Paul Casey is holding a rare set of Tommy Fleetwood's favorite clubs for ransom
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood’s rise from relative unknown to world top-15 golfer has coincided with use of his VR Pro Blades, but he’s down to his last set of the clubs that were discontinued when Nike ceased manufacturing equipment at the end of last year. He’ll have to make a switch eventually, but countryman Paul Casey has a fresh set of VR Pro Blades that could see Fleetwood through for a while.
Only Casey, who has since switched from Nike to Mizuno clubs, isn’t making Fleetwood’s game easier.
“They are as rare as rocking horse poo,” Casey, with tongue planted in cheek, told PGATour.com of the unused set of VR Pro Blades that are sitting in his garage. “And I will not sell them to him. Or put it this way, he hasn’t offered me enough money. They look beautiful, by the way, and I haven’t used them. They’re the kind of clubs you could hang on the wall. I love the fact that [Tommy’s] running around telling everybody. I haven’t found any gifts in my locker or handwritten notes. He’s got to try harder.”
It’s all fun and games until Fleetwood can actually secure the clubs from Casey.
“It stops me from breaking any, that’s for sure,” countered Fleetwood, who added that he might be better off switching to another manufacturer soon. “Eventually, I’m going to have find a new set, but I’ve been using these for a long time and they’re still going. … He’s got a brand new set and he won’t give them to me. Shame on Paul. He’s pretty set in his ways, so I don’t think I’ll be getting those.”
It would be a real shame if Fleetwood broke one of his clubs this week at the PGA Championship, because he’d be forced to make the switch earlier than he’d like — unless Casey lends him a hand. But Casey can’t be all that motivated to help Fleetwood continue the consistent ball-striking that’s made him a constant threat, since he only trails his countryman in the world golf rankings by four spots.
Casey may consider lending him the clubs, though, when they’re on the same team at the Ryder Cup.
“If I hopefully make the Ryder Cup team, and he’s my partner, maybe I’d loan them out to him for the week because I want him to play well,” he said. “But I’ll have them right back at the end of the week.”
Fleetwood placed 14th with a six under par at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. Casey finished 17 spots back, dead even on the weekend, so he could use all the help he can get.
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Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
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