A win by Spieth that will live long in golf lore
Progress for McIlroy, and optimism for the next major
Someday, perhaps very soon, there will be a plaque at Royal Birkdale for Jordan Spieth, much like the one off the 16th hole that celebrates Arnold Palmer and the 6-iron he slashed out of the rough in 1961 to usher in a new era of golf. The only question will be where to put it. On the side of the towering sand dune where his drive ended up on 13 after hitting a fan in the head? On the driving range by the Titleist semi where he took relief from an unplayable lie and somehow found a way to get back in play?
Maybe on the next tee, where he almost made a hole-in-one. Or on the hole after that when he rolled a 50-foot eagle putt into the center of the cup, then pointed to his caddie and said - in his best old school fashion - “Go get it.”
Take your pick. They’re all in play after one of the most remarkable stretches of golf anyone will ever see gave Spieth a British Open title, and a place that will long live in golf lore.
In the wind and rain at Royal Birkdale he somehow found a way to shake his self-doubt and reach inside for something only the greats can ever find. By the time he tapped in for a routine par on the 18th hole, people were already shaking their heads at what had just transpired, trying to convince themselves it really did happen the way it did.
And Spieth was left trying to process it himself, as a dazed Matt Kuchar walked off into the embrace of his tearful family.
It was his first British Open title, but there will surely be more. The way Spieth won this there may be many more, until people start talking about him in the same breath as Tiger Woods and, yes, Jack Nicklaus.
He’s that good, but more importantly he’s Rory McIlroy, photo, has gone 10 majors without winning, the longest stretch since he turned pro. He at least felt he made progress at the British Open, and he has reason to be excited for the next major.
For one thing, his form is improving.
Despite a horrid start at Royal Birkdale - 5 over through six holes Thursday - he bounced back with rounds of 68-69-67 to tie for fourth, his best finish in a major since he was fourth alone in the 2015 Masters.
And the PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, where McIlroy has won twice. First up is the Bridgestone Invitational, where he won the last time he played Firestone in 2014.
“I’m excited for the next two weeks,” he said. “I haven’t played at Firestone for a couple of years. The last time I played that strong. Mentally strong, because this is a game that can break your will, and for a time on Sunday it looked like that’s just what was going to happen.
The drives were going sideways, and the putts going nowhere. Amid thousands of people, the golf course was suddenly a very lonely place.
This wasn’t just a win, it was a coronation. There’s a new king in golf, one the King himself would have surely approved.
What unfolded on the back nine of one of there I won. And I’ve had some good finishes. Quail Hollow, I’ve played well there. Shot a couple of course records, a couple of golf’s most venerable layouts was as astonishing as it was brilliant. This was the 146th Open, and in the 145 that came before it, no one had ever won like this.
Yes, there are other players who might have made bogey from the driving range like Spieth did on 13, though not many. But name one - and include Woods in this - who could rebound from losing the lead to Kuchar to go birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to hoist the most coveted trophy in golf.
Johnny Miller called it the “greatest finish I wins. Got beaten in a playoff, as well. Another couple of top 10s thrown in there. So I play well at Quail Hollow. I love the golf course. I know they’ve made a few changes, but I’ll have some really good vibes going into that week.”
McIlroy was coming off three missed cuts in his previous four tournaments, so he called his performance a step in the right direction.
Even so, there were moments of taking two steps forward and one step back. He wasted a great start in the third round with back-toback bogeys late on the front nine and a double bogey on No. 10. And right when he had an outside chance to make a move, he took a bogey on the par-5 16th when he lost his tee shot.
“I thought I had a chance to post a number and at least scare them a little bit,” he said about Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar.
At least he won’t have to think too much on that start. McIlroy finished seven shots behind. have seen in championship golf,” and for once this wasn’t television hyperbole.
In a place that celebrates golf history, Spieth made the kind you’ll have to read over and over again because it almost can’t be believed.
Spieth could have gone down as a choker, the player who coughed up a five-shot lead on the back nine in the Masters last year, and a three-shot lead here. As he spent 20 minutes deciding what to do on 13, many on Twitter were already writing him off as just that.
Instead he’ll be celebrated for one of the most clutch performances ever.
Tens of thousands were here to witness it, massive crowds - but only a fraction of the people who will one day claim to have seen it. They watched as skies darkened along with Spieth’s mood as he coughed up a three-shot lead only to be talked back into the tournament by Greller.
He reminded Spieth he was special, just like Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan and the other top athletes he had vacationed with down in Cabo the previous week. He told Spieth to believe in himself, even as Kuchar drew even and it all seemed to be slipping away.
And he gave Spieth a spot-on yardage from the spot on the driving range from where he was somehow able to make a bogey that felt like a par.
If it was exhilarating to watch, it was just as exhausting to play. Spieth said it took more out of him than any day he has ever played golf.
There will be plenty of time to rest. He’s only 23 - only Nicklaus and Gene Sarazen were younger when they won three majors - and if Spieth can win the PGA Championship next month, he will be the youngest ever to win the career Grand Slam. He’s a closer, not a choker. And he’s got his name on the claret jug to prove it.