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THE 148TH OPENJuly 19, 2019Tommy FleetwoodPortrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom MIKE WOODCOCK: We're joined by our clubhouse leader, Tommy Fleetwood. 4-under par, 67 today. I think that leaves you one off the lead at the moment. You must be delighted with the way you played today. TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, it was good. It was different yesterday. Yesterday I felt like I was a lot more stress-free than today. Today I made two or three really good putts. I'm happy with the challenge, to be honest with you. It's not all going to be singing and dancing through a major. I'm happy that I had a chance to scrap today and actually did really well. Was up to the test and, again, did a lot of good stuff. But overall, yeah, two really good rounds of golf to start. MIKE WOODCOCK: Was staying patient important today? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, sure. There were a couple of moments out there. Not that I get unpatient or angry. I think sometimes you can try and force things a little bit too much. I think the 9th was one of my favourite holes of the day. I hit a really poor iron off the tee, and half a lie where I could squeeze something by the green, but I've messed it up enough to know not to do it. I laid it up, took my medicine, and then actually made par. When things like that work out it's really a pleasing thing. But for sure, it seemed like a much more scorable morning, but at the same time the course doesn't really lend itself to that many birdies. You have to stay patient and pick it out as you go along. Q. Can you talk us through the shirt. TOMMY FLEETWOOD: What would you like to know? Q. Just creating discussion, that's all. It feels this year you're a little bit more under the radar, maybe not as much attention. Is that a fair comment, and if so, why do you think that? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I haven't played as well. Obviously my major performances haven't been as good as the previous year. And it's just been a bit of a quieter year. I think I've had two really, really great years, and this one has just been a little quieter. But with the potential it could have been great. I've been up two or three times, especially on the PGA Tour and not quite won. But those results could have been very different and all of a sudden the year could look very different. But, yeah, fair enough. There's players that have been playing better than me so I'm a little bit more under the radar, I think. Media-wise I guess I'm under the radar. I think playing out there I feel like I have so much support and so many people behind me that want me to do well. And I'm glad that's not changed while the game has been a little bit quieter. But overall, it's not our job to look at how we're viewed. You've just got to keep going, keep practicing, keep working. And hopefully your weeks do come around again. Q. Just after you came off the 18th at Pebble, you had spoken about how you not had the major finishes you wanted this year, but you had definitely focused on your young family that's taken you in other directions. What's changed in the last four weeks or do you feel this was a natural progression that was coming? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I think I was disappointed at the U.S. Open. I think on reflection I've actually had really good practice in majors, I've just done too many poor stretches. The Masters, I didn't play great. But up until about 9 on Sunday I had a chance at a top-10. Top-10 in any major is amazing. At the PGA I was the second-best player in the field for 30 holes or something. The U.S. Open I had a good front nine and then not much after that. There was good stretches in all of those majors. The thing about having a family is you have a battle with how much time you want to spend with them when you're home. We travel so much when you do go home you want to take your foot off the gas and spend more time with them. It's always a balancing act. It's not like I don't work hard. It's just that other things make you happier. Well, they will always make me happier. My family will make me happier than golf. But that's just a change you go through, an automatic change. I've worked hard since we spoke probably at the U.S. Open. I've tried to get things going, keep things going and working hard and hopefully this is just the start of another good stretch. I've been quiet for a little bit. I don't know what will come tomorrow, but hopefully this is the start of good things. Q. You were in a similar position through 36 holes last year, just one off the pace. Weekend didn't really go your way. But what have you learned about yourself and the major hunt through that experience and a couple other top 5s? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I think all you can do is you can put yourself up there and gain experience that way and know how things pan out on a Saturday and Sunday at a major. I think last year I teed off on the last day at 5-under and birdied the first, I was 6-under with 17 to play. Actually the front, birdied the last to get to 8. I wasn't miles away with not very long in the tournament to go. I've had a couple of good major finishes, as well. Like I say, all you can do is put yourself up there and gain the experience that way. You can't do it any other way. And for me teeing off tomorrow or wherever I am on Sunday, at least I've got that behind me. I've got that in my mind that I know sort of how things pan out and just to keep going, play your game. It's very difficult to -- this course can make you very uncomfortable and it's very easy to sort of -- you've got to make yourself commit to certain shots, because it's hard visually to see certain shots. I'm just looking for another weekend of a major, our biggest major, being out there in contention. Q. You said that you're getting plenty of support out there on the course, maybe you're not getting the attention in the media. You got plenty of support in France last year during the Ryder Cup. Do you think that experience and how successful you were in that can help you here? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Maybe. Again, it's another experience. The Ryder Cup, nothing gets more nerve-wracking than that, kind of except when you're coming down the stretch trying to win a major. The support is just great and it's a bonus, really. I think for me personally I always feel like I do a very good job of staying within myself and playing my game and doing my thing and having a good focus. But the support that we get, especially if we play home events, I've always said I consider myself lucky that wherever I go I get good support. But especially when you play an Open or home event. If it's not quite going your way, they can pick you up. And if it is going your way, they can fly with you and you can right it. It's great for us. The number of British players that are here all say the same: Playing in front of your home crowd is the best. Q. As it stands at the moment it's you and a lot of the Americans at the top of the leaderboard. They're trying to get a clean sweep. You've got a good record of taking them down in Paris. Is that a factor in any way, shape, or form? And the comparison between the team event and the individual thing, you're saying it was more nerve-wracking when you're in the team event. Will it be if you're here? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, yeah, I'm sure there will be more non-Americans up on the leaderboard by the end of the day, and also by Saturday. But there's no doubt about it, America at the moment have the best players in the world. They have an amazing strength and depth of golfers. They really do. The thing about the Ryder Cup is it's just an experience that you just can't be prepared for. I think that was just something that you take from it. And like I say, the only comparison to how you feel I guess is contending in a major on a Sunday. Those two together are very, very similar, I thought. It's just that you're playing for a nation and for your 12 teammates and however many people are in there with you. That's just the added bit of the Ryder Cup. But both, playing in a Ryder Cup or contending in a major, I'll take either one any day. Q. You mentioned the support you've had. Have you had any messages of support outside from Pat maybe? And are you still in touch with him? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, he generally texts me, texts quite a bit. He's pretty busy himself, they start the preseason. I'll see if he texts me. Q. (Inaudible.) TOMMY FLEETWOOD: No, no, they go away for the summer. Well, when they have that football break. No, they might travel and then they get their holiday. You don't really see much of each other. But, yeah, I'm lucky, got a lot of friends that support. And you always have those really close-knit ones that whether you shot a terrible score or a good score, they always send a message. And it's great to have that, walk off and have those messages. Especially -- it's great, great today. You're going to get the good messages. But it's nice that I've got those friends, that really close pocket of friends that always touch when it's good or bad. And the bad days is when you really need it more than today. Q. Going back to the shirt, it has gotten a lot of attention on social media, and I realise it is scripted. Would you say it's in any way reflective of your personal style? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: That's a personal question. Well, I don't know. If you see me out in Portrush in it then maybe -- I like it. I personally like it. I've had more comments than I thought, so maybe I do have a bit too much of a colorful style because I just thought it was normal. Q. What comments did you get? Did you hear anybody on the course say anything? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: They said James Corrigan would look good in that shirt, actually. Q. They always say about the young Americans that they're fearless, they grow up, they're aggressive. Is that going to be your game plan for the weekend? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I think you have to see what the conditions, what the course gives you. There are certain -- I think particularly on a golf course like this and a links golf course, there's certain places you want to hit it off the tee. We have a certain distance we want to play to or try to get it to and then go from there. Certain bunkers you can't go in. It's not quite -- the course isn't soft and you're not playing perfect numbers all the time around here. So it's not really all gung-ho you have to be. At times you're going to have to be aggressive and take the course on. Other times you're going to have to take what it gives you or lay back. Part of it how you feel. Part of it is the shot you see. I think one of the best things about links golf is that there's so many different options and you'll see people playing so many different ways. And especially in an Open, that's one of the most enjoyable factors, I think, even to watch. Q. J.B. Holmes just birdied 12 and 13, to go up by 2. You guys are from different parts of the world, different backgrounds. Have you played with J.B. before? Do you have any type of relationship with him? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Yeah, we played together a couple of times. Again, like so many of us speak throughout the year, just say hi, week in, week out. I know he travels around America with his dog, and I love that. And a little bit jealous at times, to be honest. But he's a good guy and I know he's had a lot of success in a lot of events. He's had a great career. Still a long way to go in a major, but he's playing great at the moment and we'll see how things pan out. Q. I wonder whether you'd ever learned anything from Frankie just about how he managed to go from being that consistent player and flicking a switch and closing out a major, anything you chatted about or from watching him? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I thought you were talking about my son. I learned more from him than Frankie Molinari. Frank has done amazing. And I think for us spending time together it's for sure made me -- until you hang out together it brings you to the level I'm always trying to stay, compete with him. And he's done great. He's obviously has built a lot of confidence over the years, and he's made himself into a prolific winner and major winner at that. And I love the way he goes about things. He's built a great team around him. And there's a lot of similarities between us except, you know, a couple more wins and a major in there. So I've got a bit of work to do. Q. There's only so many times in a career when you can contend in a major at this level. How does any golfer need to take advantage of these moments when they're alive? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Well, I think there's a couple of parts to that. There's of course when these chances come around you want to take them and you want to be known. It's your chance of putting your name in the history of the game. For sure all of us dream of having majors in our career and taking those opportunities. I think the other side of that is like you say you don't know how many times you're going to actually get the chance to compete at the back end of a draw on Saturday or Sunday in a major, and it's important to embrace it and enjoy it whatever happens. You don't know what's going to happen next week or the week after. And you have to realise what a lucky position you're in and how well you've done to get there. For sure, I'm not going to tee off tomorrow and say I'm going to love this whatever happens. I want to make -- I want to make it happen. I want to win a major. With 36 holes down of 72, like the first two days it's a long time. It's just equally long, if not longer the last two days. So you just have to stay in the moment and kind of -- and go from there. You've got so many cliches now from here. You've put yourself in contention with half of the event to go. I'm not going to bore you with psychology, because we all know it. It really is important not to look at how much I want to win The Open, how much I can picture myself with the Claret Jug. It's about having lunch together, spending time with my family, getting up tomorrow, warming up, the first tee shot and that's as far as we can go for now. Q. In the beginning of the conference you said the importance of your family and how this balances your life and your profession. When you tee off, during four hours, do you still focus on this family and happiness or do you just think golf? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: I don't want to say they don't come into my mind much but they don't come into my mind much when I'm playing. I think that's the beauty, though, of having a great family and having such a great environment off the golf course is that when you do come out to play your sole focus is you and the golf course. And for me I have the luxury when I come off, whether I shoot 85 or 65, Clare's not going to care, Frankie is not going to care, Oscar and Mo, they don't care. I'll care, but eventually I'll get over it quicker because of those guys. That is the luxury of having a great family behind you because you can put all your focus into that four hours, five hours and when you come off you have that distraction. Q. From your own experience being the local hero two years ago, what did you make of what happened to Rory yesterday? TOMMY FLEETWOOD: He had a tough day. And it's different however we want to put it, it's a little bit different. And that home support and that home major is great when it's going well because you're going to have that unbelievable support and momentum going with you. I think when it doesn't go so well it almost feels harder. I didn't know his score when I came off yesterday but I know he started bad and actually did really well to get it back, and had a rough finish by the sounds of it. He's Rory McIlroy and I think nobody in the world of golf handles things better than him most of the time. And I have -- I wouldn't be surprised at all with whatever he shoots today, low, you know, he could do anything, and not actually be -- I know the scoring is okay right now, but I wouldn't put it past him to shoot a really good one today. It's just different and who am I to sort of say how he should feel or give advice on playing in front of a home Open. He had a rough day and at the end of the day it's The Open and one of the toughest tests of golf and if you're not quite on you're getting punished. And for him unfortunately for him it's in front of the world and he has to answer questions about it. But I don't think anybody handles most things better and I have full faith in him today shooting a good one, I wouldn't be surprised. MIKE WOODCOCK: Thank you for joining us and the best of luck this weekend. TOMMY FLEETWOOD: Cheers. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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