Fleetwood rallies late but Rose falters as English contingent makes sluggish start at British Open

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — A hometown hero. The PGA champion. The world No. 3. And not to mention the enduring Justin Rose.

On paper, the English have put up a strong cast of contenders at Royal Birkdale this week in a bid to have a first British Open champion since 1992 and a first winner on English soil since Tony Jacklin in 1969.

Let's call it a sluggish start.

Matt Fitzpatrick? The guy who's only behind Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy in the rankings was part of the afternoon wave which had to deal with a stronger wind and firmer fairways, and never looked happy in shooting a 2-over 72.

Rose? He birdied the first hole but wound up making seven bogeys and shot 75 to languish 135th in the field.

Aaron Rai, seeking a second major title of 2026 after the PGA Championship, shot 71.

And Tommy Fleetwood , the fans' favorite who grew up just round the corner, needed two birdies in his final four holes to salvage a 69 that looked better and better as the first round wore on.

Two members of England's 21-strong contingent were placed in the top 20 after 18 holes: Dan Brown , ranked No. 136, was tied for second place after a 66, and No. 78-ranked Jordan Smith shot 68 and was sharing 13th place.

Fleetwood is the Englishman most of the locals came to cheer on another gorgeous day along the Irish Sea and he said their support carried him at times.

“In all honesty, they definitely helped me a lot today throughout a day where I was struggling with my game,” he said. “They were absolutely amazing.”

David Howard was already incredibly nervous after arriving at the first tee at the British Open.

Getting the kind of ovation typically reserved for Rory McIlroy made it even worse.

“I had to give them a motion to quiet down. It was unbelievable,” said the Irish amateur, who — as someone who has cystic fibrosis — has provided one of the stories of this week at Royal Birkdale.

The 27-year-old Howard shot 4-over 74 in front of his friends and family, but his British Open debut was about much more than his score.

He is proving an inspiration to others with his rare genetic condition that has no cure and is managed by constantly taking medication and treatments.

Howard’s story is gone beyond his native Ireland.

“All around the world,” he said. “I definitely feel that support as well. I suppose people with CF have something to look forward to or look up to, and maybe that can drive them on as well.”

The next challenge for Howard is making the weekend. Given what he’s been through, don’t put it past him.

“People with CF are just very determined people — we’re not quitters,” he said. “We really want to get past this and keep fighting. Fighting for the struggle for so long, and I think we’re going to just keep fighting till the end.”

Henrik Stenson is on his way back to be part of the PGA Tour, and the Swede as usual had a unique way of describing his status.

“From the end of August, they remove my ankle bracelet,” Stenson said.

The 50-year-old Swede gave up the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2022 when he joined LIV Golf and was suspended from the PGA Tour. Stenson was relegated out of the lead last year, so his final event was toward the end of August.

The British Open is only his fourth competition this year, and it sure didn’t look that way. Stenson birdied three of the last four holes Thursday for a 68. It was his best opening round since a 68 at Royal Troon in 2016, when he famously beat Phil Mickelson and set the major championship scoring record at 264.

Stenson has played the Senior PGA Championship and tied for 11th earlier this month at the U.S. Senior Open, neither event run by the PGA Tour. He also played an event in Barbados on the Legends Tour, the European version of the senior circuit.

He has some catching up to do. Stenson was in Sweden for the summer with his son, Karl, who is playing competitively. He has the Senior British Open next week, and might play a European tour event in August before competing on the PGA Tour Champions in the fall.

Jackson Suber earned a spot in the British Open with his tie for fourth in the RBC Canadian Open. This not only is his debut on links golf, he has never been to Europe before.

And even without the 65 to take the lead after one round, he's loving the experience.

“The golf is really cool, and just the towns, how the train system works,” said Suber, who grew up in Tampa, Florida, and played at Ole Miss. “We went into Liverpool the other day with my fiancée and Pierceson Coody and his wife, so that was really cool to see a European city and enjoy that.”

But there's one aspect to the UK he won't try. Suber is letting someone else do the driving on the opposite side of the road he drives in the U.S. Why not drive?

“Because I'm trying to make it here four days,” he said.

Padraig Harrington, who is playing the seventh of eight weeks in a row among the PGA Tour, European tour and PGA Tour Champions, opened with an 80. ... Jordan Spieth, who won at Royal Birkdale the last time the Open was here in 2017, had only one birdie in his round of 73. ... Harry Hall opened with a 77 and barring an amazing turnaround Friday is headed toward missing the cut in all four majors this year.

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