Rickie Fowler Reveals 'Coward' Heckle After Backing Out Of Leeds United Investment

Back in June, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler announced that they were in talks to invest in Championship side Leeds United, with Fowler announcing on the eve of the US Open that: "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."

A month later, this time before The Open Championship, it was revealed by Spieth that he and Thomas are now minority owners in Leeds United as part of the 49ers Enterprises' takeover of the Yorkshire club. However, there was no sign of Fowler in the deal, something which didn't sit right with one fan at Royal Liverpool.

On Thursday, a heckler was seen calling Fowler a coward for allegedly not going through with the Leeds United investment. On Saturday, Fowler was asked about the love from the crowds following him at The Open, with the 34-year-old giving his response.

"Yeah, other than maybe a 'coward' comment here or there, 99.9 percent are amazing. But you deal with that anywhere you go. Same thing in the States. But yeah, the fans over here, it's always fun to come play links golf in front of them. 

"I feel like they have such a great appreciation of golf, proper golf shots and playing golf in conditions and knowing even just a ball getting on the green is a great shot from wherever it may be. I love links golf and love playing in front of the fans here."

Following on from that, Fowler was then asked whether he would be changing his mind on the Leeds United investment in the future. The American though is pretty set on his decision, stating: "No, no, that's already all done. Hopefully it all works out with JT and Jordan being involved. My financial team just didn't necessarily advise for it, so we decided not to. But I hope they play well and kind of get things turned around because I know JT and Jordan would be very happy with that."

"I Would love to see him turn some things around to have a chance to be there"

One of the big talking points of The Open has been the form of Justin Thomas, who fired an eleven-over-par first round of 82. This, along with his 81 at the US Open, means the American is outside the top-70 of the FedEx Cup standings.

Another problem for Thomas is that the Ryder Cup is just two months away and, currently, his form is behind many other US hopefuls. However, many of Thomas' peers have said he will find his form, with Fowler one of those.

"Well, he's nowhere close to how long I went through. But yeah, everyone goes through it at some point. I don't expect to see him going through it for very long at all. I have a lot of belief in him and his game. I know he's planning to play the next two weeks, and I would expect to see him play quite well these next two weeks.

"He's someone that's obviously very tough on himself, works very hard. He's got plenty of people around him that are always there to help out, guys to lean on, myself, Jordan, and plenty of others. Like I said, at the same time, I'm not too worried about him."

And what about his Ryder Cup chances? Well, Fowler added: "Yeah, obviously the next two weeks,needs to play some golf, but I definitely -- I know he hasn't been to Minnesota before, but I feel like it's a golf course that he will play well at, and I know he really likes Greensboro. Hopefully he can get a couple days of good work in, and yeah, I would expect to see him jump right back on the horse."