I don’t feel any pressure
TOMMY Fleetwood suddenly has the hopes of the town resting on his shoulders - but refuses to feel any pressure.
After a successful year, which has seen Tommy claim two tour titles and finish among the leaders at the US Open, the Southport golfer has become one of the biggest names in the sport and one of the favourites to win The Open Championshop at Royal Birkdale.
His face is now on banners hanging on lampposts around the town, his former school has sent a good luck video from all the pupils and staff and he’s being talked about as a genuine contender to lift the Claret Jug.
Despite all this, he says he doesn’t feel weighed down by the pressure, but instead simply enjoys the support.
He regularly meditates and says he isn’t one to be held back by pressure or disappointment when things go wrong.
Tommy, who is known as Dodge by his family, said: “I think this week it’s going to be an experience for me I’ll never forget.
“It’s very rare that you get a tournament this close to home.
“I know everybody wants to talk about that.
“It’s a massive privilege to be playing at a tournament so close to home, and it being the British Open.
“I thought about winning The Open since I was five years old, so thinking about it another few days isn’t going to make any difference to me.
“It’s nice to be spoke of in that light, to be honest.
I find it very flattering and I mean it - it doesn’t affect me in any way, apart from it’s very nice and makes me smile, really.
“I’ve never had a banner with me on it in Southport before.
“My face is on a lot of lampposts at the moment but it’s just nice being acknowledged and people that know you know how much hard work you put in; it’s nice to be congratulated for it.
“It’s nice to see things like my old school did.
“They had a massive banner, and all the kids saying “good luck”, and I think it’s just lovely.
“It’s very touching, actually, seeing things like that. And, yeah, I mean the banners will be off in a couple of weeks, so best not get used to it too much.”
Much has been said about Tommy sneaking on to the course with dad Pete when he was younger and it’s something he continues to be asked about. Although he found a way on back then, by sneaking in through by the fifth tee which has since been covered up, his real frustration was missing out on qualification when the tournament was last here in 2008. His disappointment meant he refused to watch much of that Championsip, but he is now hotly tipped for success this time around. Indeed, the former Kew Woods and Kingswood pupil, is confident that such is the progress he has made since reuniting with his old coach Alan Thompson, and with long-time friend Ian Finnis as his caddy, that he can be a contender again this week – even amid the weight of expectation which sees him being tipped as potentially the first Englishman to win the Open in 25 years. Looking back on his American experience, he said: “The main thing I take from the US Open is how I felt when I woke up on the Saturday and Sunday. I felt comfortable. I enjoyed it. Warming up on the Saturday all I wanted to do was to get out on the course.
“I didn’t play well on the Sunday, a couple of putts could have dropped.
“But just showing to myself I felt all right in that situation, I’d never done before.
“Of course you are nervous, but I wasn’t out of control.
“I wasn’t fearful. I didn’t back away from shots. And I was proud of that.
“It is the first time I have ever contended in a Major and I felt alright. That’s what I take away from that – whenever the time comes again.”
And Fleetwood is making his fourth appearance in the Open, but has yet to play the weekend rounds, with his exit at St Andrews two years ago – a course on which he had finished runner-up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Trophy in 2014 after a third round 62 – proving particularly painful.
“I shot three under on the Thursday in the worst of the conditions, but I just played terrible on the Friday,” he recalled of the 76 that saw him make an early exit.
“I was gutted. I should never have shot that score – but once that’s done, you can’t do anything about it.
“I feel fine coming into this week, but it could happen again.
“If it does, I will walk off Friday, be gutted for a day or two – and then start practising again.”