Jordan Spieth, aged 29, expressed his strong emotional connection to Leeds United, even though the team was relegated from the Premier League.
This connection was formed after he purchased shares in the club’s new owners, 49ers Enterprises. The English Football League recently approved the takeover by this American investment group.
Chairman and majority shareholder Andrea Radrizzani has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the club. The deal, which valued the club at approximately £170 million, has now been confirmed. The San Francisco 49ers, who own the NFL franchise, have been steadily increasing their ownership in Leeds since becoming a minority shareholder in 2018.
Alongside other notable athletes such as Justin Thomas, Michael Phelps, and Russell Westbrook, three-time major winner Spieth has also invested in the group. While competing at the British Open in Hoylake, Spieth expressed his support for the English club, who will be competing in the second-tier Championship this season.
“It was brought to me last fall by a couple of guys that know the 49ers group really well, so I’ve been looking at it since then, cheering them on this year, and then when they were relegated, I was going to see kind of what the new restructured deal was,” he said.
“It was going to take a lot for me not to get involved. I had already gotten emotionally involved. Yeah, I’m excited. Myself and JT (Thomas) we’ve been kind of texting each other for six months now every game and even the other games we needed teams to lose and stuff like that.”
“It’ll be fun to keep track, hopefully get back into the Premier League.”
Spieth, the champion of the British Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017, recorded a score of 69, two strokes under par, in his initial round at the Royal Liverpool course on Thursday.
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