Tommy Fleetwood admits 2027 Ryder Cup celebration plans need tweaked as Adare Manor means Europe tradition is out
European hero led from the front on the course before helping to crank up the party in the New York aftermath
Tommy Fleetwood reckons Europe will have to hire a bus and just drive it around Adare Manor block if they win another Ryder Cup in 2027.
The English star and his team-mates enjoyed another jubilant coach trip in the wake of their thrilling success in New York before entering into an evening with famous DJ Trevor Nelson.
Fleetwood and his pals also had a party on wheels when they won in Rome two years previously, but there’s going to be an issue in that regard if they complete a hat-trick in Ireland.
The set-up of Adare means the team will be staying at the course. So if they want another bus party, it’ll need a fresh plan.
Fleetwood smiled: “The best bus ride we’ve ever had in Rome. Without mentioning it, all of us I think had an image of that bus ride on the way home from the golf course to the hotel at Bethpage at the end of the week.
“There’s so many moments that you can pick beforehand in terms of a vision or as a goal, whether it be someone holing a putt like Shane [Lowry] did to win, or Luke [Donald] lifting the trophy in the ceremony. But the bus ride was one of those things and it’s going to be a high. You know it’s going to feel amazing, so we're all looking forward to that journey and it will be tricky at Adare Manor, we will be staying on site. If we can get one to go around the block for a while!
"We’re lucky that we have those songs and chants that fit and we can get them going on the bus. An amazing 30-minute ride home, that.”
Fleetwood didn’t do the singing as he added: “I probably have the worst voice. I’ll put myself at the bottom of that list. The songs, it depends, actually. We definitely have a bunch [of songs] that are universal that keep getting played over and over. I’m always in the middle of the bus and have no idea who is at the front.”
Off the bus, it was straight onto the party at the digs where the superstar DJ had connections to Fleetwood who said: “Nelson was the DJ. We just we know him through my wife, Clare, her cousin is Nick Grimshaw. So we know quite a lot of people from BBC Radio and stuff like that. I can’t actually remember where we met. Known him for quite a long time. Always in touch and asked him. He DJ’ed at my wife’s birthday. We were looking for someone to do it at the Ryder Cup and he nailed it, actually. He’s good. He’s good at what he does.
“I said to him at 1.30am, I’m done and going to bed, I’m so tired. I was definitely out of gas and I left before it finished. It’s not that easy to play a full week of Ryder Cup golf and then try and party all night. It’s just not that easy.
“Apparently they just kept it going. The guys that were there wanted to keep it going. It was a longer night for some than others. But I don’t have the capacity or endurance to last a full night with some of those boys!”
Fleetwood has joined Ryder Cup pals Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick and Bob MacIntyre in the tranquil setting of St Andrews for this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links.
He said: “I actually got an invite the year I was on The Challenge Tour. That was 2011 and I played it every year since. I’ve always loved coming back. I’ve played it for I don’t know how many years now. I live close and I have a lot of friends that play this tournament. On top of that, it’s the Old Course is one of the places we play. Like they are three of my favourite courses in the world.
“No matter whether it’s a Ryder Cup year we play in or not, I always love coming back and I still dream of actually winning a tournament at the Old Course and being on that 18th green. It’s just not happened yet.”