Tommy Fleetwood gave Rory McIlroy a telling shout-out following his PGA Tour victory.
After winning the FedEx Cup on Sunday, the 34-year-old explained to Sky Sports how fellow golfer McIlroy’s “resilience” inspired his own success.
“I am nowhere near Rory’s career, but I think him winning the Masters this year was a great show of resilience and mental strength,” Fleetwood explained. “I drew on that.”
The pro golfer’s comment came amid headlines about his wife, Clare Fleetwood, being noticeably absent from this weekend’s tournament at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga.
Earlier this year, McIlroy’s success at the Masters was similarly overshadowed by his and wife Erica Stoll‘s marriage drama.
The athlete, 36, filed to divorce Stoll, 37, in May 2024 after seven years of marriage.
McIlroy was briefly linked to sports reporter Amanda Balionis during his time apart from Stoll, with whom he shares daughter Poppy.
McIlroy and Stoll called off their divorce in June 2024 but later reconciled.
The duo put on a united front at the Masters in April, sharing a kiss on the green. However, a body language expert claimed Stoll seemed “subdued” at the event — unlike her “overwhelmed, clingy” partner.
At the time, McIlroy caught heat for neglecting to mention Stoll in his victory speech.
Additionally, he did a sit-down interview with Balionis, which social media users labeled “awkward” and “wrong” via Instagram.
As for Tommy, the Olympian emotionally celebrated his win with one of his stepsons, Oscar Craig, over the weekend.
Clare and her other two sons — Murray and Frankie, the latter of whom she shares with Tommy — appeared to miss the tournament.
Tommy and Clare met in 2015 when she became her future husband’s manager, and the duo wed in December 2017.
They have a 23-year age gap, which Clare was initially “paranoid” about, she admitted on the “Performance People” podcast in 2023.
She eventually “gave in,” however, Tommy gushed to listeners at the time.
Tommy has yet to comment on Clare’s absence from his $10 million win on Sunday following his 164th start on the tour.
The athlete, who has played on tour since 2014, told Sky Sports he had to “stay in the moment and stay present” to secure his win.
McIlroy was also in Georgia for the tournament — but quickly jetted off to New York to attend the US Open after a lackluster performance.
The post Tommy Fleetwood says Rory McIlroy’s ‘resilience’ despite marriage drama inspired his PGA Tour win appeared first on Page Six.
