Southport-born Tommy Fleetwood will be targeting glory at the 150th Open Championship which is set to begin tomorrow at the iconic Old Course at St Andrews with the Scottish course hosting the tournament for the first time since 2015.
The Merseysider, who would sneak onto the Royal Birkendale course in his hometown as a child, is currently ranked 35th in the world and goes into the championship after producing a late surge at the Genesis Scottish Open, finishing fourth at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick after a final round three under par 67 saw him excel up the leaderboard and climb the world rankings by nine places.
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Having made his Open debut in 2014, the 31-year-old was a runner up in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush to Shane Lowry as well as in the 2018 U.S. Open where he was a stroke behind Brooks Koepka with a closing of 63 at Shinnecock Hills which equalled the Championship record.
Speaking after the Scottish Open, Fleetwood said: “It's going to be special at St Andrews. It's my dream, and a lot of other people's dreams, is to win and lift that trophy. I feel good. The course was pretty fast. It was great to play in those conditions and get a sense of how the ball is reacting. I get excited whenever I go to St Andrews, whether it's an Open Championship or Dunhill Links Championship or just for fun.
“I bogeyed the last so you come off a bit disappointed. I think I had half a chance if I could have just made par there. But overall I played great, so I have to be happy with that. I think I improved every day and throughout the week. Whatever happens, it's a really good result and it's a positive week.
“This season I’ve been there or thereabouts, just with nothing that great happening. It's been pretty good. Not bad. Just not where I want to be. I want to be better. Everybody wants to be better and I think I can be but overall it's been a much more positive year than last year."
According to Oddschecker, Fleetwood ranks 14th in the overall winners odds with the best odds available coming at 40/1.
The schedule for the upcoming championship is as follows:
Thursday 14th July 2022:
The Open Thursday (Round 1), Opening round at St Andrews Old Course at 7:00am
Friday 15th July 2022:
The Open Friday (Round 2), Second round at St Andrews Old Course at 7:00am
Saturday 16th July 2022:
The Open Practice Saturday (Round 3), Third round at St Andrews Old Course at 7:00am
Sunday 17th July 2022:
The Open Practice Sunday (Round 4), Fourth Opening round at St Andrews Old Course at 7:00am
