THE 154TH OPEN

July 13, 2026

Tommy Fleetwood

Press Conference

MIKE WOODCOCK: Well, good afternoon, everyone. We'll make a start. Welcome to our opening preview press conference for the 154th Open. I'm delighted to be joined by the World No. 9 and former runner up, Tommy Fleetwood.

Tommy, thank you for joining us this afternoon.

Can I maybe start by asking you how much it will mean to you to compete once again in front of family and friends and local support this week on home turf for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's obviously very, very special. I think for anybody that was lucky enough to grow up in the town of Southport. It's such a golfing town, and The Open at Birkdale holds such a special place in the area.

Yeah, it's a dream just to be competing in an Open here, so I feel very, very lucky. Still have lots of memories from the 2017 Open here. Yeah, just excited for the opportunity to play in front of everybody.

It's very rare to have an opportunity to play a tournament, let alone The Open, in the town where you grew up in front of fans that were all there to support you. Very excited.

MIKE WOODCOCK: That was great. We'll take questions. David, we'll start at the front.

Q. Tommy it's difficult to go anywhere at the moment without seeing your face. Is that flattering or slightly amusing for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: A bit of both. It's amazing really just to see -- to see pictures and to see videos of what's going on in the area. I think -- like I say, I think golf is a very individual sport, and I feel like I spend my life, as every other golfer does, chasing your goals and your dreams, and you do that sort of on a very individual basis.

I've always been very lucky with support like all around the world, but then to see people sort of very much like emotionally invested in you and showing things like that, I think it's very special. It definitely doesn't go unnoticed by me.

It's really, really cool, and just to know that people are thinking of me and supporting me, it means the world really.

Q. Have you actually been to the mural or to the --

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No, I haven't had a chance to go to any of them yet. The way the schedule has been, I had a couple of days home the week before Scotland and I did come over to Birkdale, but being able to see these things, I've not been able to yet, which would be great if I did.

Q. Tommy, having the home support is obviously a massive thing and it's a big thing. It's a good thing, but it brings its own weight of expectations. Did you struggle with that before when you were here and now you can tell so much more, how to handle it a bit more as an experienced guy?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It does. Like I said, it's an absolute dream to play here in my hometown in front of people that are all here to support me. There are only positives really.

I think what you do have to deal with is how much you want it and your own expectations, but I think at the same time, I'm no different to any other person in terms of every single person that is playing in The Open dreams of winning in The Open and wants to win it.

There's really nothing different to anybody else in that sense. I just think I am the lucky one that gets to have home support and use that as like really, really positive fuel.

I think the first time I played here in 2017, I obviously had a bad first round. I think my round on Friday was one of the best rounds I ever played to make the cut, and Saturday was a great experience going out so early with Justin.

Then you could turn and look at Royal Liverpool when I shot a great first round and was kind of in contention all the way through that week. I think those are experiences and memories that I'll have forever because it was such an amazing atmosphere and amazing support.

I have all those things to draw on and I have all those things to sort of aim for, but it really is -- like I say, if I just go back to the original me being an 8-year-old kid, the thought of playing in an Open at Birkdale was unbelievably special.

So if you're not going to enjoy it, then you've kind of let yourself down in that sense.

Q. Obviously you used to sneak onto the course when you were a kid.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I did it once or twice. It wasn't like every day.

Q. Can you give us an estimate of how many times you've actually played on the course, and when you've seen it as firm and fast out there as it is? And what you can make of the changes to the course.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I played a couple of times before the Scottish Open. That was my main time sort of seeing it. I did play -- I think I played around March time, but that's obviously just coming out of winter, so it's more about seeing the course, sort of coming out in winter conditions.

Obviously, like I said, there's two brand new holes really, 5 and the par-3, which is now 15. I think they're good, like positive changes. But the other changes, like different greens, I actually don't know the course well enough to understand the subtleties of the difference and how different that makes the course play.

Birkdale was always kind of hallowed turf for people that lived in Southport, and I definitely didn't get to play here as much as I would like to.

The two changes that I would recognise, the 5th, I think, is a much better hole. And I think 15, as is always the case in par-3s, you have to wait until a tournament plays to see how the par-3 plays.

I think the way that the course runs is good, and I think it's going to be an amazing finish. I think it's a great addition to the finish of the golf course.

That's definitely -- I feel like, having played it, that's going to be one of the tougher holes of the week.

Q. Can I get some deep thoughts on the 5th changes, Tommy? This morning half the field went for it, half of them laid up. How do you see it playing this week?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I think it's wind dependent. Wind dependent and how far can you hit it? I think there is -- I mean, the pond is still there and there's a carry that may be like 280 over that.

I think, if you were to block it, I think if there's wind in play, that makes a difference. It's a really good like -- it's kind of a good risk and reward like short par-4.

For me, if the wind was any kind of hurt, it's definitely not worth me going for it. But if you can get it greenside, I think the bunkering around the green is really, really good, so if you go for it you could be fine in one of those bunkers, but you can get lucky. And as it's links golf, one of the things is to avoid a lot of the bunkers.

If not, it's an iron and a wedge onto the green, but also the green is pretty tricky. I'm very much like you I'm looking forward to see how it plays. For me at the moment, I definitely see it as a layup hole, but if the wind happens to favour going for it, I think that's what I would do.

Q. Local town, completely a dream it would be if you could pick your first major here. You've also made a habit of wearing local merch, going to the pro shop and wearing either a hat or a T-shirt or a marker or something. Have you done something here at Birkdale this time, or did you do it in '17?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, we'll see. There's plenty of options, and I think wearing something local would be something really cool and something lovely. Yeah, I'm still a golf fan, and I actually think -- you know, it's like I am a golf fan. I do like a lot of merchandise from golf clubs, and sometimes when you're from an area, it kind of passes you by. Why would I go shopping somewhere where I'm from?

Yeah, it might be in the wardrobe. We don't have the wardrobe set, so we'll see.

Q. Just a follow-up, when did this begin? When did this habit begin of buying merchandise at the shops that you play at?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I'm an uncontracted player apparel-wise this year, so I have the freedom to sort of wear what I want. I think the first one I did it was Pebble Beach this year. I was playing Pebble Beach, and I was like, cool logo, cool place to play golf; I'll go in the pro shop and buy some gear.

Q. Hopefully a slightly different take on the home experience. I can kind of imagine you're in a bit of a bubble, but in terms of your family and friends, thinking back to 2017 and thinking to this week, do you see like it's a lovely experience for them in your hometown?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I hope so. I think definitely. I think it's nice for them to see the support that I get, like I'm definitely very grateful for it, and sometimes it takes me back a little bit. I think it's nice for them to see that -- the one thing family do is they live and breathe every moment with you, and sometimes it's a lot more stressful being the ones that aren't hitting the shots than are. So there's always that side of it for them.

Yeah, I think overall, I think my -- especially my kids. Frankie's 8, so he's sort of my age when -- well, I was 7 when The Open came here in 1998, so it's a very similar age. That's definitely where my dreams of making it as a golfer sort of started. He's at a lovely age where he gets to experience that and have his dad playing, I guess, and having him to watch.

Yeah, for all of us, my family are there to support me, but for all of us, I think it is a great experience and it's something that's very special. I think they're there as a constant reminder to me to enjoy it as well. At the end of the day, as much as it means to me -- and I would never play it down how big it feels to play an Open at Birkdale and how amazing it would be to win an Open, but it is still like a game of golf and people would dream of being in the situation I'm in. It's still important to remember that and enjoy it.

Q. Hi, Tommy. I've got a question about sort of the U.S. Open and crowd behaviour. I think it's fair to say Wyndham Clark got quite a bit of stick on his way to winning the U.S. Open and in the week or so afterwards; Jordan Spieth sort of alluded to that having to do with sports betting, fans on the grounds. I was wondering in your career has that ever been your feeling or inkling that bad crowd behaviour is influenced by sports betting? Because it's quite unique that golf fans could quite significantly influence the outcomes as they're so close to the players?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it's a good point. It's a fair point. I don't think it's ever really been my experience. I think you're aware probably of people that are betting and you might get somebody telling you a putt breaks right to left instead of left to right, but you should be able to figure that out on your own.

It's a really tricky one. I think the crowds are a huge part of it, of golf, and I think it's hard -- it's difficult to -- it's really difficult to ask everyone behave in a manner that you would want them to behave in while wanting the atmosphere to be as big as possible and as good as possible. I think that's always tricky.

Again, that's coming from -- I think in general I've always been -- I've always been very lucky with my fan interaction and support. Again, it's easy when you haven't had the same experiences of those to just give your opinion on it and have it different.

Betting isn't going to go away, and I think you don't want the crowds to be any smaller, or it's hard to change people in terms of how they want to be when you go to a golf tournament. I just think that's a really difficult one.

Q. Going back to your local roots in the game, where did you play most of your golf as a kid? Did you win the club championship at a really young age or anything cool like that?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No, I wasn't that young. My home course was Formby Hall. That's where I grew up. I started playing at Southport Municipal. They had a junior program on Monday night. I started playing there, and then I got a membership at Formby Hall, so Southport and Ainsdale had a really good junior section, so I played a lot of junior games there and scratch team tournaments.

Yeah, the only club championship I won was at Formby Hall, so I am up on a board somewhere. That's where I'm still a member at to this day.

I joined Hillside when I turned pro as well. So I got around a little bit of the Southport golf courses.

Q. When you came here as a kid in '98, whose autograph did you get? I heard you didn't get Tiger's, but whose did you get, and did it shape the way you go about giving kids autographs now that you're a pro?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, so we went into the tented village, and I remember Retief Goosen, Patrick Shelton, and Colin Montgomerie were the three I got. Colin Montgomerie was absolutely amazing with me. He really, really was. He gave me such a lovely experience. Like he was great, sort of spending five minutes with me as a kid.

I mean, my hero was Ernie Els. Like he was who I wanted to swing it like and who I wanted to play like. When I watched him play golf and he did -- I went to Wentworth, I think, a year later, and Ernie Els did a clinic and he was sort of my main hero.

Also, Formby Hall was a new course, and just down the road, Lee Janzen did a clinic. I remember watching him. He was the U.S. Open champion at the time I think, so those were kind of my interactions with players at that point.

Q. Tommy, what is the thing that you like least about The Open?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: That I like least?

Q. Apart from silly questions from the media.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No, I love those. I don't really think there's anything I particularly dislike about The Open. Maybe I'd like it to come to Southport more or the northwest more.

No, I really have nothing that I dislike about The Open. I would take everything that comes with it, whatever it is, whether it's weather. There's nothing really I can think that I dislike about it.

Q. You've had a marvelous career, but you don't have the major win on your record yet. How much will that define the fulfillment you'll feel when it's all said and done? Is it everything to you to feeling like you've maximized what you can get out of the sport, or will you be able to deal with that possibly not materializing for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I'll have to wait and find out, I guess. Yeah, there's no doubt about it, I think winning majors is kind of like the ultimate accolades in our sport. It's a difficult one.

I don't think I want to sort of look towards the future and worry about or think that I have to win a major to feel fulfilled. I think, like everyone else out here, we spend our lives giving it everything, and it might happen for me, it might not. I don't want to think about it as if it doesn't happen, all of those hours I spent chasing my dreams, what was it for kind of thing.

Whatever happens in my career, I will have -- I'll be able to look back and say that I gave it everything and I had an amazing time doing it. I would definitely much prefer to have a major or two or three on my resume by the time my career is over. Whether that happens or not is sometimes out of your control, but I think making sure you have a great time chasing it is the ultimate thing.

Same as for everybody. Dreams do come true, we watch it all the time, but you'll never find out if yours will unless you chase it. Mine might come true; it might not. I think I've done a lot in my career so far, but yeah, there's still plenty more to go. Until my time is up I'll keep trying and keep working hard, and hopefully you can ask me that question again at some point, and I'll be able to tell you how I actually feel.

Q. Given how fast and fiery the course is playing, have you made any equipment changes to help with your course strategy this week?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I put a 3-iron in last week. Last week was great in terms of how firm I felt like the course played. I think -- so I think that was good to just get a feel of that sort of links style of play and ground interaction and stuff like that. I put a 3-iron and only hit it once.

Yeah, it's difficult. I think wind rather than like firmness of course make a difference to what you put in the bag. Like last week -- I would err towards the side of keeping the bag the same as last week. I normally carry four wedges. I took a 56-degree out and put a 3-iron in. But we'll see. The last time I played here two weeks ago it was firm, but it was still pretty green, so I know that they've let the course go a little bit since then in terms of just letting it get firmer and faster.

I'm really excited to play the course and get a feel for it, because I do feel it's really old school Open. You do get that brown look to it and firm style of play.

We'll see. Then I'll see what fits best. In practice rounds, especially at The Open, you play 15, 16 clubs and see which ones you hit the most and then put those in.

Q. In terms of the local angle, obviously, as well as yourself, there's Matthew Baldwin who's a member here. I believe you played with him before. Can you tell us about your relationship with him and what it will be like to play an Open on his home course?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: My first time playing for the men's Lancashire team, Matt Baldwin was my partner. I was 13, I believe, and Matt was arguably the best player in England at the time, and he was my foursomes partner. Matt was somebody I looked up to a lot as a junior golfer, amateur golfer, very good golfer in the area. I've known him for a long time.

I think it was amazing, I was really rooting for him to qualify for The Open because, yeah, I'm definitely not the only one that gets to enjoy like a home Open. If anything, Matt is closer than me. He's a member here, and this is going to mean an awful lot to him.

I was really happy for him. I saw him before, and I hope -- I really hope he has an amazing tournament and does great. But yeah, Matt was always somebody that I looked up to when I was younger, and he's always been someone who was so great with me, a junior golfer that was a bit younger than him, and he was always willing to give me the time or give me advice or play golf with me if I wanted to.

Matt's always somebody that I've held sort of in very high esteem. He's always been great.

Q. Tommy, I don't believe you've allowed yourself to think about, or any of the English players, if things go okay tomorrow, I'm sorry Wednesday night could be a massive day for English sport on Sunday. Are you following it? What do you make of it? Do you ever think what a great day it would be if there was English players here on Sunday and England in the World Cup?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: That would be a great day. No, I'd rather tee off late on Sunday for sure; I'll start with that. Yeah, the lads have been doing great. It's been great to watch. The World Cup's not easy. I think they've done really well, and they continue to win, which is all you can do in those World Cup matches.

For those guys, they definitely carry a nation on their shoulders a lot more than we do. They've been doing a great job, and it's great to have them in the semifinals again. We're a great team, so it's great to watch and great to have that positive hope.

Q. You have a lot of contact with the footballers? Are you in contact with them out there?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No, I -- yeah, you know, I know a few of the lads, but I think they know that we're supporting, and I just want -- you would always want them to focus on the tournament at hand, and I think they're doing a great job.

It's great to support individuals as well as the team, if you like. It's a nice feeling and nice to watch their success along the way.

Q. Just to go back to fan behaviour at golf events, there is a code of conduct for the spectators this week. How important is it that the fans are aware to that and adhere to that as the week goes on given that there were a couple of things that happened at Royal Liverpool a few years back that wasn't great?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, like I say, it's hard to want 200,000 people to watch and create an amazing atmosphere and want them all to do exactly what you would expect or want them to do.

Yeah, like you want the fans to behave in the best way possible and to give everybody the equal opportunity, but it is very difficult wanting all that to go together. I think -- yeah, it's a tough one, and you just want the best for everybody really.

I've always felt like atmospheres have been great. I've had support on my side 99 percent of the time, but I've also had it against me the odd time. Sometimes -- honestly sometimes those have been my most enjoyable atmospheres when the crowd are that little bit against you and gives you that little bit extra.

I'm sure everybody will be great this week. I think The Opens that I've experienced in the northwest, the crowds have been amongst the best I've ever seen and the atmospheres have been great. I'm sure they'll all be great.

Q. Unusually golfy one for me. You mentioned the options available on 5. Rory was saying last week you talked about how far back you should leave it on 10. Is this a course where you're second guessing yourself a lot of the time?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's an amazingly well-designed golf course because going back to the main goal a lot of the time in links golf is to avoid bunkers, avoid fairway bunkers, avoid pot bunkers, but I feel like there's always something in play unless you want to be unbelievably sensible and then like you're always on the back foot of the golf course. You're always leaving yourself a long way.

I think it's an amazingly well-designed golf course for that. I think you've always got to make a choice of you're either taking something on, bringing something into play, or you're almost playing too safe if anything.

Yeah, it's a course that makes you think. I think it's a course that gives you options. You can hit driver everywhere if you want. There's never anything stopping you do that. It's not how I would see the golf course, but some people will.

Yeah, I think that's always a great sign of a great golf course is that there's -- you could sit six people here, and they might think of six different things to do off the tee, and I think that's always a really good sign.