Tommy Fleetwood finally ended his long wait for a maiden PGA Tour victory with a three-shot success at the Tour Championship in Atlanta to be crowned FedEx champion.

Southport-born Fleetwood has long been a household name in the sport and was runner-up at the US Open in 2018, but none of his 10 professional wins had occurred in America.

After recent near-misses at the BMW Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship, Fleetwood entered the final day with a share of the lead alongside Patrick Cantlay and a solid two-under-par proved enough to clinch the title at East Lake.

The majority of the heavy lifting by the Englishman had occurred on Thursday and Friday with an opening-round 64 followed up with 63 to become joint-leader going into the weekend.

A format change at this year’s Tour Championship, with the starting-strokes format scrapped, meant the winner of the tournament would be FedEx champion and pocket £7.4million.

Fleetwood had been fifth in the list behind the likes of Ryder Cup team-mate Rory McIlroy in second and leader Scottie Scheffler, but put himself in contention with a score of three-under-par on Saturday to set up a tantalising opportunity ahead of his final round.

A birdie at the second hole represented a fine start and even though it was followed by a bogey three holes later, Fleetwood regained his composure to secure back-to-back birdies before the turn.

When Fleetwood produced a bogey to start his back nine, nerves looked set to take over, but he kept his cool to send down another birdie on the 12th.

A fifth birdie of the round at the 13th once again opened a three-shot gap to Cantlay, who would soon bogey again to leave Fleetwood almost home and dry.

Fleetwood dropped a shot at 15 and despite Corey Conners’ extraordinary eight-under 62, there would be no denying the popular Englishman.

A simple putt for par on the final hole was followed by Fleetwood letting out an enormous roar as he toasted his first PGA Tour win at the 164th time of asking.

After many near misses, the 31-year-old was delighted to reward his loyal support with not only victory at the Tour Championship, but the accolade of FedEx Cup winner.

“I was a bit erratic today at times and I was really proud of how I found my swing again on the 11th or 12th hole. I changed my routine a little bit, but still when you’ve lost it so many times, a three-shot lead down the last doesn’t feel like that many,” Fleetwood said.

“I am just so happy I got it done, happy with my work ethic and I’ll continue to try and get better to be the best I can be.”

Asked about his own fan base, Fleetwood said: “Yeah, they’re amazing and it makes me a bit emotional. Always so lucky with the support I get.

“I said this last month or so, the buzz around me when I’ve been in contention has been amazing. To get the support like that, it is just so special and I never want to lose that.

“I hope everyone knows how grateful I am for it. I said we’ll do it together and I felt like we did. I am really happy for me and everyone who has supported me through this.”