The age difference between Tommy Fleetwood and his wife has once again become a talked-about topic – this time during the Ryder Cup. The 34-year-old Tour Championship winner is 23 years younger than his wife, Clare, who is 57. Despite both having addressed their age gap on multiple occasions, Team USA fans used it as ammunition on the first tee at Bethpage Black on Friday.
On Thursday, Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy were revealed as Ryder Cup partners against Collin Morikawa and Harris English. While McIlroy was met with boos almost every time he appeared or was mentioned on Friday morning, Fleetwood had to endure several harsh shouts from the crowd. “Your wife looks like my grandmother,” spectators shouted in an attempt to unsettle the Englishman. However, if Fleetwood heard these comments, he didn’t let it show.
He and McIlroy seemed in high spirits on the first tee box, smiling for the group photo and hugging warmly. They then got off to a blistering start, immediately going 1-up on the opening hole with a fantastic birdie.
Fleetwood and his wife, Clare, initially met when she approached him about a business partnership, which eventually led to her taking over his management. The PGA Tour professional soon wanted more than just a business relationship but was initially turned down.
She actually thought the age gap was too large. Clare disclosed to the Sun her immediate response to Fleetwood’s romantic overtures: “‘Don’t be stupid. We’ve got a 23-year age difference.’ Of course, I turned him down. I was like ‘Don’t be stupid’.
Nevertheless, Fleetwood refused to give up and ultimately captured Clare’s affections. The couple married in 2017, with Fleetwood taking on the role of stepfather to Clare’s two children before they had their own son, Frankie.
Fleetwood has remained unfazed by the age difference or public scrutiny, even addressing it on the Fore Play podcast by Barstool Sports. “The whole family – we’re unbelievably close,” he revealed.
“There’s Oscar and Mo, and they are the two older ones, and then there’s Frankie. And, you know, honestly, it’s funny because whenever anybody asks, so people that don’t know you, they’ll always say, ‘Do you have kids?’
“And, pretty much all the time I’ll say ‘yeah, I have three kids’ and they’ll go, ‘How old are they?’ And I’ll say ’17, 16 and six’. And then you get the look.
“So then, I’m like, well I’m not that old, so then I’ll have to explain that the first two are step-kids which, honestly, I don’t really, I never really think of them as step-kids. I’ve been around them a long time now.
“Particularly Mo, I think I’ve been a, I guess, a parental figure to Mo since he was five. I’m unbelievably lucky with the relationship that we have. We’re so close. When the five of us are together, that’s always our safe space, and I hope we always keep that.”
In a conversation with The Telegraph, he revealed: “We had a lovely time searching for a dress for the gala dinner. She’s a big Man City fan and she’s going to bring a little bit of north-west football fannage to the Ryder Cup.”
He further commented: “No, I don’t think we’ve ever been called the norm.”