THE 154TH OPEN

July 17, 2026

Tommy Fleetwood

Mixed Zone

Q. You said yesterday you were scrambling a bit. You certainly weren't today. How pleased were you with that?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I played better. Still like you're not going to go from really stroking to feeling fully comfortable. I hit a lot more good shots. I felt a lot more in control.

It's funny really, like towards the end, like hit two good shots on 13, and then like 14, and definitely by the time I got to 17 and 18 I was flowing quite a little bit. That was a really nice feeling. Late in the evening with a great atmosphere and sort of get it going and hit some good shots towards the end.

Q. How well did you feed off the crowd? It was really loud when you were walking up there, wasn't it?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, they're unbelievable. They really are. 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.

A hundred percent, they make a big difference to me. I think they helped me so much yesterday when I was struggling, and today like I really loved playing in front of them. You can't ask for any more than what they're giving me.

Q. You set yourself up nicely for moving day.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I think yeah. Those last few holes were really great for me. I think I've put myself where I'm four shots off the lead. So it's like if I play well, I know I'm sort of going to be closing in if you like.

Still things are -- well, they're in the leader's control, of course they are, but I can just play my game, and I'm not that far away. That's a really nice feeling. I feel like the last few holes are good for that.

Q. Some great scores early on today. When you see that, does that put any extra pressure on that you've got to seize the chance?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, you can only play the course you're given. I think the conditions around here do change a lot in the afternoon. Like it wasn't very easy. You can see like nobody really catches up. Once the scores have been done in the morning, nobody kind of manages to catch all the way up.

I mean, there was a couple of unbelievable rounds. There really, really was. But for us, like we could only play the course that we were given, and it was difficult this afternoon.

I suppose it's nice to see that there's birdies out there because then, you know, like if you don't get off to a great start and make a couple bogeys, you're watching that there is like scores out there.

Q. A lot of players on that leaderboard are close.

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it's really tight, isn't it? You saw looking at the leaderboard, 4-under has been between top five or top seven all day or top eight, whatever it is. 1-under is quite a long way down, and level-par is quite a long way down.

But you shoot a good front nine, and you're all the way back up there if you make the cut.

That's a lot what majors are like as well. You know if you can just keep in the game, keep hanging in there, and if you get yourself to the weekend, you're a really hot streak away from sort of being close again. So it's tight.

Q. Besides maybe the Ryder Cup, have you experienced a fan environment that's pulling for you so hard before?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I mean, I'm lucky with where The Open roster is. I feel like Royal Liverpool was amazing for me, and I put myself into contention there.

No, it's such a unique thing, and I said a couple of times there, like it's not that many people get to experience what I've experienced this week so far and what I will do for the weekend. Whether I play good or bad, I can't -- I can't let myself miss out on that, like I have to take it in and enjoy it because it is very special and I'm very lucky in that respect.

Yeah, they've been really, really cool.

Q. It's obviously, it makes total sense how cool it is to experience that, but is there any sort of feeling of a weight also, of the expectation that the town kind of has for you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, I was really nervous yesterday and obviously struggled with the rhythm of my swing and stuff. I mean, there's no negatives to it, is there? They're there to support me. Like I say, like yesterday when I was struggling, they made a big difference to me, like they helped me a lot, and it's just so special.

I feel like no matter what's going on, the odd moment that I might have is priceless, and I can look forward to those. Like 15 today was incredible, like off the charts.

No, it would be like -- it would be foolish to make it into a negative. Of course there's pressure. My own expectations are huge, and my own dreams started here. All that stuff's massive, but it's only good stuff.

Q. What helped you calm down today?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I don't know whether I calmed down. Yeah, I was still nervous today. I think just that anticipation of playing every day and in these crowds and everything and how much I want it.

You know, I worked on my swing yesterday. I spoke with Butch, and I had like a clear intent on what I was doing, and a lot of it was do with rhythm. I has some focus on all day, and I got off to a good start as well, which obviously helped. A couple of putts, like 2 and 4 I hit great putts. 3 I hit a great putt that I thought was going in.

Then I think it was really nice to have that finish. That finish there was the first time my game started to just flow a little bit. The course is hard as it is. It's hard to get any rhythm on the golf course. Majors are slow. That's how it is.

Those last few holes were really, really nice to get that feeling, and hopefully I can take that into the weekend. We'll see.

Q. What did Butch tell you?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Some of it was I was obviously swinging it a bit quick yesterday. I was out of sync, and I was struggling to hit the shots I wanted to hit. We spoke about my takeaway and my rhythm, the things that we talk about all the time, but especially when you're in like a nerve situation that's maybe heightened a little bit.

Just minor tweaks as always. I've been playing great, so it's never going to be that far away. It's just sort of getting yourself back to that place.

Q. Are you wearing Tiger's brand for any particular reason?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: It's a nice shirt, nice colour. Yeah, it's good.

Q. I don't suppose you've opened your phone yet and seen the message you got from Tiger?

TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I'll wait for that one.