From sneaking in at Birkdale to being hailed the people’s golfer
THE RISE OF TOMMY FLEETWOOD...
Tommy Fleetwood used to sneak on to Royal Birkdale as a youngster and play a few holes while the members were not looking. At The open next month, he will proudly march through the front door as the people’s golfer.
yes, in the final analysis, it might not have quite happened for the 26-year-old at the US open on Sunday — although there was absolutely no cause for reproach in finishing fourth behind American Brooks Koepka.
But what a reception awaits him on home soil in the golfing hotbed of England, with more than 200,000 people expected to cheer him on as he lives out the personification of the working-class dream.
The son of a tarmac layer, whose dad still walks his dog past the front entrance at Birkdale, there was absolutely no hope of playing there when growing up. Well, not as you’re supposed to play it, anyway.
‘me and my dad used to sneak on and hit a few shots and then get off before anybody saw us,’ said Fleetwood with a broad grin. ‘But nobody knows that!’ Don’t worry, Tommy — your secret’s safe with us.
At Erin Hills, Fleetwood was competing in a major at the weekend for only the second time and yet coped so ably with the pressure that he shot rounds of 68 and 72. This has not only given him a taste for it, but prepared him for the waves of expectation that will greet him at Birkdale.
‘you never know how you’re going to feel waking up on a Saturday and Sunday in contention in a major but it felt great, I can tell you,’ he said.
‘I was very comfortable out there, and particularly on Saturday, when I played really well. I slept on the lead at the US open and came out and shot four under, so I was proud of myself for that. on Sunday it was not so good but I scrapped for it and still shot level par. Now I know what I can do, I just want it more.’
Fleetwood had as many bogeys (three) in the first eight holes on Sunday as he had in the whole of the first three rounds but kept his playing partner Koepka in his sights by rallying with birdies at the ninth and 14th. The impressive American drew clear with three birdies in a row in the middle of the back nine.
‘I think anyone would have struggled to keep pace with him, the way he played down the stretch under all that pressure,’ said Fleetwood. ‘Everyone knows how talented he is and it was very good to watch.’
Fleetwood’s rise up the world rankings over the last year has been like a fairy tale. mired in a slump after making some swing changes, he had fallen to 188th in the world until he went back to his old coach, Alan Thompson.
The week that changed everything was beating world No 1 Dustin Johnson down the stretch in Abu Dhabi in January.
With his confidence rising all the time, Fleetwood is now up to a career-high 21st and bearing down on masters champion Sergio Garcia at the top of the Race to Dubai.
‘I’ve put myself up there with a chance of winning that so it has to be on my agenda now and I’m going to play as much as I can over the summer,’ said Fleetwood, who has the chance to overtake Garcia in the next five weeks with the Spaniard taking time off to get married next month.
mind you, Fleetwood has a lifechanging event of his own coming up in the autumn. ‘I know I’m not going to play much in September because my girlfriend is due a baby in october so I might as well get my golf in now!’ he said.
The open is, of course, at the heart of his hectic schedule. ‘I’m like any kid who loves golf, I stood over countless putts growing up saying to myself: “This is for The open”. And how many people get the chance to play in a major in the town where they grew up, even if I could tell you more about the good places to go in Southport rather than the course itself.
‘But I’ve played it enough now to know it’s another fantastic driver’s course, one of the hardest courses in the world to play off the tee with virtually every bunker in play and that suits my game. It’s going to be such a special week for me.’