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Over the weekend, Tommy Fleetwood won the FedEx Cup – his first PGA Tour victory – and pocketed $10 million in the process.
Needless to say, it was a pretty nice Sunday for the 34-year-old golf veteran.
But fans noticed the fact that Fleetwood’s cheering section was incomplete because Claire Fleetwood, his wife of eight years, was not present.
Golf fans express confusion over Claire Fleetwood’s absence
Now there could have been many reasons for this.
Both Fleetwoods are from England and spend most of the year in Dubai.
They have a young son together, and Claire has two children from a previous marriage, so it’s possible that the trip to Atlanta simply wasn’t possible for logistical reasons.
But Tommy’s relationship receives more scrutiny than most athletes’ marriages.
This is because Claire is 23 years Tommy’s senior.
It’s the kind of thing that would probably pass without comment if the genders were reversed.
But as it is, quite a few male athletes marry women who are more than a couple of decades older than them, and so golf fans can’t help themselves from obsessing over the Fleetwoods’ relationship.
To their credit, the couple has never shied away from discussing their age difference.
During a recent podcast interview, Claire recalled telling Tommy, “Don’t be stupid” when he proposed (Per Page Six ).
She also admitted that she was “paranoid” about how their relationship would be perceived by outsiders.
“She just eventually gave up, I think, and I thought, ‘I’ll just give him some time.’ … And then I didn’t mess around,” Tommy exclaimed.
In another interview, Tommy admitted that he and Claire “definitely get comments” but insisted that the age difference was “never” an issue for them.
“Claire actually looks very young for her age, and I look old – it’s probably all that sun,” Tommy noted. “She’s incredibly cool, and I’m not cool at all, even though I’m quite mature for my age.”
We may never know why Claire wasn’t on hand for Tommy’s big win. But it sounds like her absence had nothing to do with the state of their marriage.
And it’s not like Tommy lacked support.
In a follow-up interview, he explained that he has always been so lucky with the support [he] get[s]” from fans, saying that it “makes [him] a little emotional.”
He added, “I’m proud of what I’ve done… and where I’ve been so far, knowing that I’ve still got a long way to go and a lot to learn.”
Notably, Tommy’s stepfather, Oscar, was on hand to help him celebrate.
