SOUTHPORT, MERSEYSIDE, ENGLAND – It’s been nine years since the world’s greatest golfers have tackled mighty Royal Birkdale for an Open Championship. There are some changes to the golf course, primarily to equate the difficulty of the nines and to diversify the par 3s. But the links golf challenges of Birkdale endure, as does the unpredictability of wind and weather. Storied, venerable Birkdale is ready. And it’s fascinating to hear the players’ varied reactions to both the course and their own preparation.
Tommy Fleetwood is the hometown boy this week. Starting as a teen who snuck onto Royal Birkdale "once or twice" as he put it, the reigning FedEx Cup champion is still seeking his first major championship victory. With every fan from Manchester to Liverpool cheering for him, the excitement around him is palpable.
"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," Fleetwood said.
"Yeah, it's a dream just to be competing in an Open here, so I feel very, very lucky. 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."
Still, that's an awful lot of added pressure as well as added support. It’s a double-edged sword but one that the affable Fleetwood handles it with aplomb.
"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," he said. "In one way, it’s no different than 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."
Positive fuel has been coursing through Wyndham Clark's veins lately, that’s for certain. Despite a cacophony of New York heckling him during the final round of last month’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, he still held on for the victory. As far as his chances this week? He certainly has the game plan. He seems ready for the unique strategic problems a fast and firm Birkdale presents.
"I think you're really going to need a good caddie to tell you how far the ball is rolling out," Clark said. "Then yeah, you're going to have to hit shots and really be strategic. I mean, you might hit a 4-iron that goes over 300 yards, and then you've got to look at a bunker and go, it's 320. How do we stay short of that because we can't cover it? But that makes it fun. I personally enjoy majors like this."
Clark was also asked about a training aid they saw him using on the range: a coat hanger?
"Mondays are my technical days. You won't see me doing a bunch of that stuff the rest of the week," he said, laughing. "My swing's gotten a little off. I kind of hit it kind of crappy, especially on Sunday -- or just yesterday. Yeah, the coat hanger is for wrist angle, trying to get a little more inflection in my left wrist so I can square the face more. That's just what it is."
Jordan Spieth, winner of the last Open at Birkdale in 2017, had a similar, more detailed analysis. No one will ever forget Spieth’s 3-wood on the 13th hole in the final round from perdition that led to a championship-saving bogey which triggered a 5-under stretch in four holes to zoom past a shell-shocked Matt Kuchar.
"It dried up this week. It's going to play quite different than the last time we were here," Spieth said. "We've had an opposite wind too the last couple days. So we'll see what happens with the wind direction because that's everything out here, right? Holes that are close to being drivable become mid to long irons, and just with the wind switch, the difference into and down are so dramatic over here that picking a strategy is going to be key, and it's going to be quite different than the last time I was here."
Matt Fitzpatrick echoed Spieth’s thoughts. Particularly in links golf, he said, there is such a wide variety of shots that you can play. Birkdale allows the player to attempt a lot of different shots, he agreed, but it’s most important to commit fully to every shot.
"I think there's a fine balance," Fitzpatrick said. "You've got to have it tough but fair. I think, when it gets really firm, you obviously have to err on the side of caution with course setup and how that plays. You don't want that randomness.
"I think the tougher the golf course, normally the better players come to the top that are playing well. That's sort of the best way to sort of separate any tournament. But you obviously don't want it to get out of hand where it becomes a little bit lucky."
Fitzpatrick feels his game is rounding into shape just in time. The 2022 U.S. Open winner at Brookline's The Country Club is a links golf master, and his prior experience playing Royal Birkdale are an added plus.
"Hopefully I've not peaked yet, but I just think I'm doing a lot of good stuff this year," he said. "Short game's been really, really good, and so has my irons. That's a first for me. My irons have never really been a strength. I've had good seasons but never really taken advantage of that. The level of experience and maturity I have, I guess, with playing and being in these situations is obviously much better now, even than before 2022. So I think that's obviously a big help as well."
