From Shane Lowry being called “Tellitubby”, Rory McIlroy getting teased about Amanda Balionis, to even Erica Stoll getting beer tossed on her, let’s just say the crowd in New York did their best to try and infuriate the European players. Whether it was their frustration about Team U.S. playing badly, or trying to help the American side in any way they could, it’s not clear. Either way, Tommy Fleetwood understands the situation and has forgiven them for the heckling.

At least that is what he claimed during the press conference preceding the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. A reporter inquired about the Englishman’s experience at the 2025 Ryder Cup and if he expects the same at Adare Manor. Fleetwood told the media, “I don’t know. There’s a big difference between — like there’s a big difference between a hostile environment and personal comments. Again, I think we were all prepared for it.”

Luke Donald had helped the team prepare for the abuse they might face at Bethpage. Rory McIlroy had mentioned that the Team Europe captain had distributed VR headsets that had recordings of the possible spectator interactions in New York. The English veteran wanted to ensure the players were desensitized against the abuse before they played on the course, so when they do get into action, they can focus on their game. That is probably how Fleetwood & Co. were prepared for it.

The 2025 TOUR Championship winner also said, “It’s not — of all the talk that there’s been, it’s not about the entire U.S. fans or the crowd. Like, I don’t think that we should be sort of using that as a whole. I have so many friends that are Americans and that were at the Ryder Cup, people close to me, saying, I’ve got to support my own team, things like that. That’s just what it is. You’re going to get a tough environment when you get to an away Ryder Cup.”

As many have pointed out already, including McIlroy himself, it was not the entire American fanbase at Bethpage that was out of control. Only about 5% of the spectators were throwing the insults, but they were doing just enough to rile up the Europeans. And there is no question that Fleetwood has many friends and fans in the United States. He’s not going to abandon the entire fanbase just because a few of them crossed the line one week of the year. Even Pat McAfee said that he won’t be supporting the Englishman for the Ryder Cup, but he’s a huge fan of him otherwise. However, when it comes to the 5% of the fans, Fleetwood had a different opinion about them.

“Yeah, personal comments can go too far, and you obviously hope that that doesn’t happen again, or it shouldn’t happen. But it’s just so out of our control, and I think Keegan and — you just have to understand what you’re getting into and what you’re there for and go play golf. Like I say, how many people were there? 50,000 people? 60,000 people? You can’t have a go at everyone because the majority don’t do that. I have no hard feelings about it at all.”

According to Golf Monthly, the 2025 Ryder Cup averaged about 50,000 supporters every day, including practice days. There is no question that the majority of the crowd surrounded a few players and their groups. Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rory McIlroy must have drawn the most attention. Even if each of them at about 8,000 supporters following them, then about 25% of them must be European supporters. Based on that, McIlroy must have faced abuse from about 200-300 people on average every day, chanting insults towards him, abusing his wife, and calling names.

Blaming 50,000 avid golf fans for what such a small minority did is certainly unfair. McIlroy & Co. also had many supporting them at Bethpage. And that was evident as constant “Ole ole” soccer chants were buzzing all across the course. And based on how the internet reacted, it was evident that many Americans were also supporting the brilliant performance of Team Europe. So, for Fleetwood to ignore the insults from a few seems justified.

Having said that, there have been a few claims made after the tournament was over that even Tommy Fleetwood wouldn’t agree with. What were they? Let’s find out!

Even Tommy Fleetwood wouldn’t think that Rome was as bad as Bethpage

After the conclusion of the 2025 Ryder Cup, the President of the PGA of America made some shocking claims. When Don Rea was asked about the abuse Rory McIlroy faced, he said, “I haven’t heard some of that. I’m sure it has happened. It has happened when we were over in Rome on the other side. Rory understands; I thought he handled the press conferences thing amazingly.”This came as a surprise to many, as the netizens strongly objected to his opinions.

Interestingly, Keegan Bradley also had the same views about the situation, as he mentioned, “I thought the fans were passionate. But the fans of New York from what I have seen have been pretty good. You’re always going to have a few people that cross the line and that’s unfortunate. I wasn’t at Rome but I heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well.”Thankfully, Tyrrell Hatton was quick to shut down any such claims. It’s likely Tommy Fleetwood would also hold the same views.