After his 12th place finish at The Open last month, Tommy Fleetwood was transferred the €133,000 or so prize money during the week.
The problem: The European Tour sent the money to the wrong Tommy Fleetwood. Instead of it being sent to the English world number 11, it arrived in the bank account of a 58-year-old Florida man named Thomas Fleetwood.
"I honestly didn’t know anything about it," the Fleetwood who had actually competed at The Open told The Guardian.
"I wouldn’t even know if I’d been paid or not because I don’t really look. It looks pretty genuine and they are looking into it and I’m sure they’ll feel pretty bad about it. It’s a funny story."
On Wednesday, a screenshot of the American Fleetwood's bank account was posted to Twitter by a friend, the prize money sitting there just above a purchase at Walmart.
No joke, a friend received Tommy Fleetwood's Open Championship winnings in his bank account last weekend!! They have the same name and he was a PGA pro but still, how does this happen? Didn't believe him until I saw it...good thing he is an honest guy! pic.twitter.com/bE534xfYDV
— Greg Thorner Golf (@GregThornerGolf) August 8, 2018
The much older Fleetwood has also been a pro golfer - he's currently attempting to get onto the senior tour. The European Tour had his bank details as he played some Challenger Tour events years back.
Upon discovering the temporary windfall, the current caddy called his bank the query the transaction. It was then his friend realised what had happened.
In a statement, the European Tour called it a "clerical error".
Photo by Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
