By STEVE DOUGLAS (AP Sports Writer)
HOYLAKE, England (AP) — Tommy Fleetwood is back in the final pairing at a major championship, this time in his home country and about 45 minutes from where he grew up.
The last time was at the British Open in 2019, when Fleetwood tried — and failed — to spoil home favorite Shane Lowry’s party on Sunday at Royal Portrush.
Now Fleetwood’s the guy the crowd will be going wild for on Saturday at Royal Liverpool, which is just down the coast from his home town of Southport. Just like four years ago, he’ll have to do the chasing to claim the claret jug and win his first major title.
Fleetwood scrambled down the stretch to shoot an even-par 71 in the second round on Friday and get into the last group alongside Brian Harman, who has a five-stroke lead — the largest after 36 holes at the Open since 2010.
The 32-year-old Englishman still fancies his chances.
“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot,” Fleetwood said. “I’ll take it.”
It was an emotional day for Fleetwood, who was playing on the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death. The support and ovations he received on every hole, but especially from those in the big grandstand surrounding the 18th green, blew him away.
Harman, who will resume on 10-under par and as the new tournament favorite, will be up against more than just Fleetwood on Saturday.
“They’ve been insanely amazing,” Fleetwood said of the spectators who were more boisterous as a day of changing weather wore on. “Loved every minute of playing in front of them, and I can’t thank everybody enough, can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here.”
Except for a 58-foot putt for birdie on No. 10, the round was a grind for Fleetwood — especially the last three holes when he had to scramble each time as rain began.
On the 16th, he hit sideways out of a fairway bunker and then holed a 6-footer to escape with just a bogey. He rolled in a par putt from 11 feet at the par-3 17th, then took on the pin with his third shot from a drop zone to the left of the green at No. 18. It flew across and off the green — and nearly into a pot bunker — but he got up-and-down to ensure he’d be in the pairing with Harman.
Fleetwood’s last two wins have come from five shots back — both at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in 2019 and ‘22 — and strong finishes have seen him claim back-door top fives in three of the last six majors.
He was talked up as the player most likely to end England’s 31-year wait for a British Open champion, since Nick Faldo at Muirfield, because of a return to form that saw him post three top-six finishes in his last four events, including a loss in a playoff with Nick Taylor at the Canadian Open.
It might yet happen, and there’d be no more popular champion in this corner of northwest England than the man with flowing hair and rock star looks.
“Brian is clearly a long way ahead and he’s playing great golf so we’ll see what he does over the weekend,” Fleetwood said. “But for me, keep dong the same things, stay consistent and we’ll see what we can do.”
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