Southport’s Tommy Fleetwood finished one under par during the first round of The Open Championship but told Sky Sports that he played “awful”
The The FedEx Cup holder cut a frustrated figure at times, finishing the front 9 one under, but bogeyed 10 and 12, recovering with an excellent tee shot off 15 and nearly securing an eagle on 17.
“I played awful, I struggled a lot.” Fleetwood told Sky Sports.
“I started to hit some fairways eventually, but my iron play was non-existent, so it was a really good round of battling.”
“No matter where I finish, this is a dream come true … [the home support] is really, really special and I’m so grateful to everybody.”
This is the 11th time Royal Birkdale has hosted The Open, with over 300,000 spectators expected.
Fleetwood is third favourite with Ladbrokes to secure the Championship, after Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.