The hurt of a long wait is not reserved solely for England footballers. A few English golfers know the feeling all too well.
When the 154th Open Championship commences at Royal Birkdale on Thursday morning, it will be lost on none of the home challengers that 34 years have passed since one of their own won golf’s oldest major.
That was Sir Nick Faldo, who rather enjoys the distinction of being the last Englishman to get over the line, albeit in Scotland, where all three of his Claret Jugs were filled. An Englishman on an English links course? You’d have to go back to Tony Jacklin in 1969.
Suffice to say, the galleries don’t sing songs about it. But new years bring new opportunities, and at least four natives are well-placed to exploit the inertia afflicting a number of the usual favourites.
No winner here would be more popular than Tommy Fleetwood, the local lad of Southport who occasionally snuck onto this course as a child.
The fact he has played only a handful of social rounds on this classic track since 2017, when the Open was last in town, means familiarity will not count among his advantages. But he will be blown along with more gusto than any other man in the field of 156 – his support will be off the charts, which is told in the details of this town and its surrounds.
No winner of the Open at Royal Birkdale would be more popular than local lad Tommy Fleetwood, as English golfers bid to end a 34 year wait to win golf’s oldest major
Matt Fitzpatrick might have a sharper chance of breaking the English duck if recent form is any guide
At the Southport & Birkdale Sports Club, less than a mile from the course, there is a Fleetwood mural, and a 40m long portrait has been cut into the grass of central Liverpool. When a few of us stopped in the Dukes Wine Bar and Bistro on Station Road on Monday, we were informed it was the favoured watering hole of Fleetwood’s father, Pete.
Those factors can carry a golfer and Fleetwood needs it. He hasn’t had a top 10 in a major since finishing third at the 2024 Masters, but he was 11th at the US Open last month and is one of the finest iron players on the planet. On a course baked solid, where precision on the approaches to fast greens will be worth their weight in birdies, he could make hay in the heatwave.
If recent form is any guide, then Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, might have a sharper chance of breaking the English duck. No golfer has more than his three wins on the PGA Tour this season and a third-place finish at the Scottish Open demonstrated a strong transition back to links golf.
Tyrrell Hatton, meanwhile, has had an excellent season on his excursions away from the LIV bonfire – he was third at the Masters and seventh at the US Open, either side of missing the cut at the PGA Championships. Aged 34, a sense is gathering that his time for a breakthrough in one of the big four is close.
Aaron Rai, Hatton’s opposite in every measure of temperament, crossed that threshold at the PGA Championship in May. His charming lack of exuberance was contained in a story he told a few of us on Tuesday night, which involved the catharsis of buzzing down his car window on the journey home and allowing himself a rare scream of joy. The addendum to the tale was that he asked his wife’s permission before cutting loose.
For Rai to become a double major winner here, it would require a strong improvement on the moonscape of a seaside links – he has never finished better than 19th at the Open.
The aforementioned quartet might all be buoyed by knowing the struggles of those who dominate the betting. Scottie Scheffler is attempting to become the first back-to-back winner since Padraig Harrington in 2008 but he missed his first cut in 78 starts in Scotland.
His winless run has also stretched to six months, but his B game can win here and he spoke on Tuesday of being liberated by the oddity of a free weekend. A relaxed and reset Scheffler is a dangerous animal.
Bryson DeChambeau has missed three cuts in majors this year and has been heard grumbling on his practice round on Wednesday
Rory McIlroy bemoaned he was ‘bad at golf’ after finishing seventh at the Scottish Open but improvements with his driver and his mood suggest he is in fighting shape at the major
Bryson DeChambeau has no such state of zen – he was heard grumbling during his practice round on Wednesday about the changes to the course since 2017. In his defence, the alterations have raised many eyebrows, but this man of science is yet to prove he has the artful touch for links.
In line with his recent habit, he has shunned the media at Birkdale, which might be tied to the demise of LIV or the simpler fact he has missed three cuts in three majors in 2026. Will he complete the Bryson Slam? And will Jon Rahm make a mockery of his own missed cut at the US Open?
All of which leaves Rory McIlroy, who was seventh at the Scottish Open and bemoaning that he was ‘bad at golf’. Improvements with his driver and mood this week suggest he is in fighting shape for a seventh major win, which would be his first in truly fast and firm conditions.
Once upon a time, he saw himself as a specialist on softer courses, but he has long believed he is overdue the badge of honour that comes from mastering a baked links course. Time to prove it with a second Claret Jug.
As ever, there will be names less familiar to the passing fan who wish to intercede – America’s Chris Gotterup has won four times in 12 months and was third at Portrush last year.
The world No 6 hasn’t waited as long as any Englishman for this title but is well placed to prolong the hurt.
