Yahoo News Jordan Spieth turns potential Open meltdown into extraordinary victory at Royal Birkdale
Jordan Spieth did not merely fend off Matt Kuchar here at the 146th Open Championship to become only the second male ever to win three different majors before his 24th birthday. The remarkable American also smashed down the demons which have stalked him since last year’s Masters, just when they looked to have broken his competitive heart again.
At 5.35pm, Spieth was between two equipment trucks and seemed in free-fall, asking officials for a drop. At 6.50pm, he was on the 18th green lifting the Claret Jug. It has already been hailed as the greatest turnaround in major history. If Severiano Ballesteros was the car-park champion, then Spieth is the lorry-bay champion; an even more appropriate moniker seeing as he is the youngest Open champion since the great conquistador, himself, in 1979.
“This is absolutely a dream come true for me,” Spieth said. "I was able to drink a bit of wine out of this when Zach Johnson won it [in 2015] and a lot of people told me it was bad luck and I started to believe them at times. I wasn't questioning myself as a closer, but I was questioning why I couldn't perform the shots. Winning today was extremely important for the way I look at myself.”
He paid credit to his caddie, Michael Greller, who reminded Spieth that he had spent time with Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps the previous week and that “you are that calibre of athlete”. And between them, Spieth and Greller decided to say “not again”.
On Augusta’s back nine in 2016, he infamously conceded a five-shot lead to England’s Danny Willett. This time the wretched lows seemed just as pronounced, just as damaging, as he went through his first 13 holes in four-over to trail by one after enjoying an overnight three-shot cushion.
Yet, this time, when he had to produce, Spieth did so emphatically, playing the last five holes in five-under. At the end of this quite excruciating drama, the scoreboard showed that Spieth had shot a level-par 69 to beat Kuchar (69) by three. But never in golf have the bald facts so underplayed the story.
It was brutal from the off. Spieth had to come back from bogeying three of the first four holes and did so by re-establishing a two-shot lead by the eighth. Yet that was nothing to the resurrection he launched in a 60-minute stretch which will rival any before or after for bizarreness, theatre and startling mental fortitude.
Kuchar, the 39 year-old seeking his first major, took the lead with five to go, with Spieth apparently in deep crisis. And four holes later Kuchar was two behind again, despite playing that quartet in two-under. Kuchar’s wife, Sybi, together with their two children, had flown overnight from Colorado to surprise him. He was shocked alright.
“It's hard to explain, it's crushing, it hurts,” Kuchar said. “You work so hard to get to this position and don't get that many opportunities. And to be this close, to taste it with five holes to go, it's a hard to take. I was one clear, playing really well, hitting a lot of good shots and then Jordan Spieth turned up. All you can do is tip your cap and say, ‘well done’. It was certainly a show that he put on.”
In truth, they both put it on. What is it about the Open and head-to-heads? A year after Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson staged their duel for the ages, so it came down to two protagonists once more. True, the quality was not nearly so high and at one stage the Chinese 21-year-old Li Haotong was actually on the range, warming up for a potential play-off.
Li had shot a brilliant 63 for six-under, but consider that he began the day 12 shots behind and then you might begin to approximate the seismic shifts Birkdale witnessed. Until Spieth’s outrageous charge hauled us all back to where we had been in the first place.
In golf, excitement comes in many forms and if the purists insist that for long patches this action was mediocre then ignore them. It was gripping and compelling but most of all astonishing as Spieth lost the plot before somehow penning a script which will long be read and disbelieved.
Certainly the drama was worthy of Spieth knocking Woods out of the record books as the youngest player – other than Jack Nicklaus – to get three-quarters of the way to the career grand slam.
Spieth, who turns 24 next Thursday, now marches into next month’s USPGA Championship with the opportunity to become the sixth professional in history to win all the four majors. That would see him displace Rory McIlroy as the player of his generation, however temporarily.
The Irishman believed he had his own chances in this riot of emotions, needing a birdie down the last to join Li. Yet with a 67 for a five-under total he had to settle for for fourth alongside the Spaniard, Rafael Cabrera Bello.
In a tie for sixth came a group including England’s Matthew Southgate and Branden Grace, the South African, who, on Saturday, shot the first 62 in the history of men’s majors. Except even that feat seemed mundane when put alongside the events of Sunday afternoon.
The 13th will go down in folklore. In fact, it lasted so long it should be given its own box-set. The 499-yard par four took 45 minutes to play - and 29 of these were spent on one Spieth shot. He drove it so far right that it hit a fan who was not even watching that hole.
After Spieth had shaken the poor man’s hand, he was guided to his ball which was buried in rough. A penalty drop was in order, but where to drop? Spieth took the option of going as far back as he liked. Eventually, after lengthy consultation in the midst of the HGVs with two officials, including the European Tour’s chief referee, Jon Paramor, he was allowed to drop on the practice range. He did extremely well to get it near the green and, from there, to limit the cost to a bogey.
Yet with Spieth now not in the lead, or in a share of the lead, for the first time since the 11th on Friday, surely he would crumble.
Well, not exactly. On the 200-yard 14th, Spieth sweetly struck it to three feet for a birdie. Level again. And then, on the 15th, came the moment which could enshrine this granite character. Simply to emulate Kuchar’s birdie would have shown gumption in itself. But to hole a 45-footer for an eagle to reclaim the sole advantage was ridiculous chutzpah.
Kuchar was only one back but this was a three-wood to the solar plexus. On the 16th, Spieth delivered the mortal blow, converting a 20-footer for another birdie and then another on the 17th. Let the record books show that Spieth took 45 minutes to drop one shot – and then only 45 minutes to claim five back. Let the record books show Jordan Spieth.
Jordan Spieth wins the 146th Open
'Wow!' he says. 'Thank you, thank you for breaking the attendance record. You're the most respectful audience in the world and we love playing here. What an incredible set-up what an incredible Open we owe you guys a lot of thanks. There are many others, my caddie Michael, I was getting down on myself and this is as much Mikey's as it is mine, you deserve this. This is a dream come true. I drank some wine out of it when Zach Johnson won and some people said it was bad luck and I thought that after nine holes today.
What a great champion Matt Kuchar is. I took 20 minutes to take one of my shots today and Matt took it in his stride and with a smile ... that says a lot about him. Not many others would. I'm going to take this back to America but will bring it back to try to win it again. This is incredible, thank you.
The chairman of the R&A
Asks for applause for Arnold Palmer and Robert De Vicenzo, champions who have died since the 2016 Open. Meanwhile, for those feeling that Matt Kuchar must be in pieces, not in the slightest:
No agony of defeat here. #Kuchar#TheOpenpic.twitter.com/mhqURBlgwr
— Jay Coffin (@JayCoffinGC) July 23, 2017
He also announces that Royal Birkdale has enjoyed a record attendance for an Open in England of more than 235,000.
Scenes from the recorders' office
They take a moment while the engraver completes his work.
Four days short of his 24th birthday
Jordan Spieth has won the third leg of a career grand slam of majors with the 2017 Open at 12-under. After the bogey at 13 and his visit to the driving range and the bus depot, he recorded birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, par to win by three strokes.
'Champion golfer of the year 2017'
Is Jordan Spieth, who lags his 30ft birdie up to the hole. Kuchar had a horrible lie in the sand and can't get the ball to stop, running his chip 25ft past. He rolls it up to six inches and knocks it into the cup. Spieth takes his moment and taps in for par.
-12 Spieth (F)
-9 Kuchar (F)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F), Cabrera-Bello (F)
'The greatest walk in golf'
Spieth goes first and plonks his six-iron on to the front of the green. That's the moment in the dance off when you cede the floor for the last time. Kuchar has to go for the pin and takes it on but understandably cannot make the eagle he would need dropping the ball into the bunker at the front to the left.
So, to recap on Jordan:
—Up and down for bogey at 13.
—Near ace for birdie at 14.
—Eagle at 15.
—Birdie at 16.
—Birdie at 17.— Dan Jenkins (@danjenkinsgd) July 23, 2017
Both players are given memorable receptions as they walk on to the green.
Off the 18th tee
Spieth is to the right in the first cut, terrific shot with an iron, playing it the savvy way. Kuchar has to go for it, takes driver and blasts it up the right.
Rory on Jordan: "It would be great for the game if he does it. He's an absolute star and it would be great to see him win another one."
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) July 23, 2017
Kudos to Kuchar
Spieth stops himself on the downswing of his chip when a shutter-click distracts him then re-sets and plays an exquisite pitch to 5ft. Kuchar uses his wedge superbly too and has a 12ft birdie chance. Kuchar needs this to give him a fighting chance up the last ... and does, breaking from the left, scuttling downhill and in. But so does Spieth from half the distance.
-12 Spieth (17)
-10 Kuchar (17)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F), Cabrera-Bello (F)
Second shots
Kuchar goes first, out of the cabbage ... he scoots it up the left maybe 120 yards on to the first cut. Spieth plays another fine recovery shot, fizzing the iron to 80 yards short of the pin, taking those guard dog bunkers out of the equation in front of an appreciative Everton contingent.
Wow! What a wild back nine! Is @JordanSpieth something else?
— Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) July 23, 2017
Off the 17th tee
Spieth has the honour and flies the bunkers on the right of the fairway, over the ropes where it meets a human impediment which stops further damage. That's the third time a break beyond the ropes has helped him today. Kuchar tries to take the dog leg on the left at its shortest point and ends up in a tangled knot of shorter rough.
Spieth does it again
He rattles in a 25ft putt for a birdie to retake a two-shot lead, provided Kuchar can roll in his three-footer for par, which he does. After the bogey at 13, he has gone birdie, eagle, birdie. What an extraordinarily assured putter he is. Red hot.
-11 Spieth (16)
-9 Kuchar (16)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F), Cabrera-Bello (F)
When Spieth drained that eagle
He pointed to the hole and said 'go get it' to Michael Greller, his caddie. He has got his marching boots on. The 15 goes straight into the teeth of the wind. Kuchar is 170 yards short and misses the green with his second that lands in front of the apron. Spieth is 20 yards ahead of him and plays the percentages by arcing his pitch on to the middle of the dance floor.
What Spieth just did to Kuchar. pic.twitter.com/mCHUiLGk6N
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) July 23, 2017
Correction
-10 Spieth (15)
-9 Kuchar (15)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F), Cabrera-Bello (F)
Spieth swings back
Kuchar plays a lovely bunker shot, bumping it on to the top of the hillock and running it to 4ft. But Spieth rattles in an eagle putt from 40ft that had to go uphill and down dale to make it down the throat of the cup. Kuchar rolls in for birdie but what a swing. Spieth is three-under after the preposterous drama on 13.
-10 Spieth (15)
-9 Kuchar (15)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F), Cabrera-Bello (F)
Straight down the midle
Spieth continues his charmed life with mental fortitude off the tee at 15 and with his smart fairway wood that leaves the ball to the front left of the green. He'll have a thorn-strewn road to an eagle but should have a fine birdie chance. Kuchar is further back in the bunker on the left as he stands out of the sand to line it up.
All square
Spieth rattles in his birdie putt. This is marvellous.
-8 Kuchar (14), Spieth (14)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F), Cabrera-Bello (17)
What a recovery!
Off the tee at 14, Spieth almost aces it with a glorious pitch that skips past the hole and leaves him 4ft for birdie. He has a tendency to weaken his right hand grip on the club sometimes when he swings and 'blocks' it but not there. Li Haotong is out on the practice range. Play-off prep ... And Rafa Cabrera-Bello joins Rory on -5 with a birdie putt on 17. Kuchar has 45ft for birdie and leaves it up on the right but makes par.
Kuchar takes the lead
'The most bizarre unplayable lie I've ever seen,' says Butch Harmon as the two players fist bump when they are finally reunited. Spieth chips to within six feet to give him a chance of dropping only the one shot while Kuchar's birdie effiort stays true and doesn't turn at the end and drop in. Par for him. Spieth drains his. 'That's the darndest thing I've ever seen, he could have lost three shots on that hole,' says Harmon snr.
-8 Kuchar (12)
-7 Spieth (12)
-6 Li (F)
-5 McIlroy (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (F), Cabrera-Bello (16), Koepka (15)
After 19 minutes
Spieth takes his third shot and fires it over the fences, dunes and people to land to the right of the green in front of the pot-bunkers. Kuchar has 18ft for birdie while Koepka makes a birdie at 15 to rejoin his co-tenants on -4.
Here Spieth is off the range but on the range
After at last making the drop. His caddie is atop the grassy knoll trying to judge the distance. McIlroy tees off at the 18th and smears it right into the rough.
While we wait for Spieth's relief
And everyone is mentioning Van de Velde right now, Rory McIlroy has drained an eagle putt on 17 to move to -5.
Lost
Spieth has 127 yards to get back on the fairway, Kuchar can't wait any longer and punches his pitch out of the rough to within 18ft of the pin. What a superb shot.
They're moving the crowd out of the way for Spieth but it's taking a while and there is major deliberation over what to do. And he asks for a line of sight and is pondering an unplayable. 'I've never seen a tee shot like this in professional golf,' says Wayne Riley. 'This is where elephants go to die.' He's more likely to meet Dr Livingstone than a rules official. He's going to take an unplayable lie. The referee is with him. They're trying to find place to drop it back on the driving range but there are obstacles everywhere.
Which country is he in now? Has he made it to Ireland yet?
A mistake from Spieth
At the 13th off the tee, slicing it about 100 yards to the right of the fairway into the high hay, beyond the crowd. Kuchar is on the first cut but Spieth gets the signal that the ball has been found when he questions whether he is in bounds or not and receives the answer that offers some relief.
He wanders over to thank someone called George for finding his ball on the other side of the sand dune.
Neck and neck
Kuchar rolls his birdie putt close enough to save par. Spieth has a two-footer, much like the one on nine and nervously paces about, as he did before. But no bother this time, he taps it in. Koepka drops one place back with a par putt that slides by the hold on 13.
-8 Spieth (12), Kuchar (12)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (16), Cabrera-Bello (15), Grace (14)
On the tricky 12th
Kuchar has the honour, shouts after his pitch off the tee up to the par three, and cries 'softly, softly!' Those of us of a certain age add 'Task Force'. He's maybe 25ft past the pin on the right of the green. Spieth also hollers 'Softly' after his ball that lands by the side of the pin and makes a Barnes-Wallis impression as it skims 15ft past.
McIlroy did lose his ball
But might scramble a six at 15 after a zig, a zag and a trip into the sand. Spieth again has a patron's anatomy to thank after smacking his fairway iron over the green and into the gallery at the back where once again it finds a friendly bone to halt its progress. Kuchar has a brute for birdie, an undulating left to right breaker, that he rolls to 18 inches and taps in. McIlroy does drop only the one at 15 after the lost ball and drops back to +3 with three to play. Spieth chips off the top of the dune and taps in his four-footer for par.
-8 Spieth (11), Kuchar (11)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (16), Cabrera-Bello (14), Grace (13), Koepka (12)
On goes the rainwear
Koepka's birdie putt on 11 goes off to the right. He played for it to turn but it didn't. Spieth and Kuchar have 25-footers for birdie, Spieth rolls his closest and taps in for par. Kuchar has a more testing one. McIlroy bludgeons his drive off the track on the 15th tee and sends out a search party as it appears to be lost in the bushes. Kuchar holes his par putt and they advance to the 11th tee all-square.
The 11th is 'smelly' today because of the wind, says Sky's 'Radar' Riley.
-8 Spieth (10), Kuchar (10)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (15), McIlroy (14), Cabrera-Bello (13), Grace (12), Koepka (11)
Speed warning
Spieth and Kuchar have been told to pick up their pace when they teed off at 10 and both flay it off the fairway. Kuchar is on the trampled grass down the right, Spieth has a decent lie on the left but something's trembling for both of them.
Rain, I don't mind
With all the bunching up on four-under, I regret overlooking the march of Paul Casey who is all alone on -3 after birdies at 15, 16 and 17. Defending champion Henrik Stenson makes back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12 to return to -2. McIlroy has a birdie chance in the shower at 14 but it glides by on the left from 18ft.
On the turn
Jordan Spieth has 10ft for a birdie on nine but gives it far too much oomph and forces it 4ft past as it broke left to right. Kuchar has his third opportunity in succession and this time he takes it, makes his birdie and closes the lead to one stroke ... if Spieth nails his three-footer. No! It lips out. It's all tied up again. He spent a minute discussing how to hit it with his caddie - 'right of centre, left of centre' He took the caddie's advice. Topsy and turvy.
-8 Spieth (9), Kuchar (9)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (14), McIlroy (13), Cabrera-Bello (12), Grace (10), Koepka (9)
What a lovely man
Matt Southgate is - he looks delighted after finishing 12th last year to be bang on course to finish as the highest home (English) player after recovering from testicular cancer a couple of years back.
As you were
Spieth and Kuchar are perfectly precise with tee shots down the eighth but Kuchar's pitch is far the better and earns him an 8ft birdie chance. Spieth gets far too much on his, sails over the flag but gets up and down in two while Kuchar misses the curly opportunity. That's teh second fair birdie chance in succession Kuchar has spurned. Cabrera-Bello's flappy tee shot on 11 costs him a shot but he holes a decent putt to keep it down to only the one. Grace drains a snaking monster of a 20-footer for birdie on 10 to join the gang of four-under.
-9 Spieth (8)
-7 Kuchar (8)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (13), McIlroy (12), Grace (10), Koepka (9)
In the leading pair
Kuchar can't take a terrific birdie opportunity from seven feet, sending it the wrong way down the rollercoaster. He makes par, as does Spieth with a solid putting stroke, taking account of the relative lack of slickness. McIlroy may have taken his time to hear the war drums but they are now resounding in his ears, draining a long birdie putt on 11 to squeee into the crowded house on +4, where Koepka has retaken residence with a nuggety putt on eight.
-9 Spieth (7)
-7 Kuchar (7)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (F), Leishman (17), Noren (13), McIlroy (11) Cabrera-Bello (10), Koepka (8)
Li Haotong's mother
No need to wonder how she feels today after her service at the French Open.
Haotong Li would get in the Masters if he remains top 4. He had no idea. "Wow!'' he said. "What a gift.'' #TheOpen
— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) July 23, 2017
And Matthew Southgate has so much to be proud about after securing par on 18 to record a 65.
Jammy today
Larceny from Spieth with a terrific bump and run after getting the lucky break off a spectator. Southgate makes it three birdies from four holes at 17 to join those tied for third on -4.
Kuchar, whose ball is tight to the front of that bunker, punches it out to 20ft for an uphill putt for par. He doesn't give it enough and drops a shot. The greens have lost their speed today. Spieth evades the law by sinking the gnarly four-footer to save par and regain a two-shot lead.
-9 Spieth (6)
-7 Kuchar (6)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Southgate (17), Leishman (17), Cabrera-Bello (9)
Leishman has a 50-footer for eagle at 17 and sweeps it close enough to make birdie and join the group in fourth but Koepka, who burst the green at seven and finds the sand and a horrible lie, drops back after his second bogey of the day.
Fore!
If we thought Spieth had settled down after that spirit-restorative birdie, we were mistaken as he flays his drive off the sixth tee way down the left and clouts a spectator on the shoulder which may have saved him heading on to the cart path and into the bushes. He takes a three-wood and skims it up to the edge of the bunker on the right of the green. Kuchar is on an upslope of a fairway bunker deep in the tangly stuff and hacks it out long and up to the same group of bunkers.
Spieth strides ahead
At the fifth. Kuchar hobbled himself by underclubbing his second that left him 40ft short but sank his up 'n' under par putt from about 4ft. Spieth drained his birdie effort from twice as far back to regain the lead after a precision second.
-9 Spieth (5)
-8 Kuchar (5)
-6 Li (F)
-4 Cabrera-Bello (8), Koepka (6)
Dustin Johnson applies the stabilisers
After his puling start - double bogey, bogey, par, bogey has fought back to level par with a birdie at the fifth and a pair of pars. Rory McIlroy ends the front nine after eight successive pars with a rattlingly good birdie putt to join Southgate, Leishman Connelly and Grace, who bogeyed the sixth for the second time this week, on -3
TOWIE
Matthew Southgate had a chance to overtake Austin Connelly who dropped from -4 to -3 when he missed a big breaker from the left to save par on the fifth. The Essex man had a five-footer for birdie at 16, planted a smacker on the lip but left it up. Chaste.
On the fourth
Kuchar finds the bunker to the front right off the tee but splashes out and gets it to stop maybe 4ft short for par. Spieth is at the front of the green after an undercoooked tee shot that hung too long. He lags up to 6ft but doesn't give it enough. A third bogey from four. Kuchar sweeps his par-saver in. Great up and down from the sand
-8 Spieth (4), Kuchar (4)
-6 Li (17)
-4 Noren (10) Grace (5), Koepka (5)
Extraordinary from Li
His second to the 18th arrows from 140 yards to within 5ft for a birdie opportunity which, if he takes, would mean a 63 for a man making his Open debut.
And he does sink the birdie putt to move up to -6 after a 63! A 63 on debut! There but for the grace of Grace ... would have gone a record-maker.
Spieth wobbles again
He lifts it out of the bunker with his sand-wedge to give himself maybe 5ft to save par. Spieth is off the back of the green in the frog hair with about 70ft for a birdie. He gives it enough gas but it tails off to the right which will leave him about 6ft for par. Li Haotong makes it a hat-trick of birdies on 17, skimming in a four-footer and advances to -5. Kuchar's par putt lips out on the right so he drops a shot ... but so does Spieth's. two bogeys in three holes - he's +2 for the round, Kuchar level par.
-9 Spieth (3)
-8 Kuchar (3)
-5 Li (17)
-4 Noren (9) Grace (4), Koepka (4), Connelly (4)
Trouble on three
This time it's Kuchar who careers his second shot, a pitch up to the flag, over to the right. The breeze is up to bout 10mph, left to right, and the ball moves with it when it lands on a slope and trickles down into the bunker. Rory McIlroy has begun with seven successive pars.
Trading blows
Spieth and Kuchar are on the second fairway Kuchar obviously goes first given their dispraity in power and arcs his iron to 3ft. The gauntlet is on the floor for a moment before Spieth retrieves it and arrows his iron to 8ft. He will putt first and pushes it past the left lip whil Kuchar rolls his gimme in. That's another shot swing.
-10 Spieth (1)
-9 Kuchar (1)
-4 Li (16), Grace (3), Koepka (3), Connelly (3)
Kuchar takes back two shots in two holes, goes to No. 3 just one behind Spieth. As @treykerby would say, we got ourselves a game.
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) July 23, 2017
Plant makes the 'best walk in golf'
Li Haotong has birdied 15 and 16 to advance to -5 for the round and -4 for the tournament. Up on 18 Alfie Plant is given a resounding reception when he rattles in his par putt to end his Open with the silver medal for the leading amateur on +6 after scoring 73 today. He describes the walk up to the 18th green as 'the best in golf' as so many before him have too. He says he now knows what they mean.
Spieth drops a shot
Koepka and Connelly drop shots on the first, will Kuchar and Spieth follow suit? Kopeka saw his four-footer skirt the rim and stay up, Connelly gave himself too much to do from 15ft after catching his wedge out of the bunker too fat. Kuchar rolls his third to within 4ft and makes par, Spieth sweeps his fourth past the cup and drops a shot. The penultimate group of Koepka and Connelly hold firm with pars at the second after skittish starts
-10 Spieth (1)
-8 Kuchar (1)
-4 Li (16), Grace (2), Koepka (2), Connelly (2)
Poulter repairs the bogey
He dropped a shot at the third but recovers it at the fifth with a gutsy 12 foot serpentine putt. Spieth is in trouble at the first after his second. He was perched halfway up a very grassy hillock and had to hack it out up the left. Kuchar is handily placed on the right of the green for his third but Spieth may well drop a stroke but his chip out of the first cut leaves him 12ft for par.
Spieth and Kuchar join the fray
Stenson, who is wearing an extraordinary shirt inspired by the Rorschach test rattles in his par putt on the second to stay on -3.
Kuchar goes first and though his excellent drive lands in the heart of the fairway it skips over to the right and is clutched by the first cut. Spieth gets the length but heads left and gives himself a tricky lie for his second with his feet above the ball.
Sky seems wedded to The Hollies this week, playing this every hour. They're Mancs, you know?
Bad to worse for Matsuyama
His lost ball off the tee and his provisional hit into the bushes has ruined his prospects already and then his double bogey putt from 6ft horseshoes out around the right rim. He starts with a seven that takes him back to the pack on -1.
Wild off the tee
Hideki Matsuyama, playing with Grace, went the opposite way, slicing his tee shot miles off course on the right and has to take a provisional while the search party musters. Grace's excellent second from the tangly stuff takes him to the front of the green and he judges his first putt excellently to lag it to within 2ft to save par.
Grace gets going
With a forceful drive down the McIlroy route on the left of the first fairway. Rory's landed in the first cut, Grace's further left, not on the cart track but in more gnarly grass. Johnson has a whopper for par at the first after chipping out of the sand, maybe 40 ft and pushes it to the right. He's playing with Stenson who ensures his par with a confident first excursion on to the dance floor, sweeping his 25-footer close enough. Johnson misses his bogey putt, sliding it by on the right from 5ft and starts with a six that puts him in reverse to -1.
Par-saver for McIlroy
McIlroy makes par on the second after astute use of his sand-wedge. Back on the first Dustin Johnson follows Ross Fisher's nervy start, flashing his second into the sand. Yikes. Chan Kim needs a pair of putts apiece for pars at the first but Rafa Cabrera Bello saves par with his first use of the flat-stick.
Ian Poulter
Begins par-par and acknowledges the crowd who are following him in numbers.
Li Haotong has been prolific around the corner with birdies on eight, nine and then 12 to move up to -3 and Matthew Southgate has just drained a monster birdie putt on 10 to move to -1.
McIlroy's second at two, like the previous hole, is forced out to the right of the green, doesn't stick and spins into the bunker guarding the front right of the green. With the pin set closer to that side today he has very little room to bump and run it close.
Zach falls back
After a golden lunchtime run of four birdies to take him to two-under, he has bogeyed 14 after watching his putt stick like Velcro to the lip. McIlroy curls his par putt in, good scramble back after that flighty second shot, Fisher could not and falls a shot back to -1. Up on two, Ramsay undoes the birdie on the first with a bogey by virtue of a shonky second.
On the first green
McIlroy's second shot to the first sails over to the right of the green and ends up on the fringe. After such an excellent drive that's a wild second shot. Fisher's second requires a firm grip out of the rough and he knocks it up to 80 yards or so short of the green and gives himself a 15ft chance for par with a chip that fades off to the right. McIlroy uses his wedge to chip it off the frog hair and will need to drain a 10-footer for par.
McIlroy and Fisher tee off
They both go for distance and neither makes the fairway, McIlroy in the first cut on the left, Fisher in slightly deeper grass on the right about 70 yards behind McIlroy. Poulter pushes his putt across the slow green up to the lip on the right but it does not fall. Ramsay's ball rolled closer than I thought and he sweeps in his birdie putt from about 12ft. He moves up to -3. Bubba Watson, who bogeyed 6, 7 and 8, has repaired the damage with birdies at 10, 11 and 14.
Eminent Victorian
Marc Leishman from Warrnambool has made birdies at the 2nd, third and seventh to move to -2. Poulter, ditching the visor and wearing a cap, drives superbly off the opening two and arcs his iron on to the green to give himself a 10ft birdie chance. He's playing with Richie Ramsay whose drive skirts with the filth on the right but he recovers with an excellent second that gives him a longshot of a birdie opportunity if he can make it 30ft across the rumpled carpet.
The two berks
Mike Parry and Mike Graham have tweeted Parry's view that Beef Johnston is a 'clown'. Here's his response:
If I'm a clown for enjoying my work then so be it. Ur a sad person and couldn't care less wat u think.
— Andrew'BEEF'Johnston (@BeefGolf) July 22, 2017
Keep up the good work, @BeefGolf You connect with fans in a way that brings great spirit to golf !!! #WellDone#Grill 'em! https://t.co/rP4M97PPrm
— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) July 22, 2017
Schauffele finishes with a 65
He's the clubhouse leader and is currently tied for 15th on -1. Poor old Jason Day - he flared his drive off the first tee way off to the right, had to play a provisional and went off with a search party in vain to find the original. He begins with a double bogey. Alex Noren and Rickie Fowler tee off in a couple of groups after Day and Fowler hits a peach of a drive. Up on the fifth green, Garcia, who flashed a birdie putt past at the first does the same with his next opportunity to advance from -1.
Schauffele on the march
Another birdie at 17 for the Californian and he is on course for a 65 which gives us a clear indication of what may be possible out there this afternoon. He made bogeys at the first, the ghost train sixth (for the third successive round) and the 11th. There but for the Grace of Branden, goes a 62 ...
Flora
Low Amateurs at Birkdale:
1998: Justin Rose ��
2008: Chris Wood ��
2017: Alfie Plant �� pic.twitter.com/73M9Bi71fx— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) July 21, 2017
Alfie P double bogeyed the second this morning and is +6 for the tournament through the 11th but had the silver medal wrapped up by Friday night.
Zach Johnson
The 2015 champion began the fourth round at St Andrews on -9, three strokes behind Jason Day, and won at -15, one better than Day, which ought to give Matt Kuchar some hope. Johnson is through the turn here at -3 on the front nine which has taken him to -1 for the tournament.
Who do you think you are?
Xander Schauffele, who won the Greenbrier Classic a fortnight ago, has eagled the par five 15th to move to level par from four-over at the start of his third round. This is his first year as a professional and you may remember him for his -6 first round at the US Open or, if you're German or Austrian, because two of his great grandfathers were prominent footballers with Rapid Vienna and VfB Stuttgart and the latter, Molly Schauffele, a world-class athlete and later sports administrator.
Good afternoon
As the clock ticks past noon we welcome you to live coverage of the fourth round of The Open from Royal Birkdale. Jordan Spieth, a man who does not turn 24 until Thursday, has a three-stroke lead and a fine opportunity to add a Claret Jug to his Green Jacket and US Open from 2015 and achieve three-quarters of a career grand slam. Given the US PGA begins at beautiful Quail Hollow on August 10, he could even ... no, let's not succumb to wishful thinking. I have been surprised how indifferent most of the golf playing family and friends I have are to Spieth, they concede that he's a great putter but persist in using the term 'boring'. I don't see it. I think he's a magnificent, modern all-round player. Sure some more charismatic devilry and seat-of-the-pants shot-making would be welcome, but the kid has phenomenal talent and serenity and he provides a n engaging commentary of his own shots when the microphones get close enough to eavesdrop.
So far this morning, Aaron Baddeley, the Arizonan Aussie (below), has recorded a 64, with eight birdies and two bogeys, to move him up to +1, Kang Sung-hoon a 66 to progress to +3 and Russell Henley a 67 to end the tournament on +2.
Spieth will learn from Masters collapse
Jordan Spieth will learn from his Masters collapse as well as his major triumphs as he tries to secure the third leg of the career grand slam in the Open Championship later today.
A second bogey-free 65 of the week means Spieth will take a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar into the final round at Royal Birkdale, with US Open champion Brooks Koepka three shots further back alongside 20-year-old Canadian Austin Connelly.
Victory today would make Spieth only the second player after Jack Nicklaus to have won three of the game's four majors before the age of 24 and he could then surpass Tiger Woods as the youngest player to complete a career grand slam in next month's US PGA at Quail Hollow.
However, the 23-year-old American is well aware that memories of his collapse in the final round of the 2016 Masters, where he blew a five-shot lead with nine holes to play, remain fresh in the memory
"I've had a five-shot lead in a major and squandered it before," said Spieth, who won the Masters and US Open in 2015 and missed out on a play-off for the Open at St Andrews by a single shot.
"I've had the high and the humbling so I will keep my head down and not get ahead of myself.
"I think I'm in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I've gone through, the good, the bad and everything in the middle. I understand that leads can be squandered quickly, and I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one.
"It was a humbling experience that I thought at the time could serve me well going forward. And if I don't win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that. It has to do with it was someone else's day, and I didn't play as well as I should have.
"And if I win tomorrow it has nothing to do with that, either. You're learning and it all goes into the mental process.
"Tomorrow will be a day that will be emotionally draining and difficult to stay very neutral in the head, but that's probably the most important thing for me to do."
Tee times for the leading groups:
1.30pm Poulter & Ramsay
1.40pm McIlroy & Fisher
1.50pm Cabrera-Bello & Kim
2pm Stenson & Johnson D
2.10pm Matsuyama & Grace
2.20pm Koepka & Connelly
2.30pm Spieth and Kuchar
