Leeds United investor Jordan Spieth reveals why he bought into Yorkshire club after his strong start to The Open - Yorkshire Post 20/7/23

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Former Open champion Jordan Spieth says his interest in investing in Leeds United never wavered, even after the club’s relegation from the Premier League.

By Nick Westby

The 29-year-old Texan, a three-time major champion, is one of a number of high-profile investors who have bought into the takeover of Leeds United by 49ers Enterprises, whose buyout of Andrea Radrizzani was confirmed on Monday.

Spieth teamed up with another major golf winner in Justin Thomas to invest in the club and has since been joined by other US athletes, including NBA star Russell Westbrook.

Speaking after beginning his quest for a second Open title with an opening round 69 at Royal Liverpool on Thursday, Spieth said: “It was brought to me last Fall, by a couple of guys that knew the 49ers guys really well, so I’ve been looking at it since then and cheering them on this year.

"Then they were relegated, we were waiting to see what the new structure of the deal would be, but it was going to take a lot for me not to be involved, I’d already gotten emotionally involved.

"Yeah, I’m excited, myself and JT we’ve been texting each other for six months now for every game, and even other games where we needed teams to lose.

"So it’ll be fun to keep track of them trying to get promoted."

Spieth had plenty of opportunity to discuss football in his first round at Hoylake, given his playing partner was Matt Fitzpatrick, a Sheffield United fan, whose caddie is Billy Foster, a Leeds fan.

Earlier in the golfing season, Fitzpatrick beat Spieth in a play-off to win the RBC Heritage title on the PGA Tour and Spieth was seen giving Foster a ‘Leeds salute’ in jest as the two shook hands after the round.

Asked by The Yorkshire Post if there had been any banter between the three of them, Spieth responded: "Not banter, just support. He (Billy) is a big Leeds supporter.

"I had a bit of banter with Matt about it, there were fans saying ‘good luck Leeds’ and Matt was saying ‘you’re going to need it’ with Sheffield United moving up.”

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