SPIETH READY FOR GLORY BID
American ace sets his sights on two big Open prizes but Schauffele poised to spoil dream
THREE-TIME major winner Jordan Spieth has a dream — to be crowned Open champion at the home of golf. The 29-year-old American plunged to the depths of despair in the wake of his Royal Birkdale Open triumph in 2017 before bouncing back with a bang.
Now he has some unfinished business to attend to at the Old Course after suffering the heartbreak of missing out from earning a play-off spot in 2015 by a single stroke.
Spieth was chasing the third leg of a major grand slam after being crowned Masters and US Open champion. Instead, he was forced to watch compatriot Zach Johnson capture golf’s biggest prize.
But a victory on Scottish soil remains top of his bucket list — and he may yet achieve that aim ahead of his return to St Andrews, in the form of the Scottish Open.
He has three shots to make up on overnight leader Xander Schauffele after signing for a 66 to join compatriot Ryan Palmer and England’s Jordan Smith on four under. Palmer and Smith posted thirdround scores of 67 and 69 respectively to sit two behind former Scottish Open champion Rafa Cabrera Bello, of Spain, who occupies second on his own courtesy of a 67 that elevated him to five under.
But Spieth clearly believes he is capable of bridging the gap after declaring last night: ‘Links golf is arguably my favourite kind of golf and I don’t know of any country that has more fantastic courses than Scotland, with it being the home of golf.
‘It is the history of golf, so it would be meaningful to win Scotland’s national championship. The fact it’s now a co-sanctioned PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Rolex Series Event, it seems like it’s one of the biggest international events of the year.
‘I’m just happy to be in position to be able to do so. Playing in this wind and on this turf — and being acclimated to the speed of the greens and watching how much the wind affects the golf ball — I have a pretty good gauge now on how far the ball is going to fly.
‘Having not come over here a lot of times, I have been trying to make that up in three short days. It’s nice having been over here for a while and I feel like I can get to know the course next week.
‘It’s funny, we try to have dispersions in our iron distances from 10 to 15 yards. When you’re hitting into the wind from an elevated tee, those go to 20-25 yards on full shots.
‘So trying to figure stuff out when you’re trying to slow things down a bit, you can get as good a gauge here as anywhere in the world given the amount of different shots that need to be played.’
Spieth claimed that his focus is on winning in East Lothian and then Fife after explaining: ‘I think they’re the same thing.
‘I’d like to get off to a good start here. I am a few back but, assuming I have a good chance by the back nine, I’ll start to really go.
‘My goal was to come here and have a chance on Sunday, it always is the week before a major.
‘There’s no better prep than winning the week before a major. Having said that, being in contention gives you as much prep as possible and I’m glad to be in the position I am in.’
But it’s Schauffele’s championship to lose, despite a late mini-collapse when he shed shots at both the 17th and 18th after taking his foot off the pedal.
The 28-year-old pacesetter said: ‘I had pretty much everything going. I was judging the bounces well, I was making the putts I needed to make and getting up and down when I was missing the greens.
‘I had six birdies through 16 holes — and no complaints! But it was a tough finish.
‘I’ll go to the range and get some better feels for tomorrow but those are hard finishing holes. I’m pretty okay with the day.
‘It would be very nice to win here, very special, but I don’t want to think too far ahead.
‘It’s just proof my game can travel. I’m competing against an incredible field, one of the best of the year. So I am just going to focus on what I can do now.
There’s no better prep than winning the week before a major
‘I’m getting more comfortable leading from the front, although I haven’t done it too often.
‘Three o’clock tee-times are a bit of a stretch for me. It would be nicer if it was before noon just to get out there and get going. But I’ll figure it out.’
Regrettably, there are no home players in the mix 23 years after Colin Montgomerie became the sole home winner of Scotland’s national championship.
But the final 18 holes promise to be intriguing with so many big names on the leaderboard, including recently crowned US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
The Sheffield man’s 70 earned him a share of sixth alongside halfway leader Cameron Tringale, of the United States, and another American Alex Smalley.
Tringale’s shaky 74 was an indication that the pressure got to him but he very much remains in contention for all that, given he is only four shots behind — provided of course that he regains his nerve.
A glance at the leaderboard suggests that any one of 16 players could land the top prize ahead of The Open.
Much may depend on how strongly the wind blows when huge crowds are expected to turn up in the hope of another day of glorious sunshine.