Tommy Fleetwood embraces hometown support at 2026 British Open Championship

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — As a kid growing up in Southport, England, Tommy Fleetwood regarded Royal Birkdale as virtually off-limits — except for those rare occasions he sneaked on to hit some shots while accompanying his father on evening dog walks.

“Hallowed turf” is how a young, wide-eyed Fleetwood viewed the course in this golf-crazed corner of northwest England that, every few years, would welcome the world’s best players for The Open Championship.

His dream of making it there himself one day and lifting the claret jug — a scenario that, who knows, might just happen on the 18th green at Birkdale on Sunday evening — began a 10-minute drive down the road in more humble surroundings.

Southport Municipal, a club that proudly labels itself England’s oldest municipal links course, staged a junior program on Monday nights, and it was there that Fleetwood’s golfing journey began around age 6.

And it’s why Will Burke, a 40-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, pitched up there on Wednesday with his father, Randy. They paid 19 pounds ($25) each to play 18 holes under a gorgeous blue sky.

“We’re here for the golf this week,” Will said, “and we met with some locals who were really complimentary about the place and said it’s right down the street from where we’re staying.

“When you hear the story about Tommy Fleetwood’s origins and how he got started in the Southport area, that’s the cherry on top.”

Nothing inside this muni’s modest pro shop, or indeed anywhere at the course, points to Fleetwood being its most famous son. Strangely, there’s not a mention of him anywhere.

Look further afield around these parts, though, and it’s clear this popular golfer with distinctive flowing locks and a forever-friendly manner is a hometown hero.

Fleetwood sees huge support as ‘really positive fuel’

There’s a mural of Fleetwood — pumping his fists and wearing his blue Team Europe Ryder Cup uniform — on the wall of Southport & Birkdale Sports Club.

There’s the Tommy Fleetwood Academy at nearby Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa, where he first became a member and won his only club championship as a kid. Youngsters from the academy have lined up for autographs from Fleetwood next to the practice putting green this week.

There’s been no bigger buzz during the practice days than when the 35-year-old Fleetwood has been on the course.

“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 who are all there to support you,” Fleetwood said.

“To see people emotionally invested in you … I think it’s very special. It definitely doesn’t go unnoticed by me.”

The natural question is whether it will heap too much pressure on him.

Fleetwood sees it as “really, really positive fuel.”

“If I just go back to the original me being an 8-year-old kid, the thought of playing in an Open at Birkdale was unbelievably special,” he said. “So if you’re not going to enjoy it, then you’ve kind of let yourself down.”

Fleetwood has already experienced playing in The Open at Royal Birkdale, in 2017, when he shot a first-round 76 to essentially drop out of contention. He described a bounce-back 69 to make the cut as “one of the best rounds I ever played” and finished tied for 27th.

Fleetwood was tied for the first-round lead at The Open in 2023 at nearby Royal Liverpool, where he also was billed as the home favorite. He faded to a tie for 10th, nine shots behind champion Brian Harman.

Rory knows the feeling

Rory McIlroy knows what Fleetwood is going through. McIlroy was the player most of the crowd was rooting for when The Open Championship made an emotional return to Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland in 2019 — after an absence of 68 years — and again last year.

McIlroy missed the cut the first time after a nightmarish opening-round 79 but said he handled things better the second time, when he tied for seventh.

“You feel like you’re trying to play well for everyone else and not for yourself,” McIlroy said. “I think there’s already enough pressure on anyone in this field to play well for themselves, so to add that extra layer on top of that is always pretty difficult.

“But,” he added, “I feel like Tommy’s more level-headed than I am and won’t fall into that trap like I did in 2019.”

Away from the lofty expectations of the locals in this seaside town, Fleetwood comes home under pressure to end his wait for a first major title.

Winning the TOUR Championship last August was celebrated well beyond English shores because it was his first PGA TOUR title, and he’d come so close so many times, handling each near miss with dignity and grace.

Now it’s time for Fleetwood to capture that elusive major, and there’d be no more popular winner on Sunday, especially among the people of Southport, who keep welcoming him back with open arms.

“Everybody loves him, everybody respects him, whether they’ve met him or not. We own a little bit of him,” said Patrick Hodgson, a 71-year-old member at Southport Municipal who has followed Fleetwood’s rise from talented local kid to one of the world’s best players.

“If he wins, it would be celebrated here for days and months and years.”