The Open: Rory McIlroy backs Tommy Fleetwood to handle pressure and expectation of hometown major at Royal Birkdale

Rory McIlroy has backed Tommy Fleetwood to avoid “falling into the trap” like he did when trying to handle the pressure of playing in The Open in his hometown.

Fleetwood will be the fans’ favourite this week in front of record crowds at Royal Birkdale, the course just minutes from where he grew up in Southport and the venue where he famously snuck in to play as a child.

The Englishman failed to contend when the tournament was last held there in 2017, battling to make the cut after an opening-round 76 and finishing 13 strokes behind champion Jordan Spieth, but is among those expected to challenge for major victory this time.

McIlroy understands the expectation Fleetwood faces, having missed the cut in The Open at Royal Portrush – his home course – after an opening-hole quadruple-bogey in 2019, although he believes his Ryder Cup team-mate can handle the test ahead.

“I felt like I handled the second time [2025, tied-seventh] a little better than the first,” McIlroy said in his press conference. “It [playing in your hometown] is a tough environment.

“It’s a great environment but tough in a way that you just feel the extra expectation on your shoulders, and you feel like you’re trying to play well for everyone else and not for yourself.

“I think there’s already enough pressure on anyone in this field to play well for themselves, so to add that extra layer on top of that is always pretty difficult.

“I feel like Tommy is more level-headed than I am and maybe he won’t fall into that trap like I did in 2019. It always seems like it takes me one go around to get it right. It will be interesting to see.”

Fleetwood has featured in the last four Ryder Cup teams, finished runner-up twice in majors and claimed a breakthrough PGA Tour win at the Tour Championship last August, with the world No 9 excited by the opportunity to challenge for a hometown win.

“It’s an absolute dream to play here in my hometown in front of people that are all here to support me – there are only positives really,” Fleetwood said. “What you do have to deal with is how much you want it and your own expectations.

“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. There’s really nothing different to anybody else in that sense. I just think I am the lucky one that gets to have home support and use that as really positive fuel.

“I just go back to the original me being an eight-year-old kid, the thought of playing in an Open at Birkdale was unbelievably special. If you’re not going to enjoy it, then you’ve kind of let yourself down in that sense.”

Is McIlroy ‘trending’ towards push for another major win?

McIlroy has made just five worldwide starts since successfully defending his title at The Masters, finishing tied-seventh at the Genesis Scottish Open on Sunday despite admitting there were issues in his game during a final-round 64.

“Depends what hour of the day you get me, I think,” McIlroy said about the state of his game. “It’s funny, I felt really good the first two days in Scotland and then felt like my game just sort of deteriorated as the week went on. Even though I shot a good score on Sunday, it didn’t feel very good.

“I’ve done a good bit of work the past couple of days, getting the TrackMan out, seeing what my numbers are, and just trying to match up the feels of my swing with what I’m seeing. Also, I played 30 holes on Sunday. I felt a little bit tired on Monday, so I didn’t make it to the course.

“That allowed me a bit more time to hit some balls and dig into the swing a little bit. Felt good on the range. Felt good out on the course. Definitely trending in the right direction.”

On whether McIlroy can challenge for fresh major success, former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley told Sky Sports: “I thought last week was really good for Rory. To finish top 10 [at the Scottish Open] – I know he had a poor third round – and get some of the cobwebs out, leading into this week.

“The proof will be in the pudding in terms of how he plays this week, having had kind of a sporadic approach to playing competitive golf in between the majors. What we see in these really firm conditions, if you look back historically, the common denominator is that the cream rises to the top.”

When is The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with wall-to-wall action from the final men’s major of the year getting under way at 6.30am on Thursday on Sky Sports Golf.

There will be at least 15 hours of action on both the first two rounds, with bonus feeds available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports App, with extended coverage then starting at 9am on Saturday and 8am on Sunday.

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