CROMWELL, Conn. – As he arrived at the first tee for the Travelers Championship’s final round, holding a three-stroke lead and chasing his long-awaited first PGA TOUR title, Tommy Fleetwood was greeted by a New England fan who perhaps meant well, but packed an extra punch:

“It’s now or never, Tommy!”

Roughly five hours later, those words took an eerie turn. Fleetwood fell victim to a reversal of fortunes at TPC River Highlands, three-putting from the front fringe for bogey on the 72nd hole and losing by one stroke as New England native Keegan Bradley drained a 6-foot birdie for the win. Fleetwood again fell shy of his first PGA TOUR title, and like at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open when Nick Taylor drained a lengthy playoff eagle to win his national open, his narrow defeat came to a local favorite.

Fleetwood finished runner-up on TOUR for the sixth time in 159 starts. He has notched 42 career top-10 finishes on TOUR, by far the most without top-10s without a win in the TOUR’s modern era (since 1983), with Brett Quigley next at 34. Somewhat unbelievably for a highly gifted player who has notched seven DP World Tour titles and finished top-five in all four major championships, Fleetwood’s wait for a PGA TOUR victory continues.

This was Fleetwood’s to win until it wasn’t, and the crowd’s electric roar for Bradley – the upcoming U.S. Team Ryder Cup captain, who earned his second Travelers win in three years – served as a cruel reminder of what had been lost for the affable Englishman whose quest for a TOUR victory has resonated with legions of golf fans in the last few years.

“I'm upset now, I'm angry,” Fleetwood said afterward. “When it calms down, look at the things that I did well, look at the things that I can learn from. So I did plenty of things well enough this week to win, I didn't do that; it hurts. When it calms down, the most stupid thing to do and the worst thing to do would be make a week like this a hindrance to what you do going forwards.

“I obviously played great, I put myself in a great position, I was leading the tournament for 71 holes. I just want to make sure that I can put myself in this position as soon as possible again and try and correct what I did this time. But like I say, right now I would love to, you know, just go and sulk somewhere and maybe I will do that, but there's just no point making it a negative for the future, really. Just take the positives and move on.”

Fleetwood had a rocky start to Sunday’s final round, making three bogeys in his first four holes and drifting into a share of the lead with Bradley. Fleetwood rallied in the round’s middle portion, making birdie at Nos. 11 and 13, and he built a two-stroke lead with four holes to play (Bradley was three back at that time). Although water-logged TPC River Highlands is known for its ability to produce wild swings down the stretch, it felt like Fleetwood’s breakthrough moment was imminent.

Then his tee shot sailed well right at the short par-4 15th, leading to a disappointing par. His tee shot at the par-3 16th flew over the green, and he couldn’t get up-and-down. After a birdie-par-par stretch, Bradley was within a stroke as the final threesome (Fleetwood, Bradley and Russell Henley) reached the 18th fairway. Fleetwood had a 9-iron in hand but switched to a pitching wedge for his 148-yard approach, and he might rue that switch for some time as the ball settled in the front fringe, 50 feet from the hole.

After Henley chipped in for birdie to post 14-under, Fleetwood’s birdie try never had enough pace, settling 7 feet short of the hole. Fleetwood pushed his par putt and tapped in for bogey to post 14-under, setting the stage for Bradley’s 6-foot birdie try to win at 15-under. Bradley drained it, and Fleetwood was left to make the steep walk to scoring with what looked to be a numb expression on his face – he was greeted by several well-meaning friends and family who offered consolatory messages, but he couldn’t be blamed if their words deflected off the conscious mind.

He knows the stats. He’s heard the chatter: “Will he ever win?” He understands it.

The silver lining … he believes he will. He’ll carry that with him into the summer and beyond.

“Obviously there's a lot of chat about it,” Fleetwood said of his winless streak on TOUR. “I would have loved to have done it today, search goes on, I guess. When it happens, it will be very, very sweet. I said yesterday, and I know I keep saying it but I haven't really been in a position where I've really been in contention to really worry about when my win might come.

“Today was one of those days, led (through) 71 holes and it didn't happen. But, you know, like in my mind, yeah, I've won loads of PGA TOUR events, I just haven't done it in reality and I'm sure that time will come if I keep working.”