HOYLAKE, England – Don’t call Rickie Fowler a coward.
One of golf’s most popular players was heckled by a fan during Thursday’s first round of the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool over his decision to pull out of investing in British soccer team Leeds United.
“Plenty of people have given me the needle for not going through with it, but he went over the edge,” Fowler said on Saturday after shooting 4-under 67 in the third round. “I didn’t think it was needed.”
Two days earlier, a fan behind the ropes let Fowler know what he thought about his decision not to invest in Leeds United with the ownership group of the San Francisco 49ers as well as Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps and Fowler’s good friends Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, which agreed to pay 170 million pounds to take over a team that was relegated from the Premiers League this season.
In a video that went viral, the spectator heckled Fowler, calling him a coward.
Rickie Fowler not happy with a spectator calling him out after pulling plug on 49 er’s deal !
pic.twitter.com/O2SrVdr3hY
— Liam Marshall (@_LiamMarshall) July 20, 2023
“That’s a first. Maybe he should put up his own money,” Fowler said on Thursday.
On Saturday he added, “other than maybe a ‘coward’ comment here or there, 99.9 percent (of the fans) are amazing. But you deal with that anywhere you go. Same thing in the States,” he said.
Asked if he might have a change of heart, Fowler said that ship has sailed. His financial team determined it was too much risk based on their schedule, but he wouldn’t be opposed to another deal down the road so he could have a vested interest in a team.
“I hope they play well and kind of get things turned around because I know JT and Jordan would be very happy with that,” he said. “It doesn’t change my interest at all. Yeah, there may be some other opportunities out there, and I would say football, as we call soccer, isn’t something that —obviously it isn’t as big in the States, but a lot of us that don’t follow it as deeply as everyone over here, we appreciate sport at the highest level.
“When opportunities like that come up, I would love to be a part of something. We’ll see what the future holds.”
Asked if he had a rooting interest in a certain team, Fowler said, “I don’t, but if there’s some sort of financial involvement, I’m sure they’ll have plenty of support from me. I can be bought.”