Tommy Fleetwood with the most on-brand (?!) response to drama ahead of The Open

England's Tommy Fleetwood had the most on-brand response ever to the LIV Golf/PGA Tour drama ahead of the 151st Open Championship.

Ben Smith

18 Jul 2023

England's Tommy Fleetwood says the first thing he did when he heard the PGA Tour had announced an agreement with the PIF was head to the range.

It was on 6 June that PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan turned the world of men's professional golf on its head.

By this point you're likely familiar with the tale. Monahan sat beside LIV Golf supremo Yasir Al-Rumayyan and essentially announced peace. For now.

Their TV appearance was minutes after we saw the headline:

"PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce newly formed commercial entity to unify golf"

Was this real life?

Fleetwood, like many of the top talent on the PGA Tour, was at Oakdale Golf & Country Club preparaing for the Canadian Open.

A players' only meeting was called with Monahan and, so the story goes, he was told to resign. Even Rory McIlroy was told to 'F off'.

The temperature has cooled since then because the only one truth we have at this moment in time is nobody really knows anything.

Better to wait and see how things unfold, some have argued.

| Jon Rahm says he still trusts and backs PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan despite unrest over the LIV Golf/PIF deal. pic.twitter.com/cd2RIntp5O
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) July 18, 2023

Some players are still less than pleased with Monahan. Multiple PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan has hinted that if the players have their way then Monahan's days are numbered.

Perhaps Jon Rahm is the highest-profile player who still backs the under fire boss.

And then you have Tommy Fleetwood. He told The Times about the immediate aftermath of the stunning announcement from his perspective:

"When the news broke at the Canadian Open, everybody was confused. But I was struggling and I wanted to hit balls instead of going to a players’ meeting.

"It was the best thing I did. I just wanted to get better. Ultimately, it's way above my head and I'm nowhere near being in a high enough position to make any difference. No matter what happens, though, your golf is going to matter."

"The news hit and I think it's something that's very easy to get your head wrapped up in. People felt clear in where they were they were, and who knows if it's changed? But there's also no reason to think it won't all change again.

"It either gets rubber-stamped or not. I don’t have a strong opinion on what anyone else can do. I will play wherever I get told to."

Whatever Fleetwood was working on at the range paid immediate dividends as he went on to contend but was beaten over extra holes by Nick Taylor.

Fleetwood was in position once again to claim his maiden win on the PGA Tour last week at the Scottish Open but struggled to get anything going in the final round as McIlroy came up trumps with a big finish to claim his first victory in the country.

The Englishman, 32, has been grouped alongside Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott for the first 36 holes of the 151st Open Championship.

He finished T-4 at the 150th Open at St. Andrews.

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