While American football may be kicking off in just a few days, across the pond “football” season is already in full swing with the Premier League’s 2026-27 season starting two weeks ago.
And it comes at an ideal time for a subset of professional golfers who can’t get enough EPL action and also just happened to wrap the most intense — and financially lucrative — stretch of their season.
With their favorite team’s shirt on their back this fall, these diehards can watch and stream matches on USA Network and on the USA app.
As one season winds down and the other picks up, here’s a list of players and the teams they will be cheering on to lift up the Premier League Trophy in late May.
Rory McIlroy
Favorite team: Manchester United
One of the most successful players in the history of golf is a supporter of one of the most successful football clubs in the world. Go figure!
McIlroy, a Red Devils fan since childhood, announced his passion to the world after winning the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool when he disappointingly shared with the local crowd of his support for Man Utd. He was met with some good-natured heckling.
Growing up in North Ireland, the reigning back-to-back Masters champ dreamt of fans singing and chanting his name. He got at least part of the dream to come true — the crowds love to cheer for Rory, it’s just when he’s on a golf course, not on a soccer pitch.
Justin Rose
Favorite team: Chelsea
In case anyone missed his entrance earlier this year at the PGA Championship at Aronimink, Rose walked into the clubhouse wearing an unreleased home shirt for The Blues’ then-upcoming 2026-27 season. Whether the fit was worn intentionally to be a leak or not, Rose got people talking — and it wasn’t about his golf game.
Rose’s passion for the “the beautiful game” runs so deep that he helped run a charitable tournament called “Kicks for Kids” that incorporated the sport he plays so well for a living and the one he’s been following obsessively on TV since he was a boy. Anyone for FootGolf?
Tommy Fleetwood
Favorite team: Everton
The Southport, England native would draw a whole lot more boos than Rory did in 2014 if he opted to root for any club other than the Toffees. Despite being just one of six clubs to play every Premier League season, the 35-year-old Fleetwood has never seen Everton hoist the championship trophy.
He joked last year that the club has taught him how to handle the emotional suffering and resilience needed to make it as a golfer.
Matt Wallace
Favorite team: Manchester United
Wallace grew up a multi-sport athlete playing cricket, soccer and rugby. The only sport that was missing? Golf! That came eventually, though, for the 5-time DP World Tour winner and 2023 Corales Puntacana champ. Like McIlroy, the 36-year-old Wallace has been a Red Devil supporter since his earliest years.
Billy Horschel
Favorite team: West Ham
Although West Ham United was relegated to the English Football League for the 2026-27 season, we’ll still take a detour to honor an American players love for everything about being a soccer fan — waking up early to watch games in the U.S., traveling to London to see matches live, and building personal relationships with club legends.
The 39-year-old Horschel got hooked on EPL in college after watching the movie “Green Street Hooligans,” and declared himself a supporter of The Hammers soon thereafter. In the two decades since that decision, Horschel has seen his love for the raw energy and passion of soccer fans be returned in his direction. Fans have serenaded him with West Ham’s anthem “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” when on the golf course. Talk about a crossover!
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas
Favorite team: Leeds United
This is a two-fer, as Spieth and Thomas became minority owners in the club just four years ago as the club was facing relegation.
Back in the EPL for the second straight season in 2026-27, Leeds is making Spieth and Thomas wait to celebrate a championship not dissimilar to Fleetwood’s burden with Everton: The Whites have not claimed the division’s top prize since 1991-92.
Shane Lowry
Favorite team: Manchester United
Just like his lifelong friend Rory McIlroy, the 2019 Open Championship winner is an ardent supported of Man Utd. He even went as far as to compare the hostile crowds Team Europe faced at Bethpage Black during last fall’s Ryder Cup to the atmosphere when Liverpool and Manchester United clash on the soccer pitch.
“We’ll be prepared for it. When you’re prepared for the worst, you can deal with anything,” he said leading up to the international competition.
Tyrrell Hatton
Favorite team: Liverpool
Despite growing up just outside of London, the four-time Ryder Cup member chose to root for a team far from home — one that’s roots belonged to North West England.
Michael Owen played a monumental role in that conversion. The 2001 Ballon d’Or winner was won of the best strikers of his generation, scoring 118 goals for the Reds — all during the 34-year-old Hatton’s most impressionable years.
Hatton has gone on to show support for the club by using Liverpool-themed golf bags and clubs at tournaments and, like Horschel, has seen the passion come full circle with Liverpool players reaching out to him directly via email and social media. And if that weren’t enough, the club has hoisted two titles in the last seven seasons.
Darren Clarke
Favorite team: Liverpool
Like Wallace, the North Irishman grew up playing football before finding his way to the links.
The 2016 Ryder Cup captain and six-time PGA Tour Champions winner has been a fan of Liverpool since he was eight years old. He’s such a die-hard that he has gone on to become a season-ticket holder at Anfield.