Singing in the rain
Spieth makes a splash at soggy Royal Birkdale
On a second day of the 146th Open Championship which at times threatened chaos, if not downright golfing carnage, Jordan Spieth afforded the leaderboard some order.
No doubt, these are early days, as golfers like to say at the halfway point, but be sure, golf has read this script before when it comes to the young American. Even with 36 holes remaining, it is so easy to envisage the 24-year-old advancing to within a USPGA Championship of completing the career grand slam.
As the heavens opened and crosswinds howled, Spieth displayed all his talent, guile and gumption to scramble it around the defiant links in 69 to stand at six under and take a two-shot lead over countryman Matt Kuchar.
In a tie in third comes the resurgent, eye-popping Englishman Ian Poulter alongside the US Open champion Brooks Koepka. It is likely this course has thrown its worst at the contestants and, with a leaderboard also containing Rory Mcilroy, five behind on one under, a thrilling weekend is in store.
Yet they all have to go some to bypass Spieth, who led wire to wire when winning the Masters aged 22 before, 12 months later, infamously conceding a five-shot lead to Danny Willett. On days like this, when Spieth’s willpower lives up to his peerless craft on and around the greens, that capitulation makes absolutely no sense at all.
There were four bogeys on his card and any number of times when he looked aghast at his caddie, Michael Greller. But he weathered the storm – literally – took refuge under the brolly, dried off his grips and then, when the opportunities arose in a staggering six holes, he unleashed the magic moments.
In this 80-minute spell, he chipped in for a par on the 10th, holed a 35-footer on the 11th, stiffed it on the 12th and made an eagle on the 15th. Indeed, when he made that 20-footer for a three, there was suddenly a three-shot gap and the rest must have gulped.
Yet not even Spieth’s escapologist powers could enact the rescue on the 16th and he was forced to be content with his one-under heroics. Once again, he hit only five out of 14 fairways and only eight greens in regulation, but when you are so accomplished with your wedge and taking only 25 putts, it is possible to mask the failings of the long game. But only if the psyche is exceptionally strong.
Spieth dared to call himself “lucky”. “I give myself a B grade today,” he said. “I got pretty frustrated through the turn, hitting it into pot bunker after pot bunker and squeaking out pars somehow, but I thought we did a good job after. I played the last eight holes almost as a new round. I didn’t get everything I could out of yesterday’s round and I got more than I deserved today.”
With respect to the others looming large, Mcilroy’s name in close proximity might cause Spieth to sit up and take most notice. The Northern Irishman’s mission to stage one of the game’s most audacious recoveries is becoming all the more plausible. Birkdale folklore already has it that Mcilroy was five over after six holes in his first round. Since then, he has performed like Mcilroy should perform, playing his last 25 holes in six-under, better than anyone over this stretch.
“To be in after two days and be under par for this championship after the way I started, I’m ecstatic,” Mcilroy said after a 68, pointing out that he was eight shots better on the first six holes this time. “I went out with positivity and trust in myself and just need to keep that for the next two days.”
When Kuchar departed the course just before 2pm, he was expecting to return to his rental home to watch joyous mayhem. The 39-year-old was content with his 71 for a four-under total and, with the forecast predicting torrential rain and higher winds, he was clearly anticipating retaining top spot.
Except it did not quite work out like that.
Yes, there were downpours, coming in sustained bursts of such magnitude they created a 20-minute suspension of play as the greens were cleared of standing water, and the flags did begin to bend in the gusts which, on occasion, hit 35mph. But while there were casualties – Justin Thomas, the world No13 made a quintuple-bogey nine on the sixth on the way to an 80 – the pick of the afternoon starters battened down and withstood the elements.
Poulter, who finished second here in 2008, remarkably managed to keep a bogey off his card until the 16th. He then looked almost certain to take another at the 18th, when he played a sloppy six-iron to the left of the green, short-siding himself behind a greenside bunker. But from there he played a quite marvellous lob-wedge to 2ft.
Poulter has that look on his face, yet having resurrected his career with his runner-up finish at The Players two months ago, he is also swinging with great freedom. This is the first major he has played since the 2016 Masters and, having come through the 36-hole shootout at Woburn a fortnight ago, he is determined to enjoy himself.
He revealed that on Thursday night his eldest son, Luke, had taken £20 off John Daly’s son, John Jnr, in a challenge match and the
father, too, is ready to take on allcomers. Be it Spieth or whoever.
“I’m in a bonus week – I qualified,” Poulter said. “I’m loving it. I really am. This is a massive bonus for me to be in this position. I haven’t played a major for a while and I’m excited. I feel my game’s coming back to form. I’m ready to go toe to toe with anyone.”
For Scotland, Richie Ramsay soars so proudly on two-under after a 70 in which he played “some of the best golf of my career”, while on the same mark as Mcilroy are Richard Bland, the 44-year-old from Hampshire who is enjoying the week of his career, and the Americans Gary Woodland and Austin Connelly.