Local hero Tommy Fleetwood treads familiar ground at Royal Birkdale

Born and bred in Southport, the golfer used to have to sneak on the course’s hallowed turf as a kid, but now ‘Tommy Lad’ is very much in the limelight There were three ways to get to play Royal Birkdale back when Tommy Fleetwood was a kid growing up in Southport. One was to stump up hundreds in visitors’ green fees, another was to get invited as the guest of a friendly member, and the last was to be proposed, seconded and vetted and pay a few thousands in dues to become a member yourself. Or…