Tommy Fleetwood takes a savage dig at LIV Golfers - “I'm not going to put it in my trophy cabinet and be worried about a few players missing”
Tommy Fleetwood won't consider any win he gets in need of an asterisk. This has been the subject of debate recently, with many prestigious tournaments being called out for not including LIV Golf members. The Majors have seen it, and now it's been witnessed at the PLAYERS Championship.
The strength of the field in the fifth unofficial Major for the sport of golf has been hotly contested, with many believing the absence of some of the world's best might give any winner pause.
Being a PGA Tour event and not actually a Major, the PLAYERS cannot invite any LIV players. That said, Fleetwood isn't worried about it. In fact, he joked that a win involving a depleted field would thrill him.
Via Golf Magic, he said:
"If I win The Players… if there was just me in the field, I'd be perfectly happy. I would play with the media team, and I'd be happy winning the players! I've got a chance; I would rather it be like that!"
He later added that a win is a win, and it doesn't matter who it comes against:
"If we win one of these tournaments, I'm not going to put it in my trophy cabinet and be worried about a few players missing really."
Fleetwood is currently +4500 to win the tournament, behind the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Wyndham Clark. Far from a long shot, but this would be an impressive win for Fleetwood.
Tommy Fleetwood discusses lack of LIV members in top tournaments
As it stands, the biggest tournaments on the PGA Tour cannot have LIV members. They can and are playing in Major tournaments since those are for golf at large, but the rest of them can't invite LIV Golf players such as Jon Rahm or Brooks Koepka.
Signature Events and Major tournaments, like the PLAYERS, invite the best of the best on tour, and Tommy Fleetwood believes the competition and prestige is still there in spite of a few golfers being absent.
He said via Golf Magic:
"Tournaments like last week (Arnold Palmer Invitational), the Players Championship, the BMW at Wentworth, you can rattle off tons of events that a bunch of us as golfers have dreamt of winning as a kid, have dreamt of playing in as a kid."
Fleetwood doesn't think the field determines how any golfer should feel about winning a tournament they once dreamed about. He continued:
"I have kids that are in the game now that are trying to be the best they can be and make it. For some people, it's the dream to play in these events, they actually just want to get to The Players, they just want to get to the Wentworth, so I don't think it takes anything away."
The English golfer did admit that it is good for golfers to compete against the best players in the world, which does include some LIV players. He's just not worried about who is or isn't in this field he's taking on.