Home of British Open honors Tommy Fleetwood with massive mural

Adam Schupak, GolfweekTue, June 30, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC

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Move over Shane Lowry; this summer it's Tommy Fleetwood's turn to have a mural on display when fans descend on jolly old England and Southport, the staid holiday resort town on the coast of Lancashire and home to Royal Birkdale for the 154th British Open.

Honoring Southport’s own favorite son, the large-scale artwork of Fleetwood has been created on the facade of Southport & Birkdale Sports Club by local muralist Paul Curtis, who has painted around 300 public pieces in the region — including Liverpool managers Jurgen Klopp and Bill Shankly, and the late Portuguese star Diogo Jota.

Covering the 164-foot by 65-foot wall, the work celebrates Fleetwood’s connection to the area and the broader significance of the Championship returning to the region. Work on the mural — which takes inspiration from a photo of the 35-year-old competing in the 2023 Ryder Cup — began in mid-June with Curtis spending over a fortnight on-site to complete the installation.

“The biggest challenge during the project was working in the intense heat.  Alongside the constant need to stay hydrated and regularly apply sun cream, the temperatures also created practical problems with the paint. If I left my palette for even a few minutes, I would often return to find the paint had become sticky or, in some cases, had dried out completely," Curtis said. “One of the most rewarding aspects of painting the mural was discovering just how much affection there is for Tommy within the local community. People regularly stopped to share stories of knowing him personally or to express how proud they are to see someone from Southport representing the town on the world stage."

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Last year, Fleetwood won the Tour Championship, his first victory on the PGA Tour, and claimed the season-long FedEx Cup. He was also part of the victorious European Ryder Cup team, marking the fourth time he's represented Europe in the biennial team competition. Fleetwood entered this week ranked No. 7 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Fleetwood was born and raised in Southport. As a child, he used to sneak onto the course at Royal Birkdale with his father. Almost two decades later, in 2017, he made the cut there in the Open. His best finish at the Open is runner-up in 2019 at Royal Portrush to Shane Lowry. Last year, when the Open returned to Northern Ireland, the town honored Lowry with a mural of his own and it became a popular tourist attraction and selfie location.

Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Tommy Fleetwood mural unveiled in Southport

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