Fleetwood falls short at The Open but moves home crowd to tears in Southport

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Southport local said the ovation he received on the 18th was ‘incredibly special’ after his title chances fizzle out

Two o’clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon, five hours or so to go in the 154th Open Championship, and here comes Tommy Fleetwood up the 1st fairway, five shots off the lead. A delay in one of the groups up ahead meant that Fleetwood has had to stand and wait 15 minutes at the tee box, which is maybe why, when he finally got up to play his opening shot, he pulled it left into the rough stuff behind a fairway bunker. It was the first time he’d missed that shot all week.

From there, Fleetwood had caught his second shot a little thinner than he wanted. He shrugged as he followed its flight, twisted his lips into a grimace as he watched the ball drop and stop about 20 metres short of where it needed to be. “Head up, kid!” someone cried out. “Head up!”

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