The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Spieth ready for ‘tremendous challenge’ at Carnoustie
Open: Defending champion relishing challenge on famous old course after 2017 victory
Jordan Spieth can’t wait to defend his Open Championship title at “the tremendous challenge” of Carnoustie’s opening holes as he bids to repeat his dramatic Birkdale victory last year, writes Steve Scott.
The 24-year-old, whose victory after an apparent collapse last year meant he had claimed three of golf’s four major championships before he was 23, admits his season has been “off” so far but believes he will be switched on for the Angus links in July.
“I’ve no doubt I’m capable of coming back and defending,” he said, having missed the cut at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills in testing weather conditions. “I’ve proven to myself I can go from two missed cuts to winning the week after in previous years.”
“I don’t think I should prepare myself for anything easier (than Shinnecock),” added Spieth.
“I’ve seen Opens at Carnoustie and the course has a reputation, among the players, for being the most difficult on the Open rota.
“Although it won’t be necessarily the golf course itself, the conditions can create scores similar to what we saw in the US Open. You can expect a little bit of everything in four days in Scotland.”
What he knows of Carnoustie is that the course has a reputation that can’t be held lightly.
“Carnoustie presents, especially in the closing holes but really throughout the whole course, a tremendous challenge that as a competitor you look forward to,” he said.
“I don’t have any personal memory of the 1999 Open, but in 2007 that was kind of the height of me beginning to fall in love with the game, to travel and play.
“I remember Sergio (Garcia) and Padraig (Harrington) going at it and the way they played the final hole, and if I recall correctly Sergio has a pretty good look to win the tournament in regulation.
“I also remember the routes they took and how good a score par is on that hole, and will no doubt continue to be for Open championships going forward.
“It’s one of the toughest holes in championships anywhere. It’s created great drama when it comes down to Sunday before. I don’t think it’s going to be any different this year.”
Spieth isn’t quite sure whether he’ll prepare by playing the week before or going to Paris to see Golf National, where the Ryder Cup is being played later this year.
“The plan is to get to Carnoustie Sunday afternoon or evening, and maybe getting some work in but if not starting on Monday,” he said.
“That’s nothing different to previous Opens or either other majors for me on courses I haven’t seen.
“We can get a lot of work done in three days, totally understand the golf course and what it represents between my work, (caddie) Michael (Geller) and (coach) Cameron (McCormick).
Last year’s win at Birkdale is very much in his memory but he finds the actual experience very different to what he sees on footage of both his famous 13th hole recovery and the charge that followed and took him to victory.
“I watched it when I got home and to be honest I found myself fast-forwarding through the footage from 13 because it was a lot longer than my memory,” he said.
“To me at the time it was just making decisions, but watching it back, man, it took a long time. It was kind of tough to watch.
“But funnily, everything after that happened went much slower for me than it seemed to happen on TV. All that regrouping, remotivating and resetting the goal happened very quickly in real time than it felt for me.”
He has no doubt about his most significant shot during that time, however.
“The six-iron (at the short) 14th,” he said. “Getting the stroke back right there, and then playing the two par fives with some momentum. That shot led to (the win).”
He also plans to keep hearing himself announced as “Champion Golfer of the Year”.
“We don’t hear that in the announcements in the PGA Tour and I’m looking forward to hearing my name called as that again, it’s such a cool title,” he said.
“You need to realise how special that is and embrace what it means. I look forward to teeing up at Carnoustie, having those chills again as I remember last year, and then getting focused to try to do it again.”