Spieth glad to have wiggle room with poor weather on way

S OUTHPORT, ENGLAND A piece of mint gum and a check of the weather forecast got Jordan Spieth going in the first round of the 146th British Open.

The two-time major winner got off to a good start in search of the third leg of the career grand slam with a 5-under-par 65 at Royal Birkdale to grab a share of the early lead in the oldest championship in golf. In his first bogey-free round in the Open, Spieth made five birdies.

“Really good start. Everything was strong,” Spieth said. “I give it a nine across the board for everything — tee balls, ball-striking, short game and putting. So things are in check. It’s just about keeping it consistent.

“I couldn’t have done much better today. I missed two greens. I think I missed three, but one of them I was putting from the fringe. So essentially missed two greens today in some 15-mph winds. This course has a lot of crosswinds, so it’s tough to judge how far the ball is going to fly depending on what shot you play. So that speaks a lot to the ball-striking of the day.”

Spieth was well rested and confident when he arrived at this seaside village after a three-week break after his second win of the season in the Travelers Championship. While he put in a lot of long hours of practice in Dallas, he also hung out with a couple of Michaels in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, — Phelps and Jordan.

Then, it turned out, a missing piece to the puzzle of winning the Claret Jug came on the practice ground ahead of his first round. That’s when his coach, Cameron McCormick, offered him a piece of gum.

“I was 1-under through two, and I thought I better keep it in and it’s still in now,” Spieth said. “Payne Stewart used to do it and it served him well.”

A check of the forecast also ignited Spieth. As delightful as Thursday was, it will be equally dreadful on Friday. Steady winds are expected to reach 25 mph, lots of rain is supposed to fall, as will the temperatures.

“I thought today’s round was extremely important, as they all are, but given the forecast coming in, I thought you really needed to be in the red today,” Spieth said. “You can certainly make up ground in a round like tomorrow, but being able to kind of play with shots or play a little more conservatively ... on a day like tomorrow, that’s nice and very helpful.”