Tommy Fleetwood got a taste of what he can probably expect at the Ryder Cup, with the Englishman heckled while filming a video with Grant Horvat at Bethpage Black.
The 2025 Ryder Cup is emerging on the horizon. It does feel that so much of the attention is on what the atmosphere is going to be like in New York, with a very passionate crowd expected.
That will leave Tommy Fleetwood in an unfamiliar position. While Fleetwood was on the European team which suffered a heavy defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021, the 34-year-old is someone who usually has the galleries on his side.
Fleetwood is one of the PGA Tour’s most popular players. It was notable that he received one of the largest ovations of the day on the first tee during the final round of the Tour Championship last month – particularly against the backdrop of the looming Ryder Cup.
However, that popularity will largely go out of the window later this month, with Fleetwood already getting an idea of what is coming his way.
Tommy Fleetwood reacts to being heckled at Bethpage Black
The FedEx Cup champion was filming a match with Grant Horvat at Bethpage and about to tee off on the 17th hole when someone cycling past decided to heckle him.
“Tommy’s the man, but Scottie’s going to kick his butt in September,” they shouted.
But when asked about the interaction, Fleetwood insisted that he absolutely loves the tribalism which comes with the Ryder Cup.
“I’m excited about the New York crowd. I don’t mind [the heckling]. It’s all in good spirit, right. It’s all part of it, and I’ll look forward to it. It’ll be great. What an experience,” he said.
Tommy Fleetwood discusses the challenge of taking on Bethpage ahead of the Ryder Cup
It is exactly the right attitude for Fleetwood to have. Antagonising the crowd is unlikely to do a player many favours unless they need that fire to really get going. Even then, it could be a real risk.
Bethpage is going to be a brutal test, even for someone like Fleetwood who is one of the very best in the game.
It is a venue which has hosted both the US Open and the PGA Championship over the years. And Fleetwood suggested that the difficulty at Bethpage stems from just how many different questions it manages to ask.
“You have to look and analyse a golf course and see what skills and strategy you need. So Bethpage Black is one of the toughest courses that we’ll play for so many reasons. So I think, first of all, it’s having a shot that’s going to hit the fairway. Being able to put the ball in play, but then having real precision with your iron shots, because we’ve had some quick putts today,” he said.
“You can get the wrong side, you can miss it in the wrong spots, so you have to look at that. And so far, looking at it, holes are shaped different ways, greens are sloped differently, so you need different start lines, different shapes, different shots, and I think that it’s just one of those, there’s certain golf courses around the world that need every facet of the game. I do actually think playing golf courses like this really drive you to be a master of your craft, really work on every aspect, and knowing that you need so many different things to be successful.”
It remains to be seen which team Bethpage takes greater mercy on at the end of the month. But if the event does live up to the hype, we could certainly be looking at the greatest Ryder Cup of all-time.
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