Fleetwood\u2019s support in the U.S. is starting to rival McIlroy\u2019s. There is something about his close calls and persona that has endeared him to fans. Before lifting this year\u2019s FedEx Cup, he had made 30 top-five finishes in his career, and was a runner-up in six PGA Tour events.<\/p>\n
He is relishing the challenge ahead at Bethpage. \u201cYou have to step into it with everything because this is what we\u2019ve dreamt of,\u201d says Fleetwood. \u201cRyder Cup season is such an amazing time and I would never take for granted being part of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is going to be my fourth Ryder Cup \u2014 I love being a part of it and being with my team-mates and our families. It\u2019s all been set and you\u2019re coming together. And whether it\u2019s this week, next week, the week after, you know it\u2019s on the TV everywhere. It\u2019s such a special time of that two-year period when the Ryder Cup is really close, is getting closer and then you eventually get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Tommy Fleetwood after winning the Tour Championship in August (Kevin C Cox\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Wherever Fleetwood goes, there are always shouts of, \u201cGo on, Tommy lad!\u201d It is a colloquialism from his northern England seaside town of Southport that has travelled the world. And it\u2019s not just used by fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are players who have played with me at Hoylake (Royal Liverpool, around 27 miles from where Fleetwood grew up) or in other tournaments, and they will still greet me with \u2018Tommy lad\u2019. It definitely sticks. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor the people that play with me, it takes them by surprise. Within the first few minutes, it gets engraved in their brain and they start saying it to me for the rest of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words will be shouted again in Bethpage by the travelling European contingent. Fleetwood\u2019s support in the U.S. has always been strong. At the Tour Championship at East Lake, he was being cheered on to win ahead of Patrick Cantlay, who is in the U.S. Ryder Cup team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Fleetwood says of the support. \u201cI\u2019m very lucky. I\u2019ve always connected well with people. But the crowds in Atlanta were really great. When you\u2019re playing, you are feeding off them, but you\u2019re very self-focused. Then, when you think back and you\u2019re thinking about the moments, they were all on my side.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to me, but it\u2019s more important that I do the right things and I am a good person. But then, for it to be reciprocated and to get that everywhere I go, I\u2019m always very grateful. It always feels like an advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Fleetwood is grateful for his Stateside support, nothing will come close to a home crowd. And there is another dream \u2014 one Fleetwood knows would eclipse everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there a bigger individual dream you can have than winning an Open in your hometown?\u201d Fleetwood asks, referring to next year\u2019s Open at Royal Birkdale, a 10-minute drive from where he grew up on the Southport coast. \u201cThat dream is always there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Tommy Fleetwood, alongside caddie Ian Finnis, will draw huge crowds at his home Open at Birkdale in 2026 (Ben Stansall\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The links course, which overlooks the Irish Sea, is one Fleetwood has played before. Unofficially, when he and his father Pete used to sneak on for a round, and officially, when he finished tied for 27th at The Open in 2017.<\/p>\n
Fleetwood could feel his dream forming in front of him as a seven-year-old when American Mark O\u2019Meara won there in 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom that moment, I\u2019ve always looked towards Opens at Birkdale,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Fleetwood came close to qualifying at Birkdale in 2008 when he finished as runner-up to Reinier Saxton for the British Amateur title.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember my dad saying to me he couldn\u2019t sleep that night (before the final round) because that\u2019s what he was thinking about. I never made it and then in 2017 when I did, it was just such an unbelievable feeling. You have so many emotions that it\u2019s come full circle back to where you\u2019ve grown up. Hopefully, my game, when it comes to that, is in a place where I can compete and have a chance of winning it.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Fleetwood needs perspective, he only has to look to the man next to him on his bag, caddie Ian \u2018Finno\u2019 Finnis. Since the last Ryder Cup, Finnis, who has been with Fleetwood since 2016, had three months away from the game after open-heart surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finnis, whose wife is former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis, is Fleetwood\u2019s long-time friend, not just his caddie. It is not just golf they share a love of. They are massive fans of Premier League club Everton, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverton won that morning of the Tour Championship, 2-0 against Brighton and then we won, so it was a rare day!\u201d says Fleetwood, who is a player ambassador for the Golf Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing an Everton fan prepares you for a lot of things in life and a lot of disappointments<\/a> from my 34 years on the planet, but it\u2019s looking up now. We\u2019ve got a good looking side, (manager) David Moyes is back and he\u2019s doing a good job, new owners and a new ground. There\u2019s a lot of positivity in the air now, being an Evertonian, for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n Was he one of the many people who called England international Jack Grealish<\/a> to convince him to join Everton on loan this season? \u201cI had no part in that,\u201d he smiles. \u201cBut he does look good in an Everton shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n Tommy Fleetwood with son Frankie and the Ryder Cup at Goodison in 2023 (Michael Regan\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Fleetwood is yet to visit the Hill-Dickinson Stadium<\/a>, Everton\u2019s new ground that sits on the banks of the River Mersey after moving from Goodison Park, their home since 1892.<\/p>\n He is hoping to attend a game over Christmas. Two years ago, he visited Goodison Park in December and was on the pitch with his son Frankie, showing off the Ryder Cup before Manchester City\u2019s visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pep Guardiola, City\u2019s manager, was happy to see Fleetwood with the trophy. It was in Guardiola\u2019s second season at City when a mutual friend introduced him to Fleetwood. The pair went for a round together and a friendship between two elite sporting figures was born. Guardiola, known for his intense and successful managerial style<\/a>, was with Fleetwood during his practice round at the BMW Championship at Wentworth and gave him one-to-one coaching advice as they made their way around the course.<\/p>\n Pep Guardiola giving Tommy advice \ud83d\ude05#BMWPGA<\/a> | #RolexSeries<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DxZebLGawL<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/TOMMY-FLEETWOOD-EVERTON-scaled.jpg\")
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