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Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
Sport
Andrew Wright

Fowler, Spieth And Thomas In Talks To Become Part Owners Of Leeds United

Jordan Spieth (left), Justin Thomas (middle) and Rickie Fowler (right) practising ahead of the 2023 US Open

A trio of the biggest names in golf are in talks to invest in one of the biggest football clubs in Britain.

On the eve of the 123rd US Open, Ricke Fowler revealed he, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are interested in being part of the imminent takeover of Leeds United by American investment group, 49ers Enterprises.

Asked by Sky Sports if he was technically now a part owner of Leeds, Fowler said: "Not yet, technically. There is the group that's moving forward with being involved with Leeds. Myself, JT (Justin Thomas) and Jordan [Spieth] potentially will be a part of it."

Probed jokingly if veteran caddie and lifelong Leeds fan Billy Foster had been involved in recruiting the three Americans, Fowler added: "He didn't know about it from the start but we told him after knowing that he's a huge Leeds United supporter.

"So yeah, it's cool to have those opportunities. I know we're looking into it and yeah, it will be fun if we get to be a part of it. If not, we'll continue to root for Leeds to see if we can help out Billy."

It wouldn't be the first time famous names have decided to invest in British football clubs. Most recently, American actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham and oversaw the team's National League win last season that earned them promotion back to League Two for the first time since 2007-08.

Should Fowler, Spieth and Thomas prove successful, they'll be hoping to achieve something similar after Leeds were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship on the last day of the season.

The Yorkshire club is famed for the atmosphere fans generate at Elland Road, with Fowler admitting that is one of the things he's looking forward to experiencing most. 

"That would be great," Fowler continued. "Obviously they got relegated but to be able to go to a Premier League game, the Champions League, any of that. You call it football over there, we call it soccer here, but it's a massive sport.

"I feel like it's continuing to get bigger in the states but since I haven't been to a game, don't have the true appreciation until actually being able to go and be there and feel that energy."

Fowler is at Los Angeles Country Club for the third men's Major of the year and gets his first round underway alongside Justin Rose and Jason Day at 8.02am local time (4.02pm BST).

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