Tommy Fleetwood shares a smile with Rory McIlroy as he reflects on his opening rounds at The Open Championship

Tommy Fleetwood has posted on Instagram the highlights from his first two rounds at the 2025 Open Championship. The tournament is currently underway at the Dunluce Course in Northern Ireland. Because of the location, hometown star Rory McIlroy has been making a lot of headlines, and Fleetwood recently mentioned him in his highlights of the event so far.

Fleetwood shared an Instagram post with multiple photos in which he was sharing a laugh with McIlroy. In the caption, he stated that it is an honour for him to play alongside the hometown hero in the first 36 holes of the tournament. He also mentioned that his second round was much better, and that he plans to push for two good days on the weekend to finish strong in the event.

Fleetwood's caption for the post read,

"Privilege to play in front of the home crowds the last two days with their hero @rorymcilroy. Better day today for me and looking forward to a big push this weekend!! @theopen"

Tommy Fleetwood started his tournament with a total score of two over par in the opening round. He followed this up with a strong second round, finishing with a total score of 3 under par. Fleetwood moved up 45 positions on the leaderboard during the second round, and he is currently tied for 25th. As a result, he will be able to easily make the cut.

On the other side, Rory McIlroy started his competition with a total score of 1 under par on the first day. He improved his performance on day two, finishing with a total score of two under par. As of this writing, he is tied for 13th place, easily making the cut for the weekend.

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Tommy Fleetwood claims that the Open Championship is a battle of minds

The 153rd Open - Day Two - Source: Getty

Tommy Fleetwood has yet to win his first Major golf tournament, but he understands how difficult it is to perform well in one. He recently highlighted this toughness at the Open Championship press conference, which took place after the first round on Thursday (July 17). He noted that the Majors are often challenging owing to the amount of pressure there is.

The golfer explained,

"Yeah, it's tough. Like I say, Majors, The Open, they're all a battle of the mind as well. Managing your own expectations, managing how much it means to you, and the difficulty of the golf course. Yeah, that's why they're Majors. That's why they're the toughest tests."

Tommy Fleetwood also claimed that on the first day, he assessed the entire course to determine which parts were the toughest. After all, he fared admirably in the second round, so his assessment appears to have been rather accurate. He would be hoping to win his first Major at the Dunluce Course.

Edited by Luke Koshi