This was one of the best Opens despite astonishing moment as fans deliver emotional support

It’s a tough old shift, especially when you’ve just come off a big week like the Genesis Scottish Open, but there’s no doubt that simply turning up at an Open venue gets the juices flowing, with this one ensuring that remained the case until leaving Royal Birkdale fairly late on Sunday.

Here are some of the things that will ensure that the 154th edition of the game’s oldest major and, for many people, the greatest of the four seemed to be one that ticked so many boxes as the Southport venue staged the event for the 11th time.

Worthy winner

At one point in the final round, it seemed as though no-one wanted to go on and actually claim the Claret Jug as a number of players, notably Korean Si Woo Kim, after he’d moved into the outright lead just before hitting the turn, appeared to find reverse gear at just the wrong time. Not Ryan Fox, though. He had to play out backwards from a bunker at the 15th but limited the damage to a bogey, repaired the damage straight away and then played the final hole as well as anyone who has been announced as ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’. The Kiwi is popular with his peers, plays the game at a proper pace and is a great example of how someone doesn’t have to follow the traditional path to the top of the ladder, having been 25 when he turned professional then 30 when he secured a DP World Tour card. He also came close to quitting golf early in his professional career.

Classic course

According to someone who’d arrived at Birkdale ten days prior to the championship starting, it was looking quite green at that point but, boy, did that change as hot and dry weather delivered an old-fashioned links test for the world’s top players, with a nice breeze blowing almost throughout the four days. Golf is unpredictable when fairways are brick hard and, though such conditions are mentally draining, the majority of those in the field seemed to relish the challenge. It’s all down to Mother Nature, of course, but the more we see of this type of test going forward the better in The Open. It is also worth noting that, although three players shot major record-equalling 62s, the winning aggregate was ten under.

Player punishment

Bryson DeChambeau was penalised for a clear breach of the rules - it’s simply astonishing that he apparently wanted to call Donald Trump in the middle of the rumpus on Friday night - as he trampled down long grass behind his ball at the fifth hole in the first round while Jon Rahm and Bob MacIntyre received official warnings under a new serious misconduct policy for The Open. The latter is a good thing and, though it would be preferable not to be writing about similar misdemeanours going forward, MacIntyre has made it abundantly clear that he is not going to change his ways for anyone, so it is futile for me or anyone else to express opinions about how he goes about his business.

Fantastic fans

A total of 306,000 spectators - new record for the week - attended the event and the atmosphere out on the course was electric on every single day. Part of the reason, of course, was that local hero Tommy Fleetwood gave a great account of himself and I’ll admit that I felt emotional when you were out on the course and heard just how much people were supporting him, something Fleetwood acknowledged in a classy social media post on Sunday night.

Brilliant Birkdale

I’d made no secret in the build up that the Southport venue was my favourite Open course in England and second only to Muirfield on my overall list. That has simply been endorsed, with Birkdale maybe even closer now to making it a very close call for the latter. Bob MacIntyre made an interesting remark about a lack of gorse bushes on certain holes and I’m not convinced that the new par-3 15th is better than the hole it replaced. But, overall, what a course it is, especially the stretch from the seventh through to the 12th. It also has to be the best viewing course on The Open rota, with mounds and hillocks all around the course allowing fans to at least have a chance of constantly seeing the action. And it was fantastic every time you looked around over the week and saw people on all those vantage points. Unlike Royal Liverpool in 2023, it never felt too busy and hats off to the well-drilled marshals for doing a fantastic job at crossing points.

Magnificent Merseyside

There are some special areas in the world to either attend or work at a golf tournament - and this is one of them. Taking the train from Crosby, where I was staying for the week, your appetite is whetted as you look out the window and see West Lancashire, Formby, Southport & Ainsdale then Hillside en route to Birkdale. It’s a truly wonderful collection of courses and, with Hoylake having hosted a recent edition then a return to Royal Lytham & St Annes being on the cards in 2028, the North West of England is very well served indeed when it comes to reaping the benefits of this ever-growing great event.

Player ups and downs

American Jackson Suber hadn’t set foot on a links course before last Monday yet led after the opening round and was still hanging around heading into the final round. In contrast, world No 3 Matthew Fitzpatrick and tenth-ranked Justin Rose have played links all their life but missed the cut. It was also a bit of a mis-firing week for back-to-back Masters champion Rory McIlroy.