Tommy Fleetwood told how the Open fans will treat him after latest slip-up

England's Tommy Fleetwood will have an Irish fan club behind him in Portrush as he seeks to cast off his unwanted nearly-man reputation.

Fleetwood, 34, has posted seven top-fives in the Majors without winning one - including a runner-up finish to Shane Lowry the last time the Open was at Portrush six years ago.

And he suffered another agonising near-miss on the PGA Tour, where he has yet to win, when he was edged out by US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago.

"Letting that opportunity slip a few weeks ago was disappointing for him but he's resilient, he'll keep coming back and he's a hell of a player," said McGinley.

"Outside of the Irish players, Tommy would be the next guy getting the biggest roars. He is very popular in Ireland and should he raise a gallop like he did last time, provided it's not against an Irish guy, I would think the crowd would be very, very much behind Tommy to try to push him over the line."

Fleetwood does know how to win. He has seven DP World Tour victories to his credit including last year's Dubai Invitational but a really big fish eludes him. McGinley thinks he will land one soon.

"I think it's only a matter of time before he wins one of these tournaments. He didn't win the Travelers but maybe there is something bigger waiting for him," he said.

"There's no doubt Tommy has the skillset to win one of these Majors. Quality player that he is, it's a matter of time before the golfing gods align for him."

Fleetwood has done his revision early on the Dunluce Links, sandwiching in a trip to Northern Ireland last weekend to play the course between a visit to Wimbledon and the Scottish Open.

The World No 13 surprisingly missed the cut at last year's Open at Troon which was won by America's Xander Schauffele.

Schauffele's form has fallen off a cliff since but McGinley thinks it would be unwise to write him out of the script at Portrush this week.

"There has been quite a drop-off which has been somewhat surprising but this is a golf course which will really suit him," said McGinley. "He can move the ball both ways and Portrush asks you that question. You've got to draw some shots and fade others and there's not many better at that."

Watch live coverage of The 153rd Open from Royal Portrush exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW from this Thursday with wall-to-wall preview coverage available from tomorrow (Monday) on Sky Sports Golf.