Tommy Fleetwood

It is Tommy Fleetwood’s favourite week of the year.

But his caddie Ian Finnis wants The Open to feel just like any other

Finnis’s life has been anything but normal since he had open heart surgery just three months ago.

And through it all, The 152nd Open at Royal Troon was a source of motivation during his recovery.

“The recovery has been good, until I came back to work!” Finnis joked on Live at The Range.

“Last week was my first week back with Tommy. I feel good, I am back to normal.

“It is the biggest tournament in the world, so it is nice to get back to it. That was my goal when I had the operation ... to get back to it.

“I’ve had lots of people texting me and messaging me when I was in hospital which was nice, surprising almost, but it is nice when people care about you.”

Finnis first joined forces with Fleetwood in 2016, with that year's Open at Royal Troon one of their earliest events together.

The change in personnel on the bag was prompted by a dip in form for Fleetwood who soon turned it around with Finnis by his side.

Fleetwood has since recorded seven top-five finishes in majors, including two at The Open.

The pair are old friends, sharing a love of Everton Football Club, and have become one of the most recognisable duos in golf, in part because of their height difference with Finnis towering over Fleetwood at 6ft 7in.

Finnis was hospitalised with a chest complaint just before this year’s Masters, and when things took a turn for the worse, he had surgery to replace and repair two valves in his heart.

Like his caddie, Fleetwood has looked to moments of levity during what has been a trying time.

He said: “I'm wondering if caddying for me caused him any issues and gave him heart problems.

“It was a bit of a shock and it does put things into perspective. I spoke to him most days through the whole process.

“Ian's obviously very close to me, and he's much more than a caddie to me. So I think caring about him more than anything - and his family - that always came first.

“For him to have got back this quick, I told him I didn't think he had a chance really of caddying in these events, so it's amazing that he's got back and done so well.”

Fleetwood arrives at Royal Troon having recorded his best performance at the Masters earlier this year, finishing tied third.

That was one of the tournaments that Finnis was absent for, with Fleetwood describing that time as quiet.

The pair are back laughing and joking at The Open, where Fleetwood will tee off in an all-European blockbuster grouping with Jon Rahm and Robert MacIntyre at 9:36am.

The Championship has been a happy hunting ground for the 33-year-old, who recorded a T10 finish at Royal Liverpool last year.

However, the world number 12 was candid that despite playing excellent golf, he has not been satisfied with his results.

“I still love golf,” he added. “I think golf is my absolute favourite thing to do, and I don't believe that I've reached my potential at all in what I can do.  

“I think I'm still very driven by that. I still wake up every day and want to be the best player I can be, and I still want to find things that will make me better and what I can improve on.

“There's still so many tournaments that I enjoy playing, tournaments that I want to win.

“I'm sure one day I might wake up and might not have the same enthusiasm for it, but it's never left me yet, and it continues.

“I'll wake up tomorrow excited to play The Open. Whether I play good or bad - I might be disappointed - but I'll probably want to go and practice afterwards and see if I can get better.

“It's still my favourite thing to do. I love the game.”