THE MODERATOR: Good morning, everyone. Pleased to be joined now by Tommy Fleetwood at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Tommy, welcome to your fourth Ryder Cup. We'll go ahead and jump right into questions.
Q. Tommy, one thing that statistically seems really important is when a player gets an early lead in a match, wins the first hole or one of the first three holes, something you've been really good at, wondering how you get good at that. Do you try to be more aggressive on early holes, for instance?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: That's a good question. I think, yeah, I think definitely Luke at the last Ryder Cup in Rome I think did a really good job of drilling that into us.
It goes both ways, right? Like statistically fast starts are obviously an advantage. But if you go 1-down through 3, you don't want to start thinking odds are stacked against me. It does go both ways.
But yeah, Luke was the one that pointed it out first definitely in Rome and made us aware of that. I think we have been aware and practiced that as a team.
But I think you just -- it's not something that we really focus on when you're standing on the first tee because you don't want to be in a position where you lose a couple of hole early on and you're like, well, we wanted to get a fast start and now we're down.
I think we've practiced it as a team over the last few years, and we've added a bit more focus to it. And I think it's probably one of those things that's just happened to go our way rather than us being really, really strict and focused about it.
Yeah, I hope it continues really. Fast starts are good.
Q. There are concerns among some quarters this week that the crowd could go from rowdy maybe even to hostile. How comfortable do you think the families of European teams feel about coming on to the course, and are they planning to follow you around as usual?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I think first and foremost, I think the -- for us this week, it's an away crowd. But I do say that the home crowd are a big part of what makes the Ryder Cup so special, so unique to us.
As individuals, you obviously don't get to play in front of a home or team atmosphere, if you like. It's always kind of crowd supporting individuals.
But I think that energy, that passion and that home team environment is something that plays such a big part in the Ryder Cup, and I think you have to embrace that, enjoy it, and look forward to it, even when you're the away team. Kind of looking forward to that.
We've all discussed as a team who feels comfortable, how the family would feel comfortable, what they want to do. I don't necessarily think that's part of -- the away crowd is like a reason for that either. It's just do they want to be out there and support; do they want to spend the whole 18 holes; do they want to follow someone else.
When the families are here, it's not just -- the families aren't just here for you. We're all part of Team Europe, and whatever that involves and whoever that involves supporting out there, that could be very, very different.
I think it's something that we've all discussed, and it's one of those things, it'll be very fluid throughout the week. I'm sure it's all going to be great.
Q. You've got a great record in this event. What is it that makes a great partnership? And if you're playing with Rory this week, in terms of we're talking about hostility, he always seems to be maybe the public target No. 1. Are you okay with dealing with that?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, good partnerships, I think the last few years, statistics have played a big role in that. I think the game has gone more in that direction, and I think there's definitely statistically partnerships that can suit each other very, very well.
Of course you need to have -- especially in foursomes, you need to have some kind of, like, emotional connection, if you like. You need to be close and get on. But that has never been anything that we've needed to worry about in Team Europe, that's for sure. I think we've always been very blessed and very lucky with how close our team is and how close our team becomes.
Like, individually, a good partnership, getting a good partner, that always helps. That's a good way of having a good partnership.
As to Rory, I think whoever he gets to -- whoever gets to play with Rory this week, like what a privilege. What an amazing thing to be able to do, to stand next to him on the golf course and play alongside him. He's one of if not the greatest players of our generation.
Yeah, like the energy that I think he has, that he brings to your team, that he brings to the Ryder Cup, I think is amazing. I think it's great.
If I'm one of them that gets a chance to play with him, I would love that opportunity. And whatever energy he decides to bring, I'll be there to support him and be a good partner for him.
Q. How much did what happened at Whistling Straits play into your preparation and motivation for Rome, and do you believe the U.S. might have a little chip on their shoulders because of what happened in Rome?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I think absolutely. When you've lost a Ryder Cup -- like for us, 100 percent at Whistling Straits we took a -- there's no other way of putting it: We took a hammering. I think all of us that were on that team didn't feel like we did ourselves justice in the way that we played and never really gave ourselves a chance. We were behind from the get-go there, and we lost that one.
But I remember on the plane home, so that was the day after, we were all as a team looking -- we were thinking, What are we going to do now? There was two years to go.
First of all, we want to start working to have a chance to have a go at it again and sort of avenge ourselves in that way. But then looking at the process of what can we do more, what can Team Europe do or add that can give us a better chance in Rome.
I think when you've lost one, yeah, of course you have a chip on your shoulder. You have that feeling of hurt. I think one of the most motivating things you can have is watching the other team celebrate when you've lost, and no matter how great of a time -- like some of my best memories in the game were from Whistling Straits. We got hammered on the golf course, but as a team and how close you become and the moments that we drew on that week, it's still some of my best memories in the game.
But also that hurt and watching those guys celebrate when you know you didn't feel like you didn't do yourselves justice I think is one of the most motivating things you can have. It came to Rome, and I guess it was a very new look of a team, and a home crowd, home advantage, and we took that.
So actually winning that one was really, really satisfying. And of course the American team will have similar sort of feelings. They'll have been hurt from last time, and they'll come here and want to win and be at home and win in front of their home crowd. And that's just as it should be.
Q. It's a strange scenario this week that in the practice rounds you're encouraged to engage with the fans, and then when the event starts not engage with the fans. How important is that first part?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, everybody was amazing yesterday. Like I say, look, the sort of job of the home crowd is to support the home team. You wouldn't hold anything against anybody in that way.
But yesterday they were amazing. They were very supportive of us, and it's important. The Ryder Cup, first as golfers, it's the biggest showcase of the sport that we get, comes along every two years. And all of those -- I look back at my favorite Ryder Cup moments and shots that I might have hit or you look back down the years, crowds -- without the crowds, it's not quite the same. It just doesn't feel the same. That's such a huge part of that.
To engage with them here is really important. It's great. It's great to soak up that atmosphere, whether it's home or away. Like I say, they were all amazing yesterday. I loved interacting with them. I loved signing stuff, seeing the kids and all of that. I thought that was great.
Yeah, it's different when it's go time, like when it's time to play. I think that's like every other tournament except this one is hyped up. When it's time to play, I've always felt like I really just want to focus on my game, focus on each shot, try and get into my bubble as much as possible, especially when I'm coming in to play my shots.
That's no different in the Ryder Cup; it's just it's an extreme atmosphere. It's the most extreme atmosphere that we get. But crowd is such a huge part of the Ryder Cup.
Q. Following up on that, really, but I appreciate you won't fully see what it's like until Friday morning. But talking about the first tee, does it feel daunting and intimidating looking at the setup of the stand? It's not quite the horseshoe of Rome and Whistling Straits.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No, it's pretty big. And the way it's set up, it's a little bit further back than what we've had over the last few years.
But still, it's still the first tee at a Ryder Cup, and we'll still come away from this week of stories of first tee nerves and things like that. It's something that you've got to embrace.
Yeah, the noise for sure. I think the grandstand that goes around the back, it's lining up the fairway on the first. I think it's a really, really cool scene.
And yeah, nothing is sort of -- no matter what you do, nothing prepares you for a Friday morning on the first tee of the Ryder Cup.
Q. Can you speak a little bit to the old man on the team, Justin Rose, and in the context of this is your fourth team and how different each one has been and how similar they are?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, so I think -- I'll probably answer on the teams first.
I remember making my first team in Paris. I think when you look back, there was a few of us, I think me, Jon, Tyrrell, Alex Noren, the guys that are here this week, that was our debut in the Ryder Cup. And we definitely came into a team that was full of, I would say, this era's Team Europe's Ryder Cup legends. That was very cool when you look back and you look at that one.
Then as you've seen Europe take a transition over the last two or three years into what the team has now become -- and that always happens. Things transition, and now we've got this group of players. But that was, I think -- Paris and Whistling Straits was very much those guys that have been stalwarts of Team Europe for so long that have had so much success, have had so much experience. Being part of those teams was amazing, and you had those natural leaders in the room.
Then to Rome and this one, I guess it's kind of a little bit changing of the guard in terms of experience, but I think the team now is more -- I think everybody is a bit more on a level playing field, and you have your guys -- Rory, as if he's playing an eighth Ryder Cup. It's unbelievable.
Then there's Justin. And I think you look at those personalities, and Justin has always been someone I've been close to and looked up to in the way he conducts himself, in the way he goes about his game. He's very much a leadership-by-example person. He doesn't need to raise his voice or speak loudly or be the motivating force in terms of that. He's there, he has plenty of words of wisdom, and he leads by example in how he prepares himself and conducts himself on the golf course.
I feel lucky that I've been able to spend so much time with him and learn so much from being around him in terms of how he does things.
Yeah, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I don't think.
Q. Who's the noisiest guy on your team?
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Noisiest? Well, there's a few of them. I'd probably give Rory that mantelpiece.
Q. I guess golf can sometimes be quite a lonely sport. So I wanted to ask you about the level of comfort that you get this week as a player from knowing that really no matter what happens, you're going to have 11 others standing by you as a team and what that changes in your approach to the whole game.
TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I think being part of a team is really beautiful. It's something that we don't get to do week in, week out, and especially like this where there's so much history about the Ryder Cup.
And I think being part of Team Europe, I've always been made so aware of the legacy that is Team Europe. We're sort of carrying that right now.
But there's a time when we won't be playing and there will be plenty of others that come after us, there's been plenty that come before us, and I think it's a privilege and a luxury that we get to do that all together.
Yeah, the team being with the 11 other players, the vice captains, the captain, the backroom staff, having that support network, having those guys that make you want to be the best version of yourself -- when you're playing individually and you turn up in a crappy mood on the day, you just don't have to speak to anyone. You just get on with it.
But I think every day when you turn up as part of Team Europe, it drives you to be the absolute best version of yourself, and whether you're playing well, whether you're playing bad, whether you're feeling tired, whether you're feeling great, you do what is best for the team and you try and give your all.
I think it just brings out the best in all of us.
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