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The last time Royal Troon staged the Open Championship, Tommy Fleetwood rated his chances of even making the cut as “zero”.
Eight years on, the world number 11 heads to Ayrshire in an infinitely better frame of mind and one of the betting favourites as he chases a first major title.
“Well I played terrible,” Fleetwood said with a smile when asked by the PA news agency for his memories of the 2016 Open. “I was really struggling with my game at the time.
“The Open in St Andrews the year before is when I could pinpoint the moment where I felt like my game was about to take a really downward trajectory and Troon was pretty much at that point where I was at my lowest.
“I’d qualified by finishing in the top 30 in the Race to Dubai the year before, but only because I played a bunch of events like World Golf Championship events [with no cuts] so you could do that at the time.
“I’d started 2015 all right but then in ’16 I had no chance of making the cut at Troon. Like zero.”
Rounds of 73 and 76 at Troon condemned Fleetwood 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.
The 33-year-old fell as far as 188th before beginning to get his game back on track and he went on to win his second DP World Tour title in Abu Dhabi in early 2017.
I had no chance of making the cut at Troon. Like zero— Tommy Fleetwood
“Soon after the Open my game started to get better so I’ve always looked at Troon as hopefully the worst point I’ll ever be in my career in terms of expectations and where I was,” Fleetwood added.
“It’s been eight years so hopefully this time I can go back and do much better.”
Fleetwood will be buoyed by his form in the majors this season after finishing third in the Masters, 26th in the US PGA and a tie for 16th in the US Open.
Those results were achieved without the assistance of long-time caddie Ian Finnis after he underwent open-heart surgery earlier this year, but the popular Evertonian made his return to the bag at the Genesis Scottish Open.
“It feels great,” Fleetwood said after an opening 65 at the Renaissance Club. “Being back in the flow of things, it just felt like we hadn’t really had a break.
“I think your ultimate goal when you’re playing is to be in the most pressurised moments and the most difficult situations that you can face, so when you have someone that knows you, that you’re comfortable with that’s very good with your golf game, it can only ever be an advantage.
“I’m always aware of that and I think a good caddie is worth his weight in gold. Everybody’s been really happy to see him which I think has been lovely for him as well.”
