Tommy Fleetwood has promised to do everything he can to assist people in Southport after the knife attack and subsequent rioting which has shocked the golfer’s home town.
Fleetwood was on his way to represent Team GB at the Olympic Games in the company of his putting coach and fellow Southport native Phil Kenyon when news broke of multiple stabbings at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for children. Three children have died as a result. There followed violent scenes at the Merseyside town on Tuesday evening when 39 police officers were seriously injured amid the unrest.
“When one of you gets hurt, you feel like all of you do,” Fleetwood said. “That’s just what home is. Everybody is feeling it, for sure, but nobody as much as the families that are involved and that’s what comes first.
“We all follow our dreams, whatever they are, and that’s a huge part of life but for those kids that won’t have the chance and those families that have got to deal with it, it massively puts things into perspective.
“Stuff like this happens way more often than we would all like. You don’t expect it to happen in a little town like Southport but it sucks, really. First thoughts, of course, are always with the families where they’ve tragically lost someone or they’re going to have to deal with it for the rest of their lives and it’s just not fair.”
Fleetwood’s tone and demeanour on Wednesday showed he is well aware his sporting pursuits in France pale into insignificance against such a backdrop. He can, though, help place Southport back on the map in a positive sense by claiming gold for Team GB at Le Golf National.
“I’m pretty sure that would make no difference to anybody but it would be a nice happy thought, something back for the town, if you like,” the 33-year-old said. “Gold medal or not, we’ll all just work to help the ones affected and all get together in restoring the town and hopefully making it into a better place. My dad’s still there and relatives and friends; nobody that was affected by it but I still have very close ties with the town.”
Fleetwood first heard news of what was emerging when alongside Kenyon. “I was in the car with Phil and he has a parents’ group chat for school or something and there was stuff … on that,” Fleetwood said. “We were a little bit confused, we didn’t really realise what was going on and then you saw the news reports starting to come through.
“When it’s happening, you don’t process it for a little while and then more news starts coming out about it. It’s terrible. It’s tragic for the town and everybody but for the people involved, it’s just horrific.”
Fleetwood, competing in his second Olympics, has Matt Fitzpatrick for company under the Team GB banner. The marquee group for the opening round on Thursday at the 2018 Ryder Cup venue involves Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg.
The USA team have a clear numbers advantage since their prominence in the world rankings has afforded them four spots in the Olympic field whereas every other nation has two. Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa feature alongside Scheffler for USA.
The women’s event begins next Wednesday at the same venue.
