The Open: Tommy Fleetwood to chase victory after falling behind with ‘special’ Birkdale bid

Open Championship, Final Leaderboard

-10 R Fox (NZ); -9 C. Young (USA); -8 S. Barnes (USA)

Selected:-7 S Scheffler (US), T Fleetwood (Eng); -6 L Herbert (out); -5 L Aberg (Swe); -4 B DeChambeau (USA); -3 M Penge (Eng), J Smith (Eng), D Brown (Eng); -2 R MacIntyre (Sco), S Lory (Ire); -1 R McIlroy (NI), M Wallace (Eng)

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Tommy Fleetwood says he will continue to chase his dream of winning the Open after a “special week” on home soil at Royal Birkdale.

Hoping to clinch his first major since Nick Faldo in 1992 and become the first Englishman to lift the Claret Jug, Fleetwood opened the final round five shots on overnight leader Sam Barnes.

Roared on by the huge crowd, Fleetwood birdied three of his first eight holes to move into contention, before a hat-trick of bogeys around the turn ruined his chances.

“(Walking down) 18 was pretty emotional,” said Fleetwood, who carded a final round 68 to finish seven under and three shots ahead of winner Ryan Fox.

“It was very, very special. (There was) disappointment that I didn’t win or that I didn’t do it when I was in a really good position.

“There’s only one person who can win it, and my dream of winning the Open will continue and I’ll continue to pursue it.

“But walking in at 18 and the atmosphere there, it was beyond what I could have dreamed of. It was something I never imagined. The crowd was amazing, and they made it the most special week for me, and I can’t thank them enough.”