Fleetwood Knack
TOMMY LOOKS TO BUILD ON SHINNECOCK HILLS HEROICS AND END AMERICA’S GRIP ON MAJORS
ON a strip of wild Scottish land where he already holds the course record, Tommy Fleetwood is plotting an American downfall.
The 27-year-old with the hipster-style swagger announced himself as a threat to US domination at their Open across the Atlantic last month.
Now the Southport favourite insists he is ready to end England’s long wait for an Open champion, stretching back to Nick Faldo’s triumph at Muirfield when Fleetwood was just a year old.
America have won the last five Majors, but Fleetwood is up for the challenge after finishing runner-up at the US Open with a brilliant final-round 63.
His stunning charge at Shinnecock Hills included an 8ft putt which he needed to hole to become the first player in the tournament’s history to shoot a 62.
He missed and lost by a shot to Brooks Koepka, but is targeting going one better this week at Carnoustie, where he holds the course record of 63, set during the Dunhill Links Championship last year.
The world No.10 said: “America, there’s no doubt about it, have an exceptional bunch of players at the moment.
“You look at them as players and you can understand why they’re the ones winning the Majors. It would be nice to break that run. I know we are all trying to do it.
“It’s one of those funny runs but hopefully it does end quickly.”
Fleetwood was the leading money-winner on last season’s European Tour.
He then made a successful defence of the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship in January.
Now he is after more glory, averaging 304 yards with drives and hitting 74 per cent of greens in regulation. He missed the cut at the French Open, his last tournament, but has since rested back home in Merseyside to arrive in Scotland fresh.
Reflecting on last month’s near miss, Fleetwood added: “Straight after the US Open you literally want the Open to be straight away because you are on such a high.
“I know I didn’t win but you have that kind of momentum.
“One shy is a quarter of a shot a round so it’s not that much. It’s proof to yourself you have the game to compete and hopefully win Majors, which is what it’s all about.”
Fleetwood is focusing on tackling Carnoustie once more but says the sunbaked course is playing very differently from how it did during his red-hot round in October.
He said: “It does no harm to have the course record at Carnoustie, but I know that this week it’s going to be a lot harder and it’s going to be a different course.
“I have watched the last two Opens at Carnoustie on TV and I know there have been some horror stories. The great thing about the tournament is that, because of the last four holes, nothing is over until it’s over.”