Fleetwood’s Local Hero Status Fuels Open Charge at Birkdale

How Birkdale crowd helped carry Fleetwood – England’s Tommy Fleetwood finds himself positioned just four strokes behind the tournament leader as the halfway point arrives at Royal Birkdale. The Southport native credits the enthusiastic home supporters with providing crucial momentum during his campaign, stating that their encouragement has been absolutely vital to his performance. While Fleetwood headlines the British challenge, he is certainly not the sole representative from these shores prepared to make a serious push for victory.

After carding a three-under-par 67 on Friday, Fleetwood now sits in joint eighth place at four under par. He shares this position with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre in what has become an impressive cluster of competitors. This group also features English duo Matt Wallace and Alex Fitzpatrick, alongside Spanish sensation Jon Rahm and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who currently holds the world number one ranking. Together, they trail Australian leader Lucas Herbert by four shots, after Herbert produced a record-equalling 62 during Friday’s second round. Bryson DeChambeau remains firmly in contention as well, despite navigating through a contentious two-shot penalty for inadvertently improving his lie.

A Home Favorite’s Journey

Amidst all the on-course drama, Fleetwood continues to capture the hearts of spectators. The local favourite has been met with thunderous applause throughout the opening two days as he pursues his first major championship triumph. Following a scrambling 69 on Thursday, Fleetwood needed to dig deep once more on Friday before a remarkable sequence of three birdies across the closing five holes sent the home supporters into celebration.

“They’ve been an absolute pleasure to play in front of for these two days. I love that I played some good golf there and something to cheer about,” said the European Ryder Cup star.

“They make a big difference to me. They helped me so much [on Thursday] when I was struggling. You can’t ask for any more than what they’re giving me.”

Fleetwood’s connection to Birkdale runs deep. Having grown up playing at nearby Formby Hall, he would occasionally climb over the Royal Birkdale fence to access the course he had always dreamed of competing on. Even now, as one of the game’s elite players, he retains the same Merseyside accent that resonates with the thousands of locals cheering him on. Despite his success as a PGA Tour winner and Ryder Cup stalwart, Fleetwood remains one of the finest current players without a major title. Should he finally claim victory on Sunday, the celebrations across Birkdale and surrounding communities would be unprecedented.

“Of course there’s pressure,” Fleetwood added. “My own expectations are huge, and my own dreams started here. All that stuff’s massive, but it’s only good stuff.”

MacIntyre’s Resilience Shines

Robert MacIntyre has demonstrated once again why he excels on links courses. The 29-year-old from Oban has recorded three top-10 finishes across six Open Championship appearances, complemented by his Scottish Open victory in 2024. His opening round of 67 was followed by a second-round 69 on Friday, propelling him into serious contention.

“It was a great round of golf,” said MacIntyre, who acknowledged needing to refocus after scrambling for par on the sixth hole following two shots from the rough. “I’ll be honest, I’m not nice to myself. That’s just the standard I set. I made a mistake. I felt like for a couple of holes we switched off.”

“That was when I really had to reset what I was doing. We really had to switch on because it was getting out of hand.”

The mental adjustment proved effective. MacIntyre produced twelve pars and a single bogey across his opening thirteen holes before capitalizing on the two par-fives on the back nine. A birdie on the fourteenth and an eagle on the seventeenth sealed his day, and even a bogey on the final hole failed to dampen his spirits.

“It’s where I want to be,” he reflected. “I feel like the game’s in a good spot. I’m missing it in the right spots, the short game is sharp, putting is decent. I just maybe need to hit a few more greens and make life a little bit easier.”

The Fitzpatrick Brothers’ Contrasting Fortunes

Entering this Open, many observers identified Matt Fitzpatrick rather than his younger brother Alex as the favourite to win. The Sheffield siblings have experienced divergent results at Birkdale, with Alex carrying the family’s hopes into the weekend after world number three Matt failed to make the cut.

Alex, aged 27, has enjoyed a remarkable rise in his professional career. After securing his inaugural DP World Tour championship in March and teaming with Matt to win the Zurich Classic on the PGA Tour in April, he is competing in only his second Open Championship. He matched his opening-round 69 with another three-under-par 67 on Friday, though he departed the course with some unfinished business to address before Saturday’s play begins.