Wow! What a start for Tommy Fleetwood as he drains a monster birdie putt on the opening hole - from almost 75 feet away - to send the Royal Birkdale fans wild right away.

The absolute perfect start for the home hero.

The usually mild mannered Fleetwood raises an arm, then does a few fist pumps as the crowd continue to shout and cheer as he takes the long walk to go and collect his ball from the hole.

Just breathtaking.

Image source, Getty Images

Of course the cameras will be trained on Bryson DeChambeau but let's not count out playing partner Jackson Suber just yet.

The 26-year-old led The Open after round one and was in the final group on Saturday.

He'd never played links golf before this week but has acquitted himself superbly. Three top 10s in his past six PGA Tour events shows his pedigree.

He's a rising name in US golf - and his tee shot is in the semi-rough but looks safe.

The noise around the first tee had barely dissipated for Tommy Fleetwood when Bryson DeChambeau strode through the tunnel and into the sunlight.

The burly American is sporting a big grin but a steely look in his eyes as he greets announcer David Lancaster.

Out comes the big club. Thump. Two-time major champion is under way.

Cameron Young shoves his drive to the right at the par-four ninth, but with just 72 yards to the pin, he picks the ball cleanly off a bare lie and creates yet another birdie opportunity.

Eight feet for a front-nine 29...he gets it!

Young moves to within two of Sam Burns. With the tee-time delay and all these birdies being made by the chasing pack, the leader's nerves are surely fraught at this point.

New Zealand's Ryan Fox was one of the earlier starters on Saturday, but was in a tie for second place by the end of the day and will go out in the final group alongside leader Sam Burns.

Fox shot 62 - equalling the record for the lowest round in a men's major - to set the target at eight under. Only Burns was able to surpass it.

Only once before has Fox finished in the top 20 at a major.

Graeme Storm
Two-time European Tour winner on BBC Radio 5 Live

If he keeps knocking in those birdies the leaders are going to feel the Scottie factor. If he could get it to eight under before Sam Burns tees off, Sam will know he's got holes to play with and Scottie is running out but he will fear him.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport golf reporter at Royal Birkdale

Image source, Getty Images

The horseshoe grandstand around the first tee at Birkdale might be small, but the welcome is mighty - especially when Fleetwood arrives (eventually).

"Go on Tommy lad!" rises from the galleries when the name of the local lad is read out.

Kids are put on shoulders, pint glasses are gripped in mouths. All so hands can be clapped in a show of their support.

There would rarely be a more popular winner of an Open Championship.

Image source, Getty Images

There's been a slight delay to the later tee-times with 14 minutes added on to each one, which meant Tommy Fleetwood had a bit longer to hang around on the first tee and think about this.

There's an eruption of noise as his name is read out, and that blast just widens the eyes of the Englishman as he tries to just stay locked in on this opening drive.

He's tugged it a bit left though, it shouldn't be too bad but much will depend on the lie - and with that, and a few more "come on Tommy" shouts from the crowd he strides off taking the hopes of Southport, Merseyside and England along with him.

No pressure...

Oliver Wilson
Former Ryder Cup player on BBC Radio 5 Live

It's not good because everyone is mentally prepared to go out at the time they were set. They go through their routine and are ready to play. But what do you do? Do you hang around or do you go back to the range? You just have to get on with it and deal with it the best you can.

Bryson DeChambeau turned up for his 13:50 tee-time, was informed of the delay and went back to the range. Last group now scheduled to go out at 14:35 or thereabouts.

Five holes down and Scottie Scheffler rolls in his third birdie of the day to sit just three off the lead. Again he takes the putter almost out of play by stuffing his approach inside five feet.

Sam Burns is great mates with Scheffler, but he won't want to see his buddy racing up the leaderboard like this as he knows exactly how good the world number one is.

Paul Birch
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

Image source, Getty Images

This is the 45th start in a major of Tommy Fleetwood's career, but glory has so far eluded him.

That's not to say he hasn't come close. The Southport native was runner-up at both the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

And his eight top-10 finishes in majors over the past 10 years is one more than American Cameron Young for the most of any player without a win during that span.

Incidentally, Sergio Garcia holds the record for the most amount of starts before finally winning a major when he claimed the 2017 Masters on his 74th attempt, while Fleetwood's fellow Englishman Lee Westwood has made an all-time high 92 major starts without winning one.

There's a big buzz on the first tee now as Tommy Fleetwood makes his way to the opener ready to hopefully try to fulfil his destiny.

He won't be short of support, he just has to try to harness it in the right way - we've seen before how playing a home Open can just be too much. Even Rory McIlroy admitted he tried too hard when he missed the cut at Portrush in 2019.

And spare a thought for Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, how will he react in this atmosphere?

Is Shane Lowry starting to get some momentum?

The Irishman has just snaffled back-to-back birdies to go five under.

A 321-yard drive laid the foundation on the par-four third but eye-catching moment came on the par-three fourth.

Lowry's tee shot landed in the bunker but he manages to chip out of the sand and the ball rolls right into the hole.

A wonderful break for Cameron Young, whose drive at the eighth careens into the bunker with so much pace that his ball runs up the face, pops out and nestles in the rough.

With just 105 yards in, he sensibly plays away from the flag and runs a low one up the front of the green to 20 feet.

He gives it a good run but it's another stress-free par so no dramas.

Jonathan Jurejko
BBC Sport golf reporter at Royal Birkdale

Guess who this lot are waiting for? Yep, Tommy Fleetwood.

But they must be patient. There is a delay with the starters because Dan Brown, in a group up ahead, had to go back to the fairway after going off track.

I can just catch a glimpse of Fleetwood standing on the bridge from the clubhouse to the first tee, swinging an iron to keep loose and visualise his opening shot.

Those with sharp eyesight can probably just about make out the Southport man in the photo below…

Image source, BBC Sport

Graeme Storm
Two-time European Tour winner on BBC Radio 5 Live

What's happened is the Dan Brown game - he hit his tee shot way left and then they had to do a back in line ruling to drop his ball and that took so long to sort out, around about 15 minutes.

There is no time limit, they just have to make sure they have a best estimate and take their time and sort it out and that creates a backlog on the first tee.

It seems like there is around a 10-minute delay to the tee-times.

Andrew Murray
Former European Tour winner on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think Bryson is that thick-skinned [that he won't let Friday or what Rory McIlroy said about him affect him]. He will make a charge today. He didn't play his best golf on Saturday but he kept himself into it. It will be tough for Jackson Suber though, final round of a major and it's going to be a circus out there

Image source, Getty Images

The case for:

Bryson DeChambeau was the only player in the top 10 going into Sunday's round who has actually won a major.

Alongside Tommy Fleetwood, he is on a run of six consecutive sub-70 rounds at The Open - from the second round in 2025 to yesterday's 69). He will equal Ernie Els' record of seven if he shoots under par today.

No-one has hit more approach shots inside 10 feet than his 13 - and he is ranked top 10 off the tee, on approach and from tee to green.

He's got a chip on his shoulder and feels unfairly treated. That is a powerful motivator.

Image source, Getty Images

The case against:

If Bryson DeChambeau wins, he will be the first man since the Masters was introduced in 1934 to miss the cut at the first three majors of a season and win the fourth.

When he won the US Open in 2024, he led by three going into the final round. In 2020, he came from two shots back to beat Matthew Wolff, who only ever won one tournament on the PGA Tour. Four shots back from Sam Burns is a lot.

He's only ranked 50th in the field for putting this week. That's second-worst in the top 10.

Oh and the emotion thing. Who knows how he will handle that when it really comes down to it.

Ben Croucher
BBC Sport journalist at Royal Birkdale

Where is the next Tommy Fleetwood coming from?

On Monday, the Golf Foundation hosted a schools festival at Royal Birkdale, with 60 boys and girls taking on a range of fun challenges in the Skillzone between the 10th tee and 13th green.

The foundation launched the ‘Unleash Your Drive’ programme in 2023, with the aim of building confidence and mental resilience through golf.

Its president, and former European Tour pro Nick Dougherty, told BBC Sport: “Kids just think they’re trying golf, but whether it’s the ‘square of concentration’, or 'controlling the fizz’ when we get annoyed and frustrated, the skills you use for the games, are life skills.

“If their life is a bit better or they cope with the pressure of exams or jobs or loss or success in life, then we’re doing our job.”

Image source, Golf Foundation