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The past clip an English golfer won nan Open Championship successful England, Harold Wilson was nan premier minister, nan Beatles and Elvis Presley were astir nan apical of nan charts and Neil Armstrong was still 8 days distant from becoming nan first man to locomotion connected nan moon.
Incredibly you person to spell each nan measurement backmost to 12 July 1969, erstwhile Tony Jacklin became nan first location victor for 18 years by beating Bob Charles by 2 strokes astatine Royal Lytham & St Annes. Another Englishman, Nick Faldo, has won nan Open 3 times since past – nan past of which came successful 1992 – but each 3 of his victories were successful Scotland.
Will an Englishman yet extremity nan location curse astatine Royal Birkdale? Quite perchance – fixed nan signs are possibly much encouraging than they person been for a generation.
Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood are 3rd successful nan betting, down only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy. Aaron Rai won May’s US PGA Championship. Tyrrell Hatton has shown flashes of rounding into form. And moreover astatine 45 Justin Rose tin rightfully dream of glory.
“The Open Championship for a British subordinate is nan pinnacle of nan game” says Rose, who came 4th astatine Birkdale arsenic an amateur successful 1998. “It’s nan 1 that I would emotion to triumph nan most.”
A akin sentiment is shared by nan 31-year-old Rai, who says his earliest memories progressive watching highlights of nan Open connected nan BBC. “We utilized to watch it from five, six years old,” he says. “I retrieve David Duval winning [in 2001]. I utilized to support Tiger Woods a lot. I’m British, and this is simply a location Open, truthful it’s a very, very typical tournament.”
So why has nan English drought astatine nan Open lasted truthful long? Some of it is down to axenic numbers. The champion players thin to triumph fields much often, and since Faldo’s highest arsenic world No 1, English golfers person seldom topped nan rankings. Luke Donald was No 1 for 56 weeks, Lee Westwood for 22 weeks, Rose 13 weeks. And that is it.
Compare that pinch Woods and Scheffler, who betwixt them person been connected apical of nan world for 883 weeks – aliases astir 17 years.
Then location is nan unit element. As McIlroy, who has doubly played a location Open astatine Royal Portrush, explains, it creates very different expectations. “It’s a reliable environment,” he says. “You conscionable consciousness nan other anticipation connected your shoulders, and you consciousness for illustration you’re trying to play good for everyone other and not for yourself.
However, McIlroy thinks Fleetwood and Fitzpatrick tin woody pinch it. “A batch of those guys are beautiful level-headed, and they’ll spell retired location and instrumentality to their routines and do their thing, and it will beryllium great,” he says. “It would beryllium awesome for them each to person a awesome week because evidently pinch England successful nan World Cup and everything that’s going on, it would conscionable beryllium an astonishing ambiance for nan tournament.”
Of people location would beryllium nary much celebrated victor than Fleetwood, who grew up successful Southport and utilized to sneak into Birkdale arsenic a child. He insists he will not beryllium emotion nan unit of having thousands of fans consenting him on.
“It’s an absolute dream to play present successful my location municipality successful beforehand of group who are each present to support me,” he says. “There are only positives really. I conscionable spell backmost to nan original maine being an eight-year-old kid, nan thought of playing successful an Open astatine Birkdale was unbelievably special.”
But possibly it is Fitzpatrick, who has won 3 times connected nan PGA Tour this year, who has nan champion chance of breaking nan drought – particularly arsenic he believes he is successful amended shape than erstwhile he won his only awesome successful 2022, nan US Open. “I’m decidedly playing better,” he says. “Short game’s been really, really good, and truthful person my irons. That’s a first for me. My irons person ne'er really been a spot – whereas now I consciousness for illustration I’ve sewage that.”
No wonderment location is optimism among nan 21 English players and nan thousands of spectators astatine Birkdale that nan Open will yet beryllium coming home. However, 135 players from 27 different countries will beryllium doing their utmost to ruin their hopes and dreams again.
