Fleetwood best placed to end Americans’ major dominance

CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND •Two rounds of 63, made eight months apart and on different sides of the Atlantic, are fuelling the belief Tommy Fleetwood can end the American dominance of majors at the British Open.

The first came at the Dunhill Links Championship in October when he broke the course record at Carnoustie, where the world’s oldest major will be staged this week.

Then came another in the final round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills last month, which propelled him to within a stroke of eventual winner Brooks Koepka.

Fleetwood, with his long, flowing hair and cherubic smile, was the face of last year’s British Open played at his home course of Royal Birkdale.

With those recent 63s on his resume, it’s no surprise he’s among the favourites 12 months on.

“The only thing they do is build your confidence and give you examples of what you can do,” Fleetwood said Monday, “but at the end of the day, come Thursday, it’s the Open Championship and I’ve got to go out there and hit the golf shots and hole the putts.”

This is a very different Carnoustie compared to the one Fleetwood faced last year in a regular European Tour event that took place weeks after he became a father for the first time.

Back then, the fairways were green and lush, he wore a beanie to protect his head from the cold and there were no imposing grandstands surrounding the greens.

Eight months on, the ground is brown and baked after a hot British summer that is showing no sign of abating. Simply keeping the ball in play on the firm and fast fairways is the priority.

“Shots that you’ve hit have literally no relevance for a lot of it,” Fleetwood said. “It doesn’t do any harm to have a course record, but it’s a completely different challenge to what we normally face.” Tommy Fleetwood

More significant to Fleetwood, the European No. 1 and the world No. 10, was the 63 at Shinnecock that nearly brought him his first major title. The pin positions were more accessible and the greens were softer that Sunday compared to the brutal third round, but he still had an eight-foot putt at No. 18 for a first 62 at the U.S. Open.

“It is proof to yourself ... that you can end up there and you have the game to eventually compete,” Fleetwood said.

Americans have won the last five majors stretching back to the 2017 U.S. Open, an alarming streak from a European point of view ahead of the Ryder Cup in Paris in September. KULAK, Debbie 11:00 Beth Tzedec Memorial Park.

Obituaries

LEON, Margaret