Jon Rahm Reveals Why Tommy Fleetwood’s Brikdale Brigade Made Him Glad England Lost in the World Cup

Jon Rahm admitted he was glad England lost their World Cup semifinal match to Argentina because he feared facing a brutally intense crowd at the Open Championship if Spain had played England in the final.

“The best way I can explain it is it was so intense that, without meaning any disrespect to England, I’m glad England didn’t win the game because I would be having a heck of a three days with the fans if they played Spain in the final,” Rahm said after his round when asked about his experience of playing with hometown hero Tommy Fleetwood in the same pairing.

Fleetwood is playing this major about ten minutes from the house in Southport, and the hometown crowd — also known as Birkdale Brigade — treated it like a homecoming all week.

And by Saturday, they were shadowing his every step — roaring at fairways found, groaning at misses, and making sure he knew exactly how much they wanted him to win his first major on home turf.

Playing beside Tommy Fleetwood, the Spaniard got a front-row look at the home support that has followed the Southport native all week.

England had already fallen to Argentina in the semifinal, 2-1, which set up a final against Spain on the same Sunday as The Open’s closing round.

Rahm is Spanish. Argentina beat England 2-1 in that semifinal, with Lautaro Martínez scoring a heartbreaker in stoppage time to send Argentina through. That means England would not face Spain — Rahm’s home country — in the World Cup final on Sunday.

If that match had happened, the fans at Birkdale would have been even louder, even prouder, and even more pumped up with national pride. Rahm saw the preview and was glad he didn’t have to live through that final round.

But what impressed Rahm more than the noise was how it never turned into rudeness toward anyone else in the group. The backing for Fleetwood was constant — audible from tee to green, no matter how the round was going — but Rahm said it never came at another player’s expense.

“The best part is they cheer him on, but they’re respectful to everybody else playing,” he added during the same interview, per ASAP Sports.

“That’s what makes it so fun for all of us. No matter how late in the round, how bad things get, everybody is almost cheering for everybody in the group. I’ve felt plenty of support even playing with Tommy, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

How the Crowd Carried Tommy Fleetwood Into Contention

Fleetwood has said the support from home fans has done more than lift his mood — he credits it directly with keeping him inside contention through a week of links golf after crossing the cutline.

He opened with a 69, then needed a late surge on Friday just to make the walk into the weekend worthwhile. By his own account, it was the crowd’s energy on a scratchy Thursday that kept him from drifting out of the tournament altogether.

“They’ve been an absolute pleasure to play in front of for these two days. I love that I played some good golf there and something to cheer about,” Fleetwood said after the second round, per BBC.

“They make a big difference to me. They helped me so much [on Thursday] when I was struggling. You can’t ask for any more than what they’re giving me.”

After a 69 on Saturday, Fleetwood finished the day five shots behind the leader heading into the final round. And Rahm’s comment only highlighted the strong support from the Brikdale Brigade for their hometown hero.