Spieth keeps his cool after feeling the heat
JORDAN SPIETH avoided being left redfaced when he birdied two of his closing three holes as he began his quest to become the youngest player to claim the Grand Slam at the USPGA Championship.
Spieth was struggling in the hot and humid conditions and was three over after 15 holes, before ending with a one-overpar 72 on a rain-softened Quail Hollow course.
The world No3 got off to a good start to be even through nine holes but struggled after the turn, three-putting on three holes to drop shots.
“They were hard putts, but those three holes on average would be one over. Instead I was three,” said Spieth. “It was so difficult.”
It left the Texan trailing five shots behind Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, who snatched six birdies in a four-under 67 to set a new course record.
Reigning US Open champion Brooks Koepka, who played alongside Spieth, finished with a three-under 68.
Masters winner Sergio Garcia, the third member of the 2017 Major champions, slumped to a four-over-par 75 that included completing the ‘Green Mile’ – the closing three holes – in five over.
The British challenge was reduced by one last night when Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnstone was forced to withdraw with a shoulder injury after shooting a seven-over 78.
But Paul Casey made a typically consistent start with a round of 69 that put him one ahead of Tommy Fleetwood.
After a fourthplace finish in the US Open, Fleetwood was one of the favourites for the Open at Royal Birkdale, a course just a few miles from his home town of Southport.
But the 26-year-old could only card an opening 76 before battling tough conditions on day two to make the cut. Rounds of 66 and 70 saw him finish in a tie for 27th. “I didn’t really feel pressure at Birkdale, I just thought it was a new experience, being talked about as a potential winner of a Major,” said Fleetwood last night. “It was all very new and I had a massive following, which was great. I had experiences that week that I won’t get for another eight or nine years.” Fellow Englishman Ian Poulter started with a double bogey, birdie, bogey and bogey in a “mentally draining” round that finished at three over. “I managed to hit only four fairways and if you only hit four fairways you are going to have to scramble, and I scrambled all day,” he said. “I had come here on Sunday to do my prep and the course was fiery and it was a lot more firm than today. “I then went back home for a couple of days and came back and the course had softened up, so I had a few mud balls out there today and that is going to happen when you get rain overnight.
“You are always going to suffer with those in various places on the fairways.
“The greens are running and with every putt you are always afraid to hit it too hard. It looks like everyone out there is scared to hit putts because the greens are exceptionally quick.
“It is the same for everyone and you just have to get on and suck it up and go play golf.
“Three over is not a decent score. It is an OK score and I finished OK, but I have walked off the course having had to fight my way around.
“It was mentally tiring and to not drive the ball today as well as I had thought and how I should have done, it was just hard work. I feel like I have been kicked all day as you are fighting right from the start.”
Poulter is no stranger to the course, having often contested the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour, but changes made in the off-season have altered its character.
“It is not the same course with this new grass in place, it is not even remotely close,” he said. “It is a different animal.”