Tommy Fleetwood admitted his opening round at The Open was a battle as he carded a one-under-par 69 at Royal Birkdale, leaving him pleased with the score but not his performance. The 35-year-old Englishman, seeking to become the first English winner of the Claret Jug since Nick Faldo in 1992, started his round shortly after 10am on Thursday.
Fleetwood's Round: A Tale of Two Halves
After going one under across his front nine, Fleetwood bogeyed the 10th and 11th holes. However, he rebounded strongly, finishing with a birdie, par, birdie, par on the last four holes to close with a 69. Reflecting on his round, Fleetwood said: “It was a battle. I would have loved to have played better, but at the same time, I think take the positives that I shot under par and scrambled really well and battled well.”
He added: “Like I say, it wasn't that easy out there. 4-under is leading at the moment. I think it shows the difficulty of sort of maybe getting it close, and there's not really loads of birdie opportunities. 1-under is a good start to the week.”
Course Conditions and Challenges
Due to the dry, firm and fast conditions caused by the summer heatwave, irons were more frequently used off the tee. Fleetwood noted: “The place is only going to get firmer and faster. I would have just loved to have been a bit more in control today. I was constantly battling. I was constantly on the back foot.” He added: “Great finish to the round; those last four holes feel amazing, to be honest. Yeah, I'll do a bit of practice now and hopefully tomorrow I can sort of feel like I have it a bit more under control and have a few more opportunities.”
Home Support Lifts Fleetwood
Fleetwood, who grew up playing nearby at Southport Golf Club, received a rapturous welcome from the thousands of fans who followed him around the course. He credited the crowd for helping him through a difficult patch. “It's been amazing. I really enjoyed the practice rounds. Been playing really well. Honestly, the support today was a massive lift for me, especially like around that turn where I felt like -- my poor golf stats catch up with me a little bit,” he said.
“I scrambled really well. It's always going to catch up with you at some point. I felt like the crowd really helped me. They definitely sort of carried me a little bit through that patch, and then nice to get that great finish.” He singled out the 15th hole as a highlight: “Like 15 was a really cool moment. Managed to hole a putt in front of the biggest crowd of the day there, and that was a great. It was a pleasure to play in front of everyone. I'm so grateful for the support.”
Fleetwood added: “Well, they (the crowd) definitely helped me today. It's like, I don't know how many thousands are here today, but it's like thousands of positive attitudes there and supporting you. It does make a difference. In all honesty, they definitely helped me a lot today throughout a day where I was struggling with my game. They were absolutely amazing.”
