"It wasn't great" – Tommy Fleetwood surprised by the lack of bunker rakers at The Open Championship 2025

The highly anticipated 2025 Open Championship has kicked off at Royal Portrush, and golfers are vying for a chance to lift the Claret Jug this year. After the first round, Tommy Fleetwood, who is in the 156-player field, spoke about the lack of bunker rakers in the tournament.

Ahead of the final major of the year, the R&A announced that there will no longer be designated bunker rakers on the course. Instead, players and caddies will now rake their own bunkers going forward.

During his first round at Royal Portrush, Tommy Fleetwood’s ball found a bad lie in a bunker on a poorly raked spot. During his post-round press conference, he was asked about the situation and he admitted that he was surprised to learn that there were no bunker rakers this year. He said (via ASAP Sports)

“They've always had bunker rakers until this week? I thought so. I thought that was odd. I mean, still, you just rake the bunkers, right? It's part of the game… I'm not going to get angry about anyone where you don't know what's happening, but it wasn't great, and yeah, bunker rakers would have been nice.”

The English golfer ended up with a bogey on the hole, making his second bogey of the day. He fired two birdies and two more bogeys to card 2-over 73. This placed him in a tie for 70th position with Jason Day, Patrick Cantlay, Akshay Bhatia, and 23 other golfers.

Meanwhile, Harris English scored 4-under 67 and shot to the top of the leaderboard. He is in a first-place tie with Matt Fitzpatrick and three others.

Despite being six strokes behind the lead, Tommy Fleetwood said that it wasn’t a “disastrous” round. He admitted that it wasn't easy because everything that could go wrong went wrong and he wished he had a better start. However, he’s hoping to perform much better in the second round.

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Tommy Fleetwood reveals how he maintains his patience during major tournaments - “They’re all a battle of the mind”

During the previously mentioned press conference at Royal Portrush, Tommy Fleetwood was asked to speak on how he stays patient when there’s no momentum. He said that while major tournaments are tough, he tries to remain level-headed despite the pressure. He said (via ASAP Sports)

“Like I say, majors, The Open, they're all a battle of the mind as well. Managing your own expectations, managing how much it means to you, the difficulty of the golf course. Yeah, that's why they're majors. That's why they're the toughest tests.”

Tommy Fleetwood turned pro in 2010. He has won seven tournaments on the DP Tour, but has yet to claim a major championship title and is still chasing his maiden PGA Tour victory.

Fleetwood’s best result in the Open Championship is a solo second place, which he secured in 2019. He also placed second in the 2018 US Open and tied for third in the Masters Tournament last year.