Tommy Fleetwood did himself proud at The Open, but he didn’t get a home win over the line at Royal Birkdale.
He ended up in the top 10 in front of his home fans, but despite getting to one shot off the lead midway through his round, fell off the pace and wasn’t in contention late.
Fleetwood shot a 68 on Sunday, but needed an even final round to trouble the top of the leaderboard. Three straight bogeys from hole nine to 11, after getting to within a shot of the lead, cost him a chance of winning the Claret Jug.
He said there was a critical mistake he made during his final round which derailed his tournament.
Tommy Fleetwood admits he made a ‘terrible mistake’ on the final day at The Open
Fleetwood got to eight under, one shot off the leading Cameron Young, after birdieing the eighth hole. But his three straight bogeys destroyed any hope of him claiming the Claret Jug.
He said bogeying the ninth was the “terrible mistake” which cost him: “It was 8-under and stood in the middle of the 9th fairway, so I was in a great position really, and I was playing really well.
“I was playing well. Just 9, I hit it in the place that you can’t hit it. It was gusty on that fairway. Over the back there, it was just a terrible mistake.
“People are going to make bogeys. Of course they are; it’s tough. Every afternoon it’s been the toughest conditions.
“Then 11, hitting it in the fairway bunker, you’ve got — the spirit of this golf course is you’ve got to take stuff on, but that just costs you shots. So it was that little stretch in the middle.
I felt really good. Yeah, we had a great chance today. I just couldn’t quite do it.”
It’s a successful week, but with the winning score ending up at 10 under par, it felt like it was there for the taking for Fleetwood.
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