SOUTHPORT, England — Even though England’s run to the World Cup semifinals is playing out in the U.S., the successful performance is adding some juice—and potentially some distruptions—to the Open Championship back home at Royal Birkdale Golf Club this week.
Hype in the country reached a fever pitch after England’s electric 2–1 victory over Norway in extra time on Saturday.
Ahead of Wednesday’s semifinal against Lionel Messi and Argentina, which kicks off at 8 p.m. in England, pubs and restaurants have been preparing for massive watch parties, especially in Southport, which has a population of roughly 95,000 but is expecting 300,000 fans to attend the Open this week.
“We’ve got big things as well to do this week,” Englishman Justin Rose said Tuesday in his pre-tournament press conference. “But at the same time, it’s a match where if you think that you’re not going to watch it, you’re probably kidding yourself.”
Rose, 45, tees off at 9:36 a.m. in Thursday’s first round.
“I was kind of hoping for a later tee time,” he said. “Actually 9:30 isn’t too bad—I’d take a win on penalties if it happened, but obviously we’re looking for a short, sharp match and a reasonable bedtime.”
Potential Final Round Clash
Most England fans attending the Open’s Wednesday practice round likely won’t be sticking around too late in the afternoon so they can make it to wherever they plan on watching the seminal match. And should England win, organizers of the Open are prepared to make some changes to avoid a mass exodus of spectators on Sunday before the final round ends, with the World Cup final set to kick off at 3 p.m. ET in New York, which is 8 p.m. in England.
Typically, the final group on Sunday at the Open tees off at 2:30 p.m. local time. This year’s trophy ceremony is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We’ll ensure we try and avoid that clash wherever possible,” R&A CEO Mark Darbon said in April at the Open’s media preview day. “Of course some things are out of our control in terms of playoffs and the like, but we will attempt to avoid a clash.”
Barring weather delays, the final round of the Open pairs players in twosomes. The top 65 players in ties make the cut. Last year, the first group went teed off at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Sunrise is around 5 a.m.
Is It Coming Home?
Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick are among the betting favorites to claim the Claret Jug this week, which would pair quite nicely alongside England in the World Cup final for the home fans.
“That would be a great day,” Fleetwood said. “No, I’d rather tee off late on Sunday for sure; I’ll start with that. Yeah, the lads have been doing great. It’s been great to watch. … For those guys, they definitely carry a nation on their shoulders a lot more than we do.”
Fitzpatrick said he has “had 20 quid on England to win the World Cup,” which is something he and his friends “do every World Cup and Euros.”
