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 in order to make it to wherever they plan to watch the seminal match. And should England win, the prospect of a mass exodus of spectators on Sunday before the final round ends looms, with the World Cup final set to kick off at 8 p.m. in England.
“It would be a great problem to have,” R&A CEO Mark Darbon, who is an England fan, said at his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. 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.
In April, Darbon said the Open would “try and avoid that clash wherever possible.” On Wednesday, he said, “No plans to alter anything, but we’ll maintain that under review and finalize our position after the semifinal.”
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.”
