Tommy Fleetwood's four-word truth after his wife rejected him over 23-year age gap
Tommy Fleetwood admits he "didn't mess it up" when given a second chance by his eventual wife, Clare, after she initially rejected him due to their 23-year age gap. Fleetwood is bidding to win his first PGA Tour event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday.
Englishman Fleetwood is one of the Tour's finest shooters, but is infamous for his lack of titles. Despite racking up over £23million in prizes, the two-time major runner-up has not yet finished on top in an event.
This could change on Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude, where he takes a one-stroke lead into the final round, and Fleetwood, 34, will be aiming not to 'mess up' this golden opportunity, just like he avoided doing when courting his partner Clare, 57, who initially rebuked him due to the gap in their ages.
Fleetwood first met Clare through his brother Joe, a colleague of hers at Hambric Sports Management. He even wrote in his Golf Monthly blog in mid-2015 that he enjoyed speaking to Clare, who was vice president of the organisation's European branch.
"I get on well with Clare Craig, too, who is vice-president of Europe," wrote Fleetwood. "She's always been around on Tour, and I've chatted to her a lot over the years."
Later in 2015, Clare became Fleetwood's manager, and a romantic connection soon formed. They married two years later and share a son named Frankie. Manchester-born Clare also has two sons from a previous relationship.
However, their romance was not straightforward. Speaking on the Performance People podcast, Fleetwood's other half revealed she initially turned down the golfer's advances.
"We've got a 23-year age difference," she declared when asked about the beginnings of their relationship. "Of course, I turned him down. I was like, 'Don't be stupid.'"
Fleetwood then shed light on how he changed Clare's mind, ending with a telling four-word admission: "Well, she just eventually gave in, I think, and thought, 'I'll just give him some time. I'll give him the time of day and then we'll go from there.' I didn't mess up."
Clare continued, admitting that though she did debate stepping down from managing Fleetwood once they wed, taking up both roles gives her a unique insight.
"I know everything on every side – so there's sponsorship side, the logistics side, the PR side, the accounts side, everything," Clare added. "Maybe sometimes too much, you know, because then that's all I think about sometimes, but that's just the different dynamic.
"I look at one question – it might have 15 answers for me. Do you know what I mean? It's a little bit more complicated for me because I see things, you know, like, are we going to live? I don't see it as a lifestyle choice necessarily, I'll look at it as a business choice as well."
After years of near misses, Fleetwood has a host of talented names breathing down his neck at the FedEx St. Jude, which is being held at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
Just one stroke behind him is fellow Englishman Justin Rose, and two shots back lies world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. US Open champion J.J. Spaun is also just three shots behind Fleetwood, who is bidding to make personal history.
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