Tommy Fleetwood: ‘Lots of us talk about LIV so I wanted to see it’

GOlf’s wealth of knowledge is showcased by Tommy Fleetwood’s start to 2024. The Englishman opened the year by beating Rory McIlroy to win in dramatic circumstances in Dubai. His subsequent visit to the LIV Golf event in Las Vegas caused a social media frenzy given the interest the Rebel circuit has had in Fleetwood in the past. Fleetwood starts a three-week American tournament from Thursday – including the Masters. He will next caddy for his stepson in a Challenge Tour match in Abu Dhabi.

Fleetwood’s LIV stop was completely innocent. The 33-year-old was in Nevada visiting his coach, Butch Harmon. Yet it was remarkable that Fleetwood was sufficiently relaxed in his own mind about the speculation he had dropped at the Las Vegas Country Club.

“I haven’t really thought about it that much,” Fleetwood says. “I was there, a lot of us talk about LIV but never see it, so I wanted to see what a tournament was like. There are also so many people there that we don’t see anymore that I would still consider friends. Players, people who work on the tour, my trainer works there. So I had a free morning, went for a few hours and that was it.”

Tyrrell Hatton’s move to LIV following the Middle East swing of the DP World Tour came at a time when the Saudi-backed league also had Fleetwood in its sights. So far, LIV has failed to make further inroads into the European Ryder Cup team by signing the charismatic Fleetwood. However, his performance in Vegas accelerated golf’s chatterboxes. The man himself shrugs and smiles about that situation.

“It was pretty clear that this was going to happen, but it’s hard when you know there’s nothing going on and a lot of people want to make something of it,” Fleetwood says. “That’s just the way things are. I didn’t want to feel like I couldn’t go just because people would say things. I think what came across was that I just wanted to go see friends and that was really the most important thing. It was nice to see a lot of people.”

Fleetwood can easily deal with background noise. “I obviously know what I’m doing, where I’m playing. There’s not much you can do about what’s said elsewhere. It was the same as going to that event, I knew why I was there. I don’t find it disturbing at all.”

So what was Fleetwood’s verdict? He readily admits he struggles with golf – “it’s quite slow, I much prefer playing” – but was there a clear difference from the DP World Tour or PGA Tour he knows so well? “They’re obviously doing quite well for what they are,” he says. “The players seem to enjoy it, seem to enjoy playing on that tour; one of the first things I noticed was that everyone seems happy, relaxed and relaxed.

“There are certain things I wasn’t used to; the music, I don’t know how I would feel about playing with that. Other than that, my biggest takeaway was that it was just another golf tournament. Everyone seemed very professional and worked very hard. It’s really just a bunch of people you knew here who are here now. So many things have just been transferred.”

A Fleetwood success at Augusta National would be one of the most popular Masters results. Since 2022, his major performances have started to show an upward trend again. The Southport man must take it as a compliment that he is considered one of the best talents of this generation without a major title to his name. Fleetwood’s superior iron play and shot-shaping ability should always work well at Augusta.

After that, and after a PGA Tour stop at Hilton Head, Fleetwood will take on another golf role. His stepson, Oscar Craig, won the Ras Al Khaimah Men’s Open in February. Fleetwood and his family are now based in Dubai; the world number 12 has resisted the temptation to make the two-hour drive with young Oscar in contention. “We were going to go this weekend, but he was doing well and I didn’t want to show up and jinx it,” says Fleetwood. “He was there with friends. He called when he was done to say he had won. I was at the range with our other boy, Mo, and he was so excited. Everybody was.”

Craig has secured a place in the Challenge Tour’s UAE Challenge in Saadiyat, where Fleetwood will take on caddy duties. “I’m looking forward to it,” says Fleetwood. “I talked to Oscar about it. I didn’t want to distract him, but he wanted me to do it, which is great.”