Tommy Fleetwood is dreaming of winning his first major championship this week in his home town at Royal Birkdale.
Fleetwood would love nothing more than to win the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, with the entire nation pulling for him this week.
However, there are clearly some concerns about some fans treating some of Fleetwood’s rivals poorly.
A new code of conduct has been brought into play for fans this week after some unsavory scenes at the US Open last month.
Wyndham Clark received all sorts of abuse from the fans at Shinnecock Hills.
Jordan Spieth suggested that betting in golf is responsible for the deterioration of the way in which fans behave during golf tournaments.
Now Tommy Fleetwood has given his take on the matter ahead of the start of the Open Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood responds to Jordan Spieth’s claim about betting in golf
Two weeks ago, Spieth insisted that the PGA Tour needs to crack down on betting in golf.
“I think you had some unique circumstances there. I don’t know. I mean, I think the one thing that I’ll point out is I do think that betting in golf is something that’s going to have to be tackled here soon, because I don’t know how much of, say, the Wyndham scenario was the fact that it was enticing to bet the field versus Wyndham on Sunday in a legalized betting state, and you could have had people out there that are essentially, you know, have $100 to $10,000, depending on who it is, on the field versus somebody else.
“In golf it’s tricky because you could actually impact the outcome if you wanted to. It may not last very long, but you could impact a shot if you wanted to. I don’t know of another sport that you could impact as a fan like you can golf.“
It was actually a fair point from Spieth, but does Fleetwood agree?
“Yeah, it’s a good point. It’s a fair point,“ Fleetwood replied.
“I don’t think it’s ever really been my experience. I think you’re aware probably of people that are betting and you might get somebody telling you a putt breaks right to left instead of left to right, but you should be able to figure that out on your own.
“It’s a really tricky one. I think the crowds are a huge part of it, of golf, and I think it’s hard — it’s difficult to — it’s really difficult to ask everyone to behave in a manner that you would want them to behave in while wanting the atmosphere to be as big as possible and as good as possible. I think that’s always tricky.
“Again, that’s coming from — I think in general I’ve always been — I’ve always been very lucky with my fan interaction and support. Again, it’s easy when you haven’t had the same experiences of those to just give your opinion on it and have it different.
“Betting isn’t going to go away, and I think you don’t want the crowds to be any smaller, or it’s hard to change people in terms of how they want to be when you go to a golf tournament. I just think that’s a really difficult one.“
Tommy Fleetwood comments on new code of conduct ahead of The Open
Any fan caught abusing any of the players at Royal Birkdale this week will be immediately ejected from the property.
“Yeah, like I say, it’s hard to want 200,000 people to watch and create an amazing atmosphere and want them all to do exactly what you would expect or want them to do,“ Fleetwood said.
“Yeah, like you want the fans to behave in the best way possible and to give everybody the equal opportunity, but it is very difficult wanting all that to go together. I think — yeah, it’s a tough one, and you just want the best for everybody really.
“I’ve always felt like atmospheres have been great. I’ve had support on my side 99 percent of the time, but I’ve also had it against me the odd time. Sometimes — honestly sometimes those have been my most enjoyable atmospheres when the crowd are that little bit against you and gives you that little bit extra.
“I’m sure everybody will be great this week. I think The Opens that I’ve experienced in the northwest, the crowds have been amongst the best I’ve ever seen and the atmospheres have been great. I’m sure they’ll all be great.“
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