shot, I have no feelings towards any golf shot. So when you’re caddying, you see what is the right golf shot probably or you give your opinion or you see things very clear for what they are,” Fleetwood explained. “Because it’s not like I’m worried about hitting it left, right, long, short, whatever it is, so you say whatever it is. I did enjoy that part. I think the way I spoke to Oscar, I would love to speak to myself like that a lot more often, and yeah, I kind of realized sort of how hard caddying can be at times but I don’t really want to tell people.”

Finnis, who lives in England, was able to rejoin his partner ahead of next week’s Open Championship, where the duo contended last year at Royal Liverpool.

Main Image: Andrew Redington

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Finnis and Fleetwood have been friends since their teenage years, and have been working together since 2016. Until this spring, Fleetwood could only recall Finnish missing one event—the 2018 BMW International Open, for the birth of Finnis’ eldest son. However, Finnis missed the Valero Texas Open, the Masters and the RBC Heritage with a rumoured heart infection.

“He’s not been well all year,” Fleetwood said at the Masters, where he ultimately finished in a tie for third. “At the moment he’s at home trying to recover and get the right treatment. Hopefully, he’ll be back out sooner rather than later … The sooner he can get better, the better for all of us. Everybody has been asking about him, which has been great. I know he’ll be desperate to come back out here as soon as possible.”

On Tuesday, Finnis took to social media to give an update on his condition.

“Open heart surgery done!!” Finnis wrote on Instagram. “Massive thanks to all at the NHS staff. The road to recovery has started. Thanks for all the love.”

In Finnis’ absence, Fleetwood has used TaylorMade’s European tour manager, Adrian Rietveld, as his loop, with Augusta National caddie master Gray Moore picking up Fleetwood’s bag at the Masters.

Main image: Warren Little

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By Kent Gray
Sometimes you just have to walk away.

That’s exactly what Tommy Fleetwood did when the hooter sounded on Thursday evening as the onset of dusk suspended the first round after morning fog had earlier delayed the start of the European Tour season opener. The two-time champion had the option of attempting the five-footer he had left for par on the 11th but the opening round of the 16th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship had been such a grind in the late afternoon wind he decided to cut his losses and come back in the morning.

“The hooter went and I kinda looked at it, and I looked at Finno [caddie Ian Finnis] and I just thought, we’ll cut our losses today, save it and come back tomorrow. That was probably the best thing we did [all day Thursday] really. I’ll be honest, that probably wasn’t going to go in last night either,” said the world No. 19.

The decision to sleep on it proved an inspired decision. Fleetwood, 3 over at the time and in danger of being on the wrong side of the cut line early, duly holed the putt when the first round resumed early Friday and then went on to hit it “stiff” on the par -3 12th. The resulting birdie was followed by three more gains in his final four holes as the Englishman, suddenly his old self, turned a potentially week ending score into a thoroughly acceptable one-under 71.

The switch flicked, Fleetwood cashed in by carding a five-under 67 in his second round Friday to move to six under for the championship and right in the mix for the weekend. After playing his first 11 holes in three over, he’s negotiated the next 25 in nine under and, just as importantly, bogey-free.

After 9 holes: 3 over par.
After 36 holes: 6 under par.

Back in the mix @TommyFleetwood1 ?#ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/nVYI9XRey5

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 22, 2021

“Today I did things a lot better. Did what we discussed in my golf swing and drove it really, really well this afternoon and that makes a difference in the wind. Hit some great irons, holed out really well, didn’t really give anything away so it was a much better day.”

The comeback is doubly impressive when you consider Fleetwood, a back-to-back champion on the National layout in 2017-18, has six new clubs in his bag as well as a new ball in play for the first time.

“They’re going really well. It’s TaylorMade, I’ve used their stuff for a long time, since Nike stopped making clubs, they’re the first set of irons I went to, the first set of woods I went to other than Nike,” Fleetwood said.

“So I’ve been with them a while, flipping and changing stuff, so it’s been really nice to have a team behind me with the clubs and everything, working with me and yet, no matter how much testing you do, you’ve still gotta go and take it out on the golf course.

“We kind of got thrown in the deep in yesterday and today with the [windy] conditions but I think today has given me a lot of confidence. The new ball is great, like I say drove it brilliant today, and I hit my irons really, really well. So work is going well, equipment is going well but you always need that proof and I don’t think you’ll get many tougher days to test it on, so all good.”

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By Brian Wacker
Tommy Fleetwood came to the final hole of the Honda Classic on Sunday needing to make a birdie to force a playoff with Sungjae Im. Instead, he over-cut his 5-wood from 230 yards in the middle of the 18th fairway at PGA National, and the ball landed in the water right of the green on the par 5.

Game over. Fleetwood, seeking his first PGA Tour victory, went on to bogey the hole to shoot one-over 71 and fall two shots short of the win after starting the day in the lead.

It was a stunning end to what was a wild final hour of the tournament, and one that appeared—at least to some watching at home—to have been perhaps influenced by an overzealous fan.

On NBC’s telecast, a man could be heard yelling “Get in the hole!” as Fleetwood got to the top of his backswing on the shot. By the time the 29-year-old Englishman had finished the swing, his ball was peeling to the right and headed for its watery demise, leaving many on Twitter to wonder if the outburst had affected Fleetwood’s shot.

“No, I didn’t hear anything,” said Ian Finnis, Fleetwood’s caddie, afterwards. “[Tommy] didn’t mention it to me.”

Fleetwood talks with his caddie, Ian Finnis, early in the final round on Sunday.

When Fleetwood was asked about it, he, too, said he didn’t hear it.

“There was a lot of noise,” Fleetwood said. “But no I didn’t hear anyone yell.”

It’s possible that the shout was picked up by an open TV microphone elsewhere on the hole. Fleetwood’s lack of reaction as well as that of his caddie in the immediate aftermath also indicated they didn’t hear it.

“I hit a bad shot,” Fleetwood said. “Could have been a great shot, but actually as bad as it was, it could have landed three yards left and been on the edge of the green and I’d have had a chance. It is what it is.”

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