Tommy Fleetwood's home Open had a different dream ending

Tommy Fleetwood's dream of winning his home Open Championship at Royal Birkdale didn't end with a Claret Jug. Instead, the tournament's final moments unfolded with a scene that, according to the player himself, held a much deeper significance.

From his childhood in Southport, near the legendary Royal Birkdale course, Tommy Fleetwood harbored a dream of winning the premier British tournament. He saw it in his sleep, envisioned it in quiet moments on and off the course. There's a state called hypnopompia – a transitional state between sleep and wakefulness where reality and dreams merge, creating fleeting but vivid visions. Fleetwood wasn't asleep this week, but he didn't need to be; he was living his dream, though he wasn't sure how it would ultimately conclude.

Fleetwood's "home" Open Championship at Royal Birkdale became a particularly special event. Much like the crowds supporting Rory McIlroy at Royal Portrush, the galleries at Birkdale were fully behind "Tommy Lad," trying to inject energy for him to achieve his ultimate goal. Fleetwood entered the weekend among the contenders and climbed higher on Saturday, but a few dropped shots late in the day left him five shots behind the leaders before the final round. All week, he felt the support and love of his home crowd, and he wanted to give them a fairytale ending, no less than for himself.

However, as Fleetwood admitted 15 hours before the start of the final day, this week had already given him everything he could wish for. "There's no pressure on me at all really, except for my own expectations. And of course, it's a really beautiful thing that the town is so hopeful for me and they want me to do well," Fleetwood said on Saturday. "I can't ask for any more from thousands and thousands of people out there. No, I don't feel pressure. I felt nerves this week and excitement and adrenaline, but that's my own expectations. The crowd have been incredible. They've made a massive difference to me. I just said over there, whatever happens tomorrow – like yesterday evening, the first tee every day, today when I was in contention, that's stuff that I'll have for life. To be honest, how many people in the golfing world get to experience that with the crowd that much on your side? It's been a very special week for me, no matter what. If I can get it tomorrow, I could make it even more special.

"You daydream and you dream about the biggest things possible and then you try and make it a reality," Fleetwood added. "To be honest, I've been pretty close to it this week. Today was as close as you're going to get. I was within one of the lead at The Open playing on the back nine. It's been pretty close already, and then you've just got the ultimate at the end of it, which would be holding the Claret Jug. Life is all about experiences, and I think I've had some of the best experiences of my life so far this week."

On Sunday, Fleetwood arrived at the first tee one final time to a hero's welcome. The entire town of Southport seemed to be trying to create a tidal wave of emotion and energy for him to ride to a fairytale finish. Fleetwood knew he needed a special round and some help from the leaders. But he did his part, sinking a 73-foot birdie putt on the first hole, which caused a frenzy at Royal Birkdale.

"That was a bonus, wasn't it? That was a cool moment," Fleetwood said with a smile after his round. He added two more birdies on holes 5 and 8 and found himself on the 9th fairway just one shot behind the leaders, who seemed to be slowing down. Standing on the 9th fairway, dreams and reality began to blur for Fleetwood, but not all dreams end as we expect. His approach shot on the 9th went long of the green, and he couldn't make par. Then came dropped shots on holes 10 and 11, and his chances of winning The Open evaporated. He ultimately finished three shots behind eventual winner Ryan Fox.

But what Fleetwood found this week at Royal Birkdale – what he expected upon arrival – was that this "home" Open was never about his final position on the leaderboard. Winning was the ultimate goal, yes, but Fleetwood wanted more than anything to immerse himself in the atmosphere and experience an event few in golf get to enjoy. He wanted to be fully engaged in the experience of a "home" Open, with the town of Southport riding alongside him. Whatever happened, happened.

Fleetwood parred the next five holes and then decided to give his "home" Open a proper send-off. He birdied the par-5 17th, hit his drive on the 18th fairway, and approached the green with an iron, leaving the ball 9 feet from the pin. As he walked to the green, the crowds rose as one to shower the local hero with adoration usually reserved for those who have given them something more valuable than a Southport Claret Jug – permission to dream.

At that moment, Tommy Fleetwood's emotions overflowed. "Eighteen was pretty emotional," he said. "Yeah, it was just very, very special. I've just said a couple times that, like – you know, 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."

Fleetwood soaked in the cheers and love as he approached the 18th green, and then he gave everyone another moment to celebrate by sinking the birdie putt. As the applause continued, "Tommy Lad," with tears welling in his eyes, doffed his cap, waved it, and placed his hand over his heart, thanking his hometown crowd.

"That was heavy stuff, like they were incredible," Fleetwood said. "Like I just alluded to, as a kid when you're dreaming of having a putt to win The Open or playing The Open or winning The Open, that's one thing, but I could never imagine that scene on 18, getting the ovation and the support that I have this week. That's incredibly special. I do know how incredibly lucky I am to have experienced that. I'm so grateful for everyone because that's like stuff that my kids are watching that, and I think it's so cool that they get to experience that. Yeah, I can't ask for any more from everybody."

Psychologist Carl Jung, who studied dreams, posited that dreams are not just expressions of repressed desires but rather subconscious glimpses of ourselves, helping us find balance. "In each of us there is another whom we do not know," Jung wrote. "He speaks to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we see ourselves."

But as Fleetwood's "dream" week unfolded at Royal Birkdale, the vision couldn't have been clearer. There was nothing unknown. No part of Fleetwood that we didn't see. There was just a man from Southport in front of his family, friends, and fans; in front of a place that is part of his DNA, trying to give them everything they had given him. There was just Tommy Fleetwood living a dream, eyes wide open, albeit a little red, in the place where it all began.