Fleetwood Aims for Maiden Major Triumph at Hometown Royal Birkdale

Tommy Fleetwood is banking on home-field advantage to propel him to a breakthrough major victory at this week’s Open Championship.

The 35-year-old Englishman grew up just down the road from Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, the venue for the final major of the PGA Tour season.

“It’s obviously very, very special,” Fleetwood said during Monday’s pre-tournament press conference. “For anyone fortunate enough to grow up in Southport, it’s a golfing town through and through, and The Open at Birkdale holds a unique place in the community.”

“Competing in an Open here is a dream come true, so I feel incredibly lucky,” he continued. “I still have vivid memories from the 2017 Open. It’s rare to play any tournament, let alone The Open, in the town where you grew up, with fans who are all behind you. I’m very excited.”

Fleetwood arrives at the 154th Open ranked ninth in the world. He has recorded top-five finishes in all four majors, highlighted by runner-up finishes at the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, where Shane Lowry secured a six-stroke victory.

This season, he placed T11 at the U.S. Open and T33 at the Masters, while missing the cut at the PGA Championship. He also boasts two additional top-10 finishes at The Open: T4 in 2022 and T10 in 2023.

Fleetwood is bidding to become the first Englishman to lift the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992, while also looking to improve upon his T27 result from the last Open held at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

When asked about the weight of expectation this week, Fleetwood offered a measured perspective.

“You have to manage how much you want it and your own expectations, but I’m no different from anyone else in the field,” he said. “Every player teeing it up dreams of winning The Open.”

“In that sense, there’s no difference. I’m just the fortunate one who gets to channel home support into positive energy.”

Recalling his 2017 debut, Fleetwood noted a difficult opening round of 76, followed by a 69 on Friday—”one of the best rounds I ever played to make the cut”—and a 66 on Saturday that provided a memorable experience.

Fleetwood also confessed to sneaking onto the course “once or twice” as a youngster.

“Birkdale was always hallowed ground for locals, and I certainly didn’t get to play here as often as I would have liked,” he said.

If the course is considered hallowed ground now, one can only imagine the atmosphere should a hometown hero hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday.

“Dreams do come true—we see it all the time—but you’ll never know if yours will unless you chase it,” Fleetwood said. “Mine might come true; it might not. I feel I’ve achieved a lot in my career, but there’s still plenty more to come.”

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