Tommy Fleetwood says a hurtful “hammering” at the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits motivated Team Europe to turn things around two years later.
Fleetwood was asked Wednesday at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., if the Americans might have a similar chip on their shoulders following their 2023 loss in Rome.
“Yeah, I think absolutely,” he said. “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 we never really gave ourselves a chance. We were behind from the get-go there, and we lost that one.”
Fleetwood said the Europeans’ self-reflection and analysis began on the plane ride home from Wisconsin following their 19-9 defeat.
“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,” the 34-year-old Englishman said. “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.”
Fleetwood begins his fourth Ryder Cup appearance on Friday, entering with the momentum of his long-awaited PGA Tour breakthrough at last month’s Tour Championship. It was the first win in 163 PGA Tour events — including 30 top-five finishes — for the newly minted FedEx Cup champion.
Ranked No. 7 in the world, Fleetwood boasts an impressive 7-3-2 record at the Ryder Cup and is unbeaten (4-0-0) in foursomes.
Fleetwood remembers clearly watching the U.S. team enjoy its triumph at Whistling Straits. He knows Europe’s win in Rome left a similar unpleasant taste in his opponents’ mouths.
“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,” he said. “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.”
