Tommy Fleetwood is revelling in the "amazing" home support he is receiving ahead of The Open.

Fleetwood hails from Southport, which is hosting the final major of the year as The Open heads to Royal Birkdale.

The world number nine, who won his first PGA Tour title last year, achieved his joint-best result at a major when he finished second at The Open in 2019.

And Fleetwood is thrilled to get the chance to shine in front of a home crowd, even if the thought is somewhat daunting.

He said: "There's always a build-up to it, coming back to where I'm from – born and raised in Southport.

"There's always that little thought in the back of your mind that 'what if no one comes and watches, or if they support somebody else?'

"They've been absolutely amazing with me so far. Just to be made to feel so at home, so welcome – and see so many familiar faces, knowing they're all behind me – I'm very grateful and just hope I can give them some good golf to watch.

"I feel good. I just did my last nine holes this morning, went out really early.

"I played nice and feel like I've pretty much done all my preparation at this point, so in terms of it just being a regular tournament, I feel very ready to go out and play.

"It's been a really cool two or three days, soaking up the atmosphere and support. I always think The Open is so special for that. It's been really nice."

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Fleetwood is among the contenders this year, though he finished 13 shots back from champion Jordan Spieth in 2017, when The Open was last hosted at Birkdale.

World number two Rory McIlroy has previous experience of playing at The Open in front of a home crowd, too.

McIlroy missed the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019, as Fleetwood went on to challenge at the top of the leaderboard.

But the Northern Irishman has backed Fleetwood to handle the additional pressure that comes with being a home favourite.

"I felt like I handled the second time [2025, tied-seventh] a little better than the first," McIlroy said.

"It [playing in your hometown] is a tough environment.

"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."