By Thomas Bristow

Copyright walesonline

The age gap between Tommy Fleetwood and his wife has become a talking point once more – this time during the Ryder Cup, as the USA and Europe battle it out. The Tour Championship winner, 34, is 23 years younger than his spouse, Clare, 57. The couple have addressed their age difference on numerous occasions, but that didn’t prevent Team USA supporters from weaponising it during the opening tee at Bethpage Black on Friday. On Thursday, Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy were announced as Ryder Cup partners to face Collin Morikawa and Harris English. While McIlroy faced jeers at virtually every appearance and mention on Friday morning, Fleetwood endured several harsh taunts from spectators. “Your wife looks like my grandmother,” supporters yelled as they tried to rattle the Englishman. However, Fleetwood gave no indication whether he registered the comments. He and McIlroy appeared in excellent spirits on the opening tee, beaming during the group photograph and embracing warmly. Subsequently, they made a strong start, instantly taking a one-up lead on the first hole with an excellent birdie. Fleetwood and his wife first crossed paths when Clare contacted the golfer about a business collaboration, which eventually resulted in her taking on his management. The PGA Tour professional soon sought a more romantic connection but faced initial rejection; predictably, she believed the age difference was excessive. Speaking about what she said to Fleetwood, Clare revealed to the Sun: “‘Don’t be stupid. We’ve got a 23-year age difference.’ Of course, I turned him down. I was like ‘Don’t be stupid'”. Nevertheless, this didn’t put Fleetwood off, who ultimately succeeded in winning Clare’s heart. The pair married in 2017, with Fleetwood becoming stepfather to her two children before they welcomed their own son, Frankie. Fleetwood has never been bothered by the age difference or public opinion, even discussing it openly on Fore Play, a Barstool Sports podcast. “The whole family – we’re unbelievably close,” he explained. “There’s Oscar and Mo, and they are the two older ones, and then there’s Frankie. “And, you know, honestly, it’s funny because whenever anybody asks, so people that don’t know you, they’ll always say, ‘Do you have kids?’ And, pretty much all the time I’ll say, ‘Yeah, I have three kids’ and they’ll go, ‘How old are they?’ And I’ll say, ’17, 16 and six’. And then you get the look. “So then, I’m like, well I’m not that old, so then I’ll have to explain that the first two are step-kids which, honestly, I don’t really, I never really think of them as step-kids. I’ve been around them a long time now. “Particularly Mo, I think I’ve been a, I guess, a parental figure to Mo since he was five. I’m unbelievably lucky with the relationship that we have. We’re so close. When the five of us are together that’s always our safe space and I hope we always keep that.” He also said to The Telegraph: “We had a lovely time searching for a dress for the gala dinner. She’s a big Man City fan and she’s going to bring a little bit of north-west football fannage to the Ryder Cup.” He added: “No, I don’t think we’ve ever been called the norm.”