HOYLAKE, England — Rickie Fowler reacts after playing his third shot on the 18th hole on Day Three of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 22, 2023. | Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images for HSBC
Fowler planned on investing into Leeds United, but he pulled out of it, and the British fans made their feelings known about it at The Open
English football is ingrained in British culture, which was unsurprisingly on display at The Open this week.
Not far from Royal Liverpool, where the world’s best players are battling for The Claret Jug, lies Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC, one of the cathedrals of English sport.
So this week, many golf fans donned their favorite teams’ kits or scarves while also giving their favorite golfers grief for their fandoms—or in Rickie Fowler’s case, lack of investment into the sport.
Fowler recently pulled out of a minority investment in Leeds United, an English team recently relegated from the English Premier League to the English Championship division.
Some fans called Fowler a “coward” out on the course, but he also noted that “99.9 percent [of the fans] are amazing.”
Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images for HSBC
HOYLAKE, England — Rickie Fowler looks on as they walk down the perimeter on the 18th hole on Day Three of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 22, 2023.
Meanwhile, two of Fowler’s best friends, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, are still committed to their minority stakes in the club.
“No, no, that’s already all done,” Fowler said Saturday, after his third round at The Open. “Hopefully, it all works out with [Thomas] and [Spieth] being involved. My financial team didn’t necessarily advise for it, so we decided not to go forward with it.”
The 2015 Players Champion still hopes the team succeeds and eventually returns to the Premier League in the future.
“I hope [Leeds United] plays well and kind of get things turned around because I know [Thomas] and [Spieth] would be very happy with that.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
