Fleetwood braced for a hostile crowd and fired up Americans

TOMMY Fleetwood is wary of the wounded Americans as Europe bid to defend the Ryder Cup they won emphatically two years ago.

- By ANDY HAMPSON

Tommy Fleetwood of Team Europe signs autographs for fans prior to the Ryder Cup 2025 in New York starting tomorrow

(HARRY HOW)

Europe thrashed the United States 16½-11 ½ in Rome in 2023 to bounce back from their own heavy loss in the previous encounter.

Fleetwood was motivated by a desire to atone for Europe's record 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021 and he expects the US attitude to be similar now the boot is on the other foot at Bethpage Black this week.

“I think all of us that were on that team didn’t feel like we did ourselves justice in the way that we played and never really gave ourselves a chance. We were behind from the get-go.

“I think when you've lost one, yes, of course you have a chip on your shoulder. You have that feeling of hurt.

“I think one of the most motivating things you can have is watching the other team celebrate when you've lost.

“It came to Rome and I guess it was a very new look of a team -, and a home crowd, home advantage, and we took that.

The Englishman, playing in his fourth Ryder Cup, said: “At Whistling Straits, there's no other way of putting it, we took a hammering.

“Winning that one was really, really satisfying and of course the American team will have similar sorts of feelings.