There’s a massive mural covering one side of the Southport & Birkdale Sports Club, depicting Tommy Fleetwood in his Ryder Cup uniform striking a celebratory pose.
Fleetwood would like to visit but has yet to get the chance to see the mural in person, given the busy schedule this week. The English star is back in his hometown of Southport to compete for his first major title as the Open Championship tees off Thursday at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
“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,” Fleetwood said.
He’s not only trying to shake the label of one of the best active golfers without a major, he’s vying to become the first Englishman to win The Open since Nick Faldo in 1992. But Fleetwood shrugs off any concerns about pressure.
“It’s an absolute dream to play here in my hometown in front of people that are all here to support me. There are only positives, really,” he said.
“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.”
The top 74 players in the world rankings are all on the scene as part of the 156-man field as the brisk men’s major season comes to a close. To recap the previous three months: Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, England’s Aaron Rai and Wyndham Clark captured the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open, respectively. McIlroy will try to win two majors in the same season for the first time since 2014, the same year he lifted his only Claret Jug.
How they’ll find Royal Birkdale is another story. Unseasonably hot weather in the United Kingdom has led to baked-out fairways and potentially a firm test of golf more akin to a U.S. Open.
“I think it’s a double-edged sword,” McIlroy said. “I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it’s going to be this week. It’s definitely burnt out a lot.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion, having capped off a two-major year with a four-shot victory at Royal Portrush. Yet not only is Scheffler on the brink of going 0-for-4 at the majors this year, he also arrives in rare form — and not in a good way.
When Scheffler missed the cut at the Scottish Open last week, it was his first time not playing the weekend since August 2022, ending a 78-event streak.
He used the time off to his advantage.
“I played 18 (holes at Birkdale) on Sunday,” Scheffler said. “Played nine holes (Monday and Tuesday), so getting used to the golf course. Yeah, you never want to have a weekend off, but going into a tournament when you’re defending, there’s always a bit more stuff to do. So it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, albeit it was quite frustrating.”
Scheffler had yet to turn pro when the par-70, 7,223-yard Birkdale last hosted The Open in 2017. Jordan Spieth collected his third major championship that week, joining a star-studded list of Open winners at Birkdale that includes Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson and Irishman Padraig Harrington.
“It’s going to play quite different than the last time we were here,” Spieth said. “We’ve had an opposite wind, too, the last couple days. … Holes that are close to being drivable become mid to long irons, and just with the wind switch, the difference into and down are so dramatic over here that picking a strategy is going to be key, and it’s going to be quite different than the last time I was here.”
Fifteen members of LIV Golf qualified for The Open, led by the league’s biggest remaining stars, Jon Rahm of Spain and Bryson DeChambeau. While Rahm hunts for his first major win since 2023 after tying for second at the PGA Championship, just making the cut would be a great start for DeChambeau.
The two-time U.S Open winner missed the cut at the first three majors this year. DeChambeau, once nicknamed “The Scientist,” is going for broke at Birkdale by debuting a full set of irons he built with a 3D printer.
