PA Media/DPA
London
Tommy Fleetwood hopes he can boost English sports fans’ morale with a long-awaited victory at the Open after the country’s Euro 2024 heartbreak.
While the wait for an English victory at golf’s oldest major may not be close to the football team’s 58 years of hurt, it is still 32 years since Nick Faldo lifted the Claret Jug.
It is only a marginally shorter time since a British man won his home major - Scotland’s Paul Lawrie in 1999 - and Fleetwood would love to be the one to break that barren spell.
"I love this tournament so much and it has been a long time since there’s been an English winner,” said the Southport golfer. "If it came to it and that was something that gave the country a little boost, then great.
"I don’t know (why a Briton has not won recently) because if you look at tournaments that didn’t quite go the way of some British players in the past there’s definitely guys that have done enough and it just didn’t happen.
"I guess it’s one tournament a year so you get one opportunity a year. It’s not that easy.
"It’s just one of those strange runs that hopefully finishes sooner rather than later. Hopefully that streak can end and we can put it right.” Despite his love of the event, Troon does not hold the best memories for Fleetwood, who has eight major top-10 finishes, including two runners-up spots.
Eight years ago rounds of 73 and 76 condemned him to a fourth missed cut in six events - he had finished 62nd and 69th in the other two - and dropped him outside of the world’s top 150 at what he described was his "worst point in terms of expectations”.
Now back up to world number 12, Fleetwood has been buoyed by his recent major form, this year finishing in ties for third at the Masters, 26th in the US PGA and a 16th in the US Open.
But in order to get over the line in a major the 33-year-old will have to get past rivals who have already managed that feat, including the in-form world number one Scottie Scheffler who is looking for his seventh victory of the year.
"I’d be happy with one,” joked Fleetwood, whose only victory since November 2022 came in Dubai in January.
"He’s the best player in the world and I think he’s great for us in terms of somebody that we want to catch up to and be motivated by what he’s doing.
"I haven’t actually been in contention much this year - I’ve had decent results without amazing results - but I feel like I’ve been playing as well as I have done in the past, just without it quite happening.
"I think one of those things is the standard of golf, that’s why it’s unbelievably impressive what Scottie has been doing.”