Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were confirmed as Ryder Cup playing partners on Thursday, with the opening round taking place on Friday at Bethpage Black
The age gap between Tommy Fleetwood and his wife has sparked controversy once more – this time during the Ryder Cup.
The Tour Championship winner, 34, is 23 years younger than his spouse, Clare, 57. Both have addressed their age difference on numerous occasions, but that didn’t prevent Team USA supporters from weaponising it on the first tee at Bethpage Black on Friday.
On Thursday, Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy were announced as Ryder Cup partners against Collin Morikawa and Harris English. And while McIlroy faced boos at nearly every appearance and mention on Friday morning, Fleetwood endured several savage shouts from the gallery.
“Your wife looks like my grandmother,” spectators yelled as they tried to rattle the Englishman. However, if Fleetwood caught wind of it, he didn’t let it show.
He and McIlroy appeared in excellent spirits on the first tee box, beaming for the group photograph and embracing warmly. They subsequently launched into a scorching start, instantly moving 1-up on the opening hole with a superb birdie.
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Fleetwood and his wife, Clare, first met when she approached him about a business collaboration, which eventually resulted in her taking over his management.
The PGA Tour professional soon desired a more romantic connection but faced initial rejection; predictably, she believed the age difference was excessive.
Clare revealed to the Sun her initial reaction to Fleetwood’s advances: “‘Don’t be stupid. We’ve got a 23-year age difference.’ Of course, I turned him down. I was like ‘Don’t be stupid’.”
Despite this, Fleetwood didn’t back down and eventually won Clare’s heart. The pair tied the knot in 2017, with Fleetwood becoming stepdad to Clare’s two children before they welcomed their own son, Frankie.
Fleetwood has never been bothered by the age gap or public opinion, even discussing it on the Fore Play podcast by Barstool Sports. “The whole family – we’re unbelievably close,” he shared. “There’s Oscar and Mo, and they are the two older ones, and then there’s Frankie.
“And, you know, honestly, it’s funny because whenever anybody asks, so people that don’t know you, they’ll always say, ‘Do you have kids?’ And, pretty much all the time I’ll say ‘yeah, I have three kids’ and they’ll go, ‘How old are they?’ And I’ll say ’17, 16 and six’. And then you get the look.
“So then, I’m like, well I’m not that old, so then I’ll have to explain that the first two are step-kids which, honestly, I don’t really, I never really think of them as step-kids. I’ve been around them a long time now.
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“Particularly Mo, I think I’ve been a, I guess, a parental figure to Mo since he was five. I’m unbelievably lucky with the relationship that we have. We’re so close. When the five of us are together, that’s always our safe space, and I hope we always keep that.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, he shared: “We had a lovely time searching for a dress for the gala dinner. She’s a big Man City fan and she’s going to bring a little bit of north-west football fannage to the Ryder Cup.” He further added: “No, I don’t think we’ve ever been called the norm.”
