Fleetwood relishing Open return to Carnoustie ... and not expecting his course record to fall
TOMMY FLEETWOOD is proud enough to have earned his own little piece of history at Carnoustie.
But the fact it was recorded and approved by a guy who history may remember as one of the greatest players in the game made the moment all the sweeter.
No one has tamed the beast that is Carnoustie’s fearsome championship course quite like Fleetwood when he set a stunning course-record 63 during last year’s Dunhill Links Championship.
A feat that should do the Englishman’s confidence no end of good when he returns to the Angus links in July to challenge for The Open.
Perhaps by that time his record-setting card – which Fleetwood never got to keep – will be framed and on display in Carnoustie’s impressive new clubhouse that towers over the side of the first tee.
If nothing else that would stand as an inspiring example to those hopefuls venturing out that the seemingly impossible can be achieved.
Fleetwood said: “That it was Rory who signed that card made the whole experience even cooler for me. It was a nice added bonus. The whole day was weird because we just had a lovely time out there together.
“I’ve got a really good partner I play with every year, Ogden Phipps, and I also get on really well with Rory and his dad.
“So we were just having a really nice day and nothing major had happened until the BY EUAN McLEAN back nine. I had five birdies in a row and it all just unravelled.
“I was playing the last and still not thinking about anything until I holed the putt and Ogden said, ‘You’ve just shot the course record by the way.’
“I didn’t have any idea but these are the kind of rounds that are your best, when you’re just playing freely and not troubled by the score in your mind. “It’s nice to have the record on a course I’ve always liked but I wouldn’t read too much into it for the summer. The conditions and the layout in October are nothing like it’s going to be for an Open. “I’m not trying to take anything away from one of the best rounds of golf I have ever had but I hit it in a couple of spots that I probably wouldn’t get away with in July. “But it is good to have nice memories and a lasting good feeling of shooting a 63. It’s never going to do you any harm, certainly. “I would think the record is safe during Open week. Although you never know, Branden Grace caught us off guard at Birkdale last year with that 62 he shot.” Fleetwood is an Ambassador of the 147th Open and with some ticket categories sold out you are advised to book now. Save up to £40 on tickets if you buy before midnight on April 30. Don’t miss the cut, visit TheOpen.com/Tickets for information.