Tommy Fleetwood insists actions at Ryder Cup 'weren't disrespectful' as details emerge

Tommy Fleetwood has defended his decision to pose in bed with the Ryder Cup after Team Europe’s victory in 2018. The 34-year-old is set to compete in the prestigious tournament for a fourth time next month, but he caused a stir during his first Ryder Cup campaign.

Fleewood was paired with Italy’s Francesco Molinari and the duo made history by winning all four matches together. They played a pivotal role in Europe’s victory over Team USA, with Molinari ending the event with a 5-0 record.

A viral video during the team’s celebrations encapsulated Fleetwood and Molinari's budding bromance. The duo were filmed waking up in bed together, with the Ryder Cup between them, and Fleetwood has batted away a playful suggestion that the video was disrespectful to Team USA.

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The footage captured Molinari waking Fleetwood, who asked: “How good was that for you?” Molinari quipped: “Four out of four,” referring to their record together, before Fleetwood added: “I’d give you five out of five, Frankie.”

The Englishman recently appeared on the and confirmed he was naked during the video. In response, the co-host joked that the clip had been a slight towards the USA: “It was a little bit disrespectful to the United States, we’re adding fuel to the fire.”

Fleetwood was quick to play down that claim. “I don’t think it was disrespectful,” he said. However, Fleetwood did recall some details from shooting the video.

“We had the Ryder Cup and I think Fran was very set on, ‘We’ll just get in bed, we’ll do the video and then we’ll carry on partying,’” Fleetwood explained. “As he turned around, I just stripped off and got in bed. I thought it was funny, that was cool, and people still remember it. It’s a long time ago.”

That marked Fleetwood’s first Ryder Cup triumph and he was also on the winning side two years ago in Rome. He will head into next month’s tournament in high spirits after claiming his maiden win on the PGA Tour last Sunday.

Fleetwood clinched the Tour Championship by three shots in Atlanta, securing the FedEx Cup in the process. It was an emotional moment for a man whose career had been punctuated by heartbreaking near-misses.

Following his 163-tournament wait to win on the PGA Tour coming to an end, Fleetwood’s victory was celebrated throughout the golfing world and beyond. He admitted to dealing with doubts as he waited for his first triumph and discussed the message he tries to convey on the course.

“I never felt like I wasn’t going to win but more and more doubt creeps in, which is natural, because every time I’d been there, it didn’t happen for one reason or another,” he told the Pardon My Take Podcast when asked about struggling with doubts.“It definitely gets harder every time you go there. Not necessarily harder in a playing sense but you just deal with more stuff. It’s not come easy.”

Comparing himself to more successful sporting stars, Fleetwood added: “I felt like mine is a story of perseverance, mental fortitude in a different way, and I always kind of felt that. As many times as it would go wrong, I always wanted to remember that. ‘I will get this done. I will get my first win.’

"For me, it’s never been about just winning once. I’ve always said I want to win multiple times, I want to win plenty of times but you just have to win the first one first.”