As the 154th Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale, world number nine Tommy Fleetwood described competing on his home turf as a lifelong dream come true, surrounded by family, friends, and an emotionally invested local community.
In a press conference on Monday, the 2019 runner-up spoke warmly about the rare opportunity to play a major in the town where he grew up.
“It’s obviously very, very special. I think for anybody that was lucky enough to grow up in the town of Southport. It’s such a golfing town, and The Open at Birkdale holds such a special place in the area. Yeah, it’s a dream just to be competing in an Open here, so I feel very, very lucky,” Fleetwood said. “Still have lots of memories from the 2017 Open here. Yeah, just excited for the opportunity to play in front of everybody. It’s very rare to have an opportunity to play a tournament, let alone The Open, in the town where you grew up in front of fans that were all there to support you. Very excited.”
Fleetwood noted he has seen signs of strong local backing, including murals and community displays, though his schedule has prevented him from visiting them yet. He called the support “very special” and said it does not go unnoticed.
The 2017 experience at Birkdale remains vivid for Fleetwood. Despite a tough opening round, he produced one of his finest Friday rounds to make the cut and enjoyed a memorable Saturday pairing. He also referenced his strong showing at Royal Liverpool, drawing on those memories for motivation this week.
Though the weight of expectation can rest heavily on local players’ shoulder, Fleetwood is determined to focus on the positive aspects although he wouldn’t be human if he didn’t picture himself hoisting the Claret Jug in front of home galleries.
“There are only positives really. I think what you do have to deal with is how much you want it and your own expectations, but I think at the same time, I’m no different to any other person in terms of every single person that is playing in The Open dreams of winning in The Open and wants to win it,” he said. “I just think I am the lucky one that gets to have home support and use that as like really, really positive fuel.”
Fleetwood reflected on sneaking onto the course as a child “once or twice” and playing it sparingly, and spoke of the significant and not-so-significant course changes ahead of the 154th staging of the game’s oldest championship.
“The two changes that I would recognise, the fifth, I think, is a much better hole,” he said, before talking about strategy and the risk/reward element. “I think it’s wind dependent. Wind dependent and how far can you hit it? It’s a really good risk and reward short par-4. For me at the moment, I definitely see it as a layup hole, but if the wind happens to favour going for it, I think that’s what I would do.”
While strategic questions are present on every golf course, Fleetwood believes that Royal Birkdale asks more than most and that’s down to the design of the golf course.
“It’s an amazingly well-designed golf course because going back to the main goal a lot of the time in links golf is to avoid bunkers, avoid fairway bunkers, avoid pot bunkers, but I feel like there’s always something in play unless you want to be unbelievably sensible and then like you’re always on the back foot of the golf course. You’re always leaving yourself a long way,” he explained.
“I think it’s an amazingly well-designed golf course for that. I think you’ve always got to make a choice of you’re either taking something on, bringing something into play, or you’re almost playing too safe if anything.
“Yeah, it’s a course that makes you think. I think it’s a course that gives you options. You can hit driver everywhere if you want. There’s never anything stopping you do that. It’s not how I would see the golf course, but some people will.
“Yeah, I think that’s always a great sign of a great golf course is that there’s — you could sit six people here, and they might think of six different things to do off the tee, and I think that’s always a really good sign.”
Among those who’ll be in attendance is Fleetwood’s son Frankie, who, at eight years old, is roughly the same age his father was when he attended the 1998 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
“That’s definitely where my dreams of making it as a golfer sort of started,” he said. “He’s at a lovely age where he gets to experience that and have his dad playing, I guess, and having him to watch.”
Leave a comment