Fans line the fairways to cheer on Tommy Fleetwood.
TOM SHAW, R&A Getty Images
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND | People in Southport don’t just like Tommy Fleetwood, they adore him.
Ahead of the 154th Open, an enormous mural of the town’s favourite son was unveiled on a wall at the Southport & Birkdale Sports Club.
All week, fans made visits to the site, queuing to have their photograph taken beside it like religious pilgrims of old.
A group known as the “Southport Hookers” celebrated him, too.
Don’t panic, however. Fleetwood’s reputation was not about to be sullied. The group are fond of the innocent and forgotten art of crochet, and created woollen versions of Fleetwood and his caddie, Ian Finnis, which they placed on top of a post box outside Birkdale railway station.
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Pubs, cafes and restaurants had signs proclaiming their love for the 35-year-old Southport native, and so did at least two Uber cars and one bus driver.
And, as they had done all week, on Sunday Fleetwood’s thousands of fans accumulated around the putting green ahead of his final round at Royal Birkdale.
Among them were fans with Fleetwood’s face on matching T-shirts, fans with Fleetwood’s face on matching caps, and fans with Fleetwood’s face on matching masks.
As he crossed the bridge to the first tee the cheers went up and his wave to those congregated below him was positively regal. As if to prove the notion, one local voice shouted out: “Our Tommy lad – the Prince of Southport!”
Before descending to the tee, Fleetwood took a moment to glance across the course before him and maybe he took the chance to think of a journey that started when he attended the 1998 Open here with his father.
Twenty-eight years later his own son was walking those same fairways with Fleetwood’s wife, Clare.
“Frankie’s now 8 and I was 7 when I came here,” Fleetwood said at the start of the championship. “That week is definitely where my dreams of making it as a golfer began and Frankie’s at a lovely age where he gets to experience an Open week with his dad in the field.”
Young Frankie gambolled his way around the course on Friday, often needing his mum to guide him in the right direction. With Birkdale’s sand beneath his feet the week was a combination of golf tournament and beach holiday.
His dad, however, got off to a nervous start with a 69 that never quite capitalised on good scoring conditions.
“I was really nervous at the start and they helped me so much when I was struggling. There’s no negatives to people wanting you to do well, is there?”
Tommy Fleetwood
It was easy to believe that the galleries offered hope in one sense – offering noisy welcomes to every tee and green – but pressure in another.
Because some of the fans didn’t quite know when to keep quiet, bellowing their support as he prepared to execute shots. One rather more sober fan wondered who needed enemies with friends such as those.
Fleetwood himself refused to view the relentless support as anything other than a benefit, however.
“I was really nervous at the start and they helped me so much when I was struggling,” he said. “There’s no negatives to people wanting you to do well, is there?
“It would be foolish to make it into a negative and anyway there’s no greater pressure on me than my own expectations. It’s a beautiful thing that the town is so hopeful for me and they want me to do well.
Fleetwood acknowledges the crowd as he nears the 18th green at Royal Birkdale.
CHARLIE crowhurst, R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES
“Life is all about experiences, and I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life this week.
“Walking up to every green I’ve received the most amazing ovations that you can imagine. I have remained in a bubble. It just happens that there’s thousands of people in the bubble with me and they’re willing me on.
“And I know it’s a bit cheesy, but I feel very lucky that I make a connection with people quite naturally. It’s lovely that people want to support me.”
A poor finish to Saturday’s third round meant Fleetwood started the final round five strokes off the pace, but for a brief moment towards the end of the front nine he was just one shot off the lead.
Immediately, however, he missed a par putt and Si Woo Kim holed a chip. The local hero was suddenly three adrift and he would never close the gap, ultimately finishing in a share of fourth, three strokes behind champion Ryan Fox.
What frustration he did feel was abated by the scenes as he walked up the final hole.
Spectators in both grandstands rose to acclaim him, and the members seated in front of the clubhouse did the same.
After playing the first two rounds with him, the 2017 Open champion at Royal Birkdale, Jordan Spieth, had told Fleetwood that the experience had resembled a Ryder Cup focussed on just one golfer and that notion was now revived.
“It was pretty emotional,” Fleetwood said. “I’ve daydreamed about winning the Open since I was 7 years old and that’s what life’s about, right? You dream high and try to make it a reality.
“But that walk down 18 was beyond my imagination. I can’t thank Southport enough.”
He didn’t hole a putt to win the Open, but Fleetwood did get the opportunity to sign off his championship with an 11-foot birdie.
Holding his heart, Fleetwood then turned to the galleries and blew them a kiss.
High up in one of the grandstands a woman sighed, turned to her boyfriend and said: “I’m sorry love, but I really wish he wasn’t married.”
Yes, Southport’s relationship with Fleetwood is more than adoration – it’s love.
Matt Cooper
