2025 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale: Suber Leads After Round 1 as Tournament Reaches Third Round

The Open Championship has returned to Royal Birkdale, where a heatwave has scorched the course and English players chase their first home win since 1969.

England has not produced a home winner at The Open Championship since Tony Jacklin lifted the Claret Jug in 1969 — a 56-year drought that Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, and other English players are hoping to end at Royal Birkdale this week. The course sits in Southport, Fleetwood's hometown, giving the crowd favourite a personal connection to the venue that goes back to childhood, when he reportedly had to sneak onto the course's turf before he was old enough to play it legitimately. Royal Birkdale has been baked by a sustained heatwave ahead of the tournament, leaving the fairways and rough visibly scorched. The firm, fast conditions are expected to make ball flight and bounce unpredictable, complicating shot selection and scoring projections for all competitors. In the first round, a player named Suber took an early lead while Rory McIlroy endured a slow start. Fleetwood, widely embraced by local fans under the chant 'Tommy Lad,' carries significant home support throughout the week. The tournament has now progressed to the third round, with Saturday's pairings and tee times confirmed at Royal Birkdale in Southport, Merseyside.

Why it matters

An English winner at The Open on home soil would end the longest drought in the tournament's modern era, and the unusual course conditions created by the heatwave add an unpredictable variable affecting every competitor equally.

What's next

Early round scoring will reveal how the hardened, sun-baked Birkdale layout is playing and whether any English contenders have established themselves near the top of the leaderboard.

Key facts

• England's last home Open winner was Tony Jacklin in 1969, a gap of more than 56 years
• Royal Birkdale is located in Southport, Tommy Fleetwood's hometown
• Fleetwood reportedly had to sneak onto Royal Birkdale as a child before he could play it officially
• A heatwave has scorched the course ahead of the 2025 Open, creating firm and fast conditions
• Matt Fitzpatrick joins Fleetwood as a prominent English contender at this year's tournament
• Rory McIlroy is among the marquee names navigating the difficult, sun-hardened Birkdale layout

Bias & framing notes

All three sources are from The Guardian, which limits independent corroboration. Coverage is heavily framed around English and local-interest narratives — Fleetwood's Southport roots and the national drought — with Rory McIlroy's challenge treated more as a backdrop than a primary story. No other outlets are represented to confirm or contest specific details.

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