'My Dream Of Winning The Open Will Carry On And I'll Continue To Chase It' - Tommy Fleetwood Reacts To Open Near-Miss

Southport-born Tommy Fleetwood has vowed to continue chasing his dream of winning The Open Championship after another near miss at the year's final men's Major.

Fleetwood, buoyed by home support, began the final round five shots back of Sam Burns but dragged himself to within one stroke of the lead near the midway point of Sunday's action.

Central to his cause was a miraculous 73-foot birdie putt on the opening hole which sent shockwaves around the course.

Three-under through eight holes, Fleetwood's fans (and probably the player himself) began believing a fairytale victory might actually be on the cards.

However, three consecutive bogeys around the turn poured cold water over that burning desire to see the hometown pro lift the Claret Jug.

And despite a couple of late birdies, Fleetwood ultimately came up three strokes shy of a playoff as Ryan Fox went out and won it with a walk-off three at the 72nd hole.

Having finished in a tie for fourth alongside Scottie Scheffler, the 2025 FedEx Cup champion responded to questions about his latest near-miss in typically positive style.

Fleetwood said: "Yeah, it was just very, very special. I've just said a couple times that like... this disappointment that I didn't win today or I couldn't get it done when I was in a really good position, of course there's only one person that gets to win it, and like my dream of winning The Open will carry on and I'll continue to chase it.

"But stuff like that, walking down 18 and the atmosphere out there, that was beyond stuff that I've dreamt of. That was just stuff that I never imagined.

"The crowds were amazing, and they made it the most special week ever for me, and I can't thank them enough."

This year's T4th result was Fleetwood's fourth top-10 at The Open and his joint-second-best result when contending for the Claret Jug - matching his T4th at St Andrews in 2022 but falling short of his runner-up finish at Royal Portrush in 2019.

Fleetwood admitted his chances of becoming Champion Golfer of the Year were well and truly alive until "a terrible mistake" on the ninth hole began his ultimate downfall.

A poor approach from 154 yards flew the ninth green and his ball ended up in thick rough on a downhill lie. From there, a difficult chip led to a two-putt bogey and it felt at that stage as though the air was slowly let out of his title charge.

Addressing the moment in his final round which proved crucial, Fleetwood said: "Yeah, of course it was on. I was eight-under and stood in the middle of the ninth fairway, so I was in a great position really, and I was playing really well. I was playing well.

"Just nine, I hit it in the place that you can't hit it. It was gusty on that fairway. Over the back there, it was just a terrible mistake.

"People are going to make bogeys. Of course they are; it's tough. Every afternoon it's been the toughest conditions.

"Then 11, hitting it in the fairway bunker... the spirit of this golf course is you've got to take stuff on, but that just costs you shots. So it was that little stretch in the middle.

"I felt really good. Yeah, we had a great chance today. I just couldn't quite do it."

With time running out down the back nine, Fleetwood missed out on another key chance to pull a shot back at the par-5 14th when he had 11 feet left for birdie but ultimately signed for a five.

Speaking afterwards, the 35-year-old called that moment "a nail in the coffin" for his Open chances.

He said: "Like 14... I felt was a bit of a nail in the coffin because I still felt like I had a chance and I could have a good finish.

"15 is a really tough hole, so that's always going to be a difficult one to make birdie on. 14, I'm there. I'm greenside with a great chance. I felt like that was -- that hurt a lot.

"But then I felt like, if I can just win the last three holes, make a birdie on the last three, like that will be a great finish. I happened to make two."

While the day didn't end exactly how he'd hoped, with a Claret Jug in his hands, Fleetwood stated the reception he received before and after a closing birdie meant the world to him regardless.

He continued: "18 was just... from the moment I'd hit my second shot, all of that stuff was just bonus stuff for me.

"It was great that I holed the putt. If I holed it or I missed it, it was a great finish, but it was fine either way. The experience was more important to me."