Tommy Fleetwood makes awkward Luke Donald blunder on live radio

Tommy Fleetwood has apologised for his awkward blunder on live radio after jokingly calling Luke Donald a “s***” Ryder Cup captain.

Fleetwood backtracked after swearing live on BBC radio, where he was reacting in jest to his inclusion in Donald’s team.

The Englishman was named as one of Donald’s six wildcards finalising Team Europe on Monday, joining Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Ludvig Aberg and Nicolai Hojgaard in Rome.

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Always seen as a shoo-in, Fleetwood will be hoping to replicate his 2018 Paris heroics, where he went 4-1-0 and sparked his famous partnership with this year’s vice-captain Francesco Molinari.

But there was a moment of embarrassment on Tuesday morning when Fleetwood was asked about captain Donald’s credentials by BBC radio presenter Rick Edwards.

When asked what type of skipper Donald will be, Fleetwood replied: “S***.”

The ill-judged comment was clearly made as a joke about Donald, his countryman who he shares a close relationship with.

But Edwards was quick to apologise for his expletive on air, while Fleetwood also retracted his quip.

“Sorry, sorry, I lost track of where I am. I take that back,” Fleetwood said.

“Luke will be amazing. He’s somebody I am very close to. He’s a calm figure, a confident figure, he’s handled the biggest moment in the sport unbelievably well.

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“To have someone leading from the front like that has been great. He’s definitely brought his personality to the captaincy.

“I do feel very honoured, as a friend as well but to play under a European legend, I am looking forward to experiencing his captaincy.”

Donald, meanwhile, expressed his delight at having a player of Fleetwood’s class at his disposal at Marco Simone.

“He has experience, which is important but my nickname for Tommy is the ‘Flusher,'” Donald said during Monday’s announcement.

“He is a ball-striking machine. We have just seen that in some of his results, fifth at the U.S. Open, 10th at The Open Championship.

“I think he’s the only man in the history of golf to have more than two 63s in the final round of a U.S. Open. We know his pedigree of golf, and obviously he’s a very versatile player. He can play with anyone. He gets along with anyone and he’s great in the team room.”