You would rarely see Tommy Fleetwood in a controversy that’s because the Englishman never makes any spicy statements on anything. Even when the golf world turned against the LIV Golf defectors, Fleetwood’s response was pretty bleak. When the 3-time DP World Tour winner was offered a LIV Golf contract, he rejected it but was never critical about it. Rather he said, “I’m still chasing my childhood dreams and still trying to be the best golfer I can be. Who knows if that changes in the future but for now that’s just where I want to be.”

So how and when did his calm demeanor slip up? It was in September 2023 and Team Europe has not won the Ryder Cup yet. However, Luke Donald was announced as the captain for the Europeans. So, when Fleetwood appeared on the morning BBC radio show and host Rick Edwards asked what type of captain would Donald be, the Englishman nonchalantly yet surprisingly replied, “Sh*t” as Bunkered reported.

Now, one thing was clear: Fleetwood did not want to disparage any part of Luke Donald and meant it in a fun way as they share a close bond. However, without missing a beat he justified what he actually wanted to say and to move on from the embarrassing moment because the host had to apologize to the audience. He also said, “Sorry, sorry, I lost track of where I am. I take that back… Luke will be amazing. He’s somebody I am very close to. He’s a calm figure, a confident figure, he’s handled the biggest moment in the sport unbelievably well…  He’s definitely brought his personality to the captaincy.” 

Indeed, Luke Donald proved to be a treasure for Team Europe as they won the 2023 Ryder Cup, and unlike Zach Johnson, who took the blame for Team USA’s lost, the European captain was retained for the 2026 Bethpage edition too. If anything, Donald did a way better job than most people expected him and helped the Europeans lift the cup in Spain. Well, this was only a slip of the tongue but once Fleetwood cheated by mistake.

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Tommy Fleetwood and his teammate cheat because of confusion

The story is more than a decade old from the time when Tommy Fleetwood was just an amateur. The Olympic silver medalist and his team were playing in Argentina a team and individual event, where Fleetwood was leading at the latter. It was the last round of the event and it poured heavily that the pick-and-place rule had to be allowed. Or so Fleetwood and his teammates, Eddie Pepperell thought.

Pepperell revealed in The Chipping Forecast episode how one misunderstanding turned out to be the end of Fleetwood and his team. They thought the organizers allowed pick and place but it was actually ‘pick and replace’. This meant that the ball had to be cleaned and placed in the same spot as before. But the Englishman didn’t do that he placed it on a suitable lie.

Pepperell recounted his partner, refusing to sign his scorecard and accusing him of cheating. Then came Fleetwood. Pepperell said, “Tommy gets in and he would’ve won the tournament and he’s done exactly the same thing! So we all ended up getting disqualified.” And Fleetwood missed a chance of winning one more amateur championship. Although rarely a controversial golfer, Tommy Fleetwood does make some hilarious mistakes from time to time.