The Open: Tommy Fleetwood eyes hometown victory at Royal Birkdale and assesses his hopes of finding major glory

Tommy Fleetwood is relishing another chance to fulfil his childhood dreams by chasing a hometown major victory in The Open at Royal Birkdale.

Fleetwood is among the favourites to become the first Englishman to be crowned Champion Golfer of the Year since Sir Nick Faldo, at a course where he first watched The Open as a child and used to sneak on with his father to play.

The world No 9 failed to contend when The Open was last here in 2017 but has seen his career reach new heights since, featuring in the last four Ryder Cup teams, finishing runner-up twice in majors and claiming a breakthrough PGA Tour win at the Tour Championship.

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He has finished no worse than 14th in his last five worldwide starts and will be the fans' favourite this week, with a huge mural on the Southport & Birkdale Sports Club wall and Fleetwood-inspired crochet work dotted around the local area.

"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," Fleetwood said in his pre-tournament press conference.

"What you do have to deal with is how much you want it and your own expectations. 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.

"There's really nothing different to anybody else in that sense. I just think I am the lucky one that gets to have home support and use that as really positive fuel.

"The first time I played here in 2017, I obviously had a bad first round. My round on Friday was one of the best rounds I ever played to make the cut and Saturday was a great experience going out so early.

"You could turn and look at Royal Liverpool [2023], when I shot a great first round and was in contention all the way through that week. Those are experiences and memories that I'll have forever because it was such an amazing atmosphere and amazing support.

"I have all those things to draw on and I have all those things to aim for. I just go back to the original me being an eight-year-old kid, the thought of playing in an Open at Birkdale was unbelievably special. If you're not going to enjoy it, then you've kind of let yourself down in that sense."

'Still plenty more to go' - Can Fleetwood find major breakthrough?

Fleetwood has seven major top-five finishes during his career, including a runner-up finish at The Open in 2019, although has failed to find a top-10 in one since sharing third at The Masters in April 2024.

The 35-year-old is regularly touted as a major contender but has yet to find an elusive victory, with Fleetwood insisting he will not let the big four tournaments define him should he fail to win one during his career.

"There's no doubt about it, winning majors is the ultimate accolade in our sport," Fleetwood explained. "I don't think I want to look towards the future and worry about or think that I have to win a major to feel fulfilled. We spend our lives giving it everything and it might happen for me, it might not.

"Whatever happens in my career, I'll be able to look back and say that I gave it everything and I had an amazing time doing it. I would definitely much prefer to have a major or two or three on my resume by the time my career is over.

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"Whether that happens or not is sometimes out of your control but making sure you have a great time chasing it is the ultimate thing. Dreams do come true, we watch it all the time, but you'll never find out if yours will unless you chase it.

"Mine might come true, it might not. I've done a lot in my career so far but there's still plenty more to go. Until my time is up, I'll keep trying and keep working hard.

"Hopefully you can ask me that question again at some point and I'll be able to tell you how I actually feel."

When is The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with wall-to-wall action from the final men's major of the year getting under way at 6.30am on Thursday on Sky Sports Golf.

There will be at least 15 hours of action on both the first two rounds, with bonus feeds available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports App, with extended coverage then starting at 9am on Saturday and 8am on Sunday.

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