Fowler responds to Open heckler who called him a 'coward' over Leeds deal

21 July 2023 , 16:50

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Rickie Fowler was heckled at The Open (Image: R&A via Getty Images)

PGA Tour star Rickie Fowler was branded a 'coward' by a heckling fan during Thursday's opening round of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

In a video that has since gone viral on social media, Fowler was seen walking the fairways during his opening round at Royal Liverpool when the furious fan confronted him. The spectator behind the ropes was heard calling the American due to his decision to pull out of the deal to invest in Leeds United with the San Francisco 49ers enterprise.

In a group of fans, one was heard shouting: "Rickie what happened to the 49ers investment? Come on Leeds! Coward!" On the back of the shocking heckle Fowler appeared to hear the call and stop in his tracks alongside caddie Ricky Romano.

After his round the PGA Tour star broke his silence on the heckle. Quizzed on the incident by No Laying Up, he responded: "He called me a coward for not going through with my Leeds investment.

"That’s a first. Maybe he should put up his own money.” Fowler was set to be part of the investment led by the San Francisco 49ers group that agreed the £170million takeover of the former Premier League club earlier this week.

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A number of big sporting stars are involved in the takeover group including Olympic legend Michael Phelps. A lso part of the investment are PGA Tour stars, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, who were to be joined by fellow player - and good friend - Fowler.

Thomas and Spieth confirmed their involvement at last week's Scottish Open, with the latter revealing: "It's done. Myself and Justin with a minority stake. The 49ers beat my Cowboys every year, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

"They (49ers) renegotiated after relegation and it was possibly a better deal - as long as they can get promoted soon. I'm excited to have a team I'm emotionally invested in. I've watched The Premier League intently for a few years. Hopefully we'll be back there very soon.”

Hoping to have caught a glimpse of Elland Road on his way up to Hoylake this week, Spieth went on: "“It was cloudy on the flight up. We were hoping we'd see the stadium on the way up but we couldn't. I was thinking we're not too far from Liverpool (at The Open) next week. I don't know if it'll work on this trip but I hope to get there.

“We thought it would be a cool opportunity. It's a big city, historic club, great venue in Elland Road, and once we looked into it we realised it could be really exciting.”

Joshua Lees