But Fleetwood's 63 on the final day was virtually flawless. He's come a long way in the last 18 months or so and the combination of his good play and the support he's going to get from the British galleries will stand him in good stead, he hit every green bar one on the final day and his ball - striking has come on leaps and bounds.

Tony Jacklin

Categorized in : Sports

When I'm in this state, everything is pure, vividly clear. I'm in... by Tony Jacklin

When I'm in this state, everything is pure, vividly clear. I'm in a cocoon of concentration.

cocoons states golf

I like Fleetwood and I expect him to do something special, i thought he was unlucky at British Open. He succumbed on the third day when the USGA organizers put the pins in stupid places. He shot a 78 while American Brooks Koepka managed a 72 so that was the big difference.

That sort of thing helps The Englishman self belief. Tommy has great self-confidence and he's quite simply the real deal now, he is probably as good a player as there is out there right now who hasn't yet won a major. He is definitely one of my picks for next week.

I got a lot of hometown encouragement in 1969 because I was back after playing a lot in America. It's the same as what Fleetwood has been doing and it's always nice to come home and be appreciated by the fans, if you've really got it in you, a player will rise to that. It's like being any top sportsman or actor. Those guys are performers and they perform best in front of their home crowds.

I suspect this hot spell has made the course very fast and, if the wind whips up, it could live up to its 'Car-nasty' reputation and Tiger will understand how to handle whatever it might throw at him, he realises it's not about overpowering a links course, it's about staying in play and being patient. At least 50 percent of the field won't know anything like as much as he does about plotting their way round.

If it's a week when 70 percent of the time the players are just trying to keep the ball in play with those two-iron 'stingers', it could be a factor for Tiger. If he makes a few putts I wouldn't bet against him, tiger has won three British Opens and has played a monumental amount of links golf. If he doesn't need the driver, it will be a big plus for him, because for me that club is his weakness.

Almost all of them have started to use the driving iron, the two-iron, again so some sanity has come back into the game, the quicker these links courses play, the more difficult they are as it's harder to control the ball. I doubt whether any of the top players will be without their driving iron because it seems to have come back into the bags in the last year.

If Tiger can get his putting right you wouldn't rule him out, from tee to green his ball-striking has been pretty good since he returned from his back injury at the end of 2017 and a bit of links golf might just whet his appetite.