All that’s left, after another Open Championship for the ages, is a rundown of the final standings at the top of the leaderboard.
-12: Spieth
-9: Kuchar
-6: Li
-5: McIlroy, Cabrera-Bello
-4: Southgate, Leishman, Noren, Grace, Koepka
-3: Casey, Kim, Stenson
-2: Z Johnson, Wood, Dufner, Poulter, Matsuyama, Connelly
-1: Schauffele, Hoffman
E: Scott, Lovemark, Bland, Fowler, Ramsay
See you next month for the PGA!
Spieth is given the Claret Jug, and he takes to the mic to give his winner’s speech. “Thank you. We as players look very much forward to this event, it’s top class. You’re the most respectful and educated fans in the world, and we couldn’t appreciate it more. I want to thank the membership at Royal Birkdale for allowing us to tear up your course for a few days. Boy, what an incredible venue. We owe you guys a lot of thanks. I’d like to thank my caddy Michael after keeping me in it after not quite an ideal start! I was getting down on myself, as anybody I think would. It’s as much his as mine, and you deserve all the credit in the world. This is a dream come true for me. I was able to drink a little wine out of it when Zach Johnson won it a couple of years ago, and a lot of people told me that was bad luck ... I started to believe them a bit through the front nine holes today! What an incredible day. Matt, I enjoyed the battle, it could have gone to either one of us, and I got the breaks today. What a great champion Matt Kuchar is, and what a class act. I took about 20 minutes to play one of my shots today. Matt took it in his stride and smiled, and there’s not many people who would have done that. It speaks to the kind of man you are, and you set an example to all of us. I’m going to take this back to America which might upset a few of y’all here, but I’ll return it again. What an incredible honour!”
Time for the prize-giving ceremony. And first there’s a word from the R&A in memory of two greats who have passed since the last Open: Arnold Palmer and Roberto De Vicenzo. Palmer won the Open in 1961 here at Birkdale, then again at Troon the following year. De Vicenzo was the equally popular winner at Hoylake in 1967. The knowledgeable masses spill waves of warm applause down from the stands. Then the leading amateur Alfie Plant comes down to collect his silver medal. And soon after, picking up his silver salver, the runner-up, Matt Kuchar. And then, with a score of 268, the winner of the gold medal and the champion golfer of the year ... Jordan Spieth!
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And here’s the other thing: Matt Kuchar didn’t buckle. To the contrary: he played brilliantly along that closing stretch. He was just defeated by an astonishing force of nature. Kuchar didn’t lose the 146th Open; Spieth won it.
So here’s just what Jordan Spieth has just done. After being forced to take an unplayable and drop it behind some sponsored trucks onto the driving range to the right of the 13th hole - at which point most players would have mentally capitulated - he scrambled bogey; nearly made a hole in one; made a birdie; made an eagle from 35 feet; made another birdie from 30 feet; made yet another birdie; and closed out a major championship with a fuss-free par. That is an off-the-scale display of sheer street-fighting majesty. Plenty of golfing talent too, yes, yes. Oodles of it. But golfing talent in the professional game is ten a penny. Spieth is made of something extra, the special stuff. What is that magic matter? Don’t know. But Jack had it. Arnie had it. Gary Player had it. Tom Watson had it. Seve had it. Tiger had it. And now Spieth becomes only the second man, behind Nicklaus, to have won three separate majors before he turned 24. Wow, huh?
JORDAN SPIETH IS THE 2017 OPEN CHAMPION! The champion golfer of the year! Spieth half-collapses into the arms of his caddy, then embraces Kuchar, who responds by warmly clapping him on the back. You’ll not see days like this again too often.
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Kuchar’s ball is plugged in the sand. He can only smash it out, 30 feet past the flag. It’s over, and for once the very likeable Kuchar can’t flash a smile. Spieth rolls his long putt up to the hole side. Kuchar very nearly rolls in his huge par putt, but it’s a final-hole bogey, not that it really matters. Spieth prepares to tap in for par, and...
Spieth up first, 220 yards from the hole. The wind coming in from the left. He whips an iron dead straight, into the front of the green. He’s maybe 30 feet from the flag. Then it’s Kuchar, 180 out. And he slam-dunks his second into the second bunker to the left of the green. The pair embark on the most famous walk in golf. Kuchar, who knows the jig is pretty much up, hangs back and gives the moment to Spieth. A huge ovation for this brilliant young man, though there are plenty of cries of KOOOOOOCH too. These chaps have put on quite a show, and they’re getting the reception they deserve! “The comparison with Seve in the car park is apt, but now I’m thinking Faldo at Muirfield 1992,” writes Ivan Todd. “After he threw away his lead over John Cook he said to himself ‘now I’ve got to play the best four holes of my life’. That’s just what he did. And that’s just what Spieth has done from the 14th to 17th.”
Spieth takes a hybrid at 18. A clever move, given what’s happened before with the big stick. He finds the first cut down the right. Kuchar has no option, and is forced to take the driver. He batters big and long. His ball threatens to snag in the thicker stuff down the right, but takes a kind bounce left and sits in the semi-rough too. They both make their way down from the elevated tee to their destiny.
Spieth makes no mistake: arrowed into the heart of the cup! Straight and unerring! Another birdie! It would have been so easy to yip that one, Kuchar having put the screws on with his brilliant birdie putt. But he’s gone 2-3-3-4 since the drama of 13. His mental fortitude is off the scale!
-12: Spieth (17)
-10: Kuchar (17)
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Kuchar takes his time over the putt. He’s earned the right, after being so polite and patient on 13. Eventually, after a long prowl round the green, he rolls in the left-to-right birdie effort! That’s put a fair bit of pressure on Spieth’s putt now!
Kuchar sends his ball 15 feet past the flag, a fine approach to set up a birdie chance. Spieth next. He draws his wedge back ... and stops his swing just as a cameraman sets his shutter chattering. “Aw come on, man!” He re-sets himself, and sends his wedge screeching to a halt, six feet behind the hole. Two potentially decisive putts coming up!
Kuchar really needs an eagle, but he can’t go for the green from the thick, wet rough. He smashes his ball down the fairway, leaving himself a wedge in. Spieth has a much better lie, in trodden-down old Puntersville. He can ease an iron down the track - no need for heroics - and sets himself up with a wedge in. He just needs to match Kuchar shot for shot now. Easier said than done, naturally.
Spieth’s drive at 17 leaks off to the right. A punter stops it sailing into more trouble, and that’s just as well: we need to finish this hole before sundown. Kuchar can’t take advantage, his drive snagging in quite thick oomska down the left. They’re the only pair still out on the course, which is no surprise given all that highly entertaining faffing around on 13. Brooks Koepka signs for a 71; he ends up at -4. Austin Connelly carded a 73: he’s -2. Hideki Matsuyama shot 72; he’s -2. And Mr 62 signs for a 70 today. Branden Grace ends the week at -4.
Kuchar rolls a fine putt up onto the green, perfectly judged from 60 feet or so. He’ll finish that off for his par. But then Jordan Spieth - he really is something else - rakes another long putt into the cup. Birdie, and all of a sudden that’s a two-shot lead!
-11: Spieth (16)
-9: Kuchar (16)
“I think Jordan Spieth just had his Seve moment,” opines Hubert O’Hearn, with reference to the great man’s car-park antics at Lytham in 1979. Ha, it’s a fair comparison. And he’s certainly driving as recklessly as Seve. He’s just whistled his tee shot at 16 into the thick stuff down the left! They used to call Seve the Car Park Champion. Will Spieth become the Driving Range Champion? He’s three holes away. Kuchar splits the fairway, but his second falls off the false front of the green. Spieth up next. And he sends his into the heart of the dancefloor, pin high, 30 feet to the left. Those shenanigans on 13 appear to have cleared a few pipes. He’s clearly less nervous. For now. How long that will last is the big question. You wouldn’t put another swing in momentum past these two.
Kuchar slaps his ball out of the sand, releasing it towards the hole. It’s a beauty, he’ll have a four footer for birdie. Spieth then lines up his 35-foot left-to-right slider for eagle. AND IN IT GOES! This is an unbelievable turnaround! Kuchar knocks in his birdie putt, wasting no time, but he’s suddenly a shot behind. Imagine if you went back in time and told Kuchar, standing on the 13th fairway waiting for Spieth to play, how the next half hour would pan out. He’d just look you up and down with pity, wouldn’t he? But here we are.
-10: Spieth (15)
-9: Kuchar (15)
-6: Li (F)
Kuchar’s second into 15 is snaffled by the bunker front left of the green. Spieth manages to guide his fairway wood onto the putting surface, though only just. Up on 18, Cabrera-Bello pars to settle for a 68 and a -5 finish alongside Rory McIlroy. Birkdale takes an opportunity to breathe out, and relax. But only for a while.
Erm. Good lord. I don’t know how either of these players are holding it together. They kind of are, they kind of aren’t. Spieth’s powers of recovery and mental fortitude are something else; he looked addled for a while there, but somehow turned it round. Kuchar for his part must be wondering what he needs to do to shake his opponent off. They both clack drives down the middle of the par-five 15th. This isn’t normal!
The action gets wilder and wilder, as Spieth responds by nearly acing the 14th! His tee shot is as sweet as his effort at 13 was sour, flying straight at the flag. A couple of bounces, and it threatens to roll into the cup, but skates past on the left and stops six feet behind the flag. Kuchar’s effort only just holds the green on the right, with the pin back left. Then Kuchar very nearly curls his long right-to-left breaker into the cup: par. And in goes Spieth’s birdie putt. He clenches his fist and mouths: boom! This is one of the most preposterous bounce-backs in the history of the Open. He looked a busted flush when desperately trying to salvage what looked like an impossible situation on 13 (via the driving range). Now he’s neck-and-neck at the top again!
-8: Kuchar (14), Spieth (14)
-6: Li (F)
Elsewhere, a birdie for Rafa Cabrera-Bello on 17; he’s -5. And Rory McIlroy doesn’t hit his bunker shot. A par, a 67, and he ends the week -5. How he’ll rue the first six holes of this tournament. But this might in time be seen as a turning point for his season.
Speaking of time, 17-and-a-half minutes passed between Jordan Spieth finding his ball and playing his third shot. He goes up to apologise to Matt Kuchar for making him wait so long: the pair bump fists, smile, and pat each other on the shoulder. Friends despite it all. Spieth delicately splashes over the bunker, lands on the down slope, and rests his ball six feet from the hole. Kuchar can’t make the birdie putt; just a par. And Spieth knocks his in to escape with bogey! That is just sensational. A giddy mix of farce and belligerent refusal to kow-tow to fate. It looked for all the world like he’d be dropping at least a couple there. Just a bogey, though, and he’s just one behind!
-8: Kuchar (13)
-7: Spieth (13)
-6: Li (F)
Up on 18, McIlroy needs a birdie to have any chance of victory. But he drives into the thick rough down the right. He lashes his second greenwards - taking a mouthful of grass for his trouble - and the ball goes into the bunker front left. Time running out for Rory.
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After all that, Spieth finally takes his shot. He lashes a long iron from the driving range over railings, sponsored trucks and grassy knolls, and back towards the hole. Remember the 13th hole? It’s a fine effort, too, landing just to the right of the green. But he’s there in three. Kuchar is already on the green in two, with a medium-length birdie putt lined up. This could be the pivotal moment of the 2017 Open! Either way, there’s an episode that will go down into Championship legend!
It’s certainly farcical, even if Spieth’s not barefoot in water, trousers rolled up. He’s decided to take an unplayable, and is looking to drop his ball as far back as he can, keeping the place it landed and the flagstick in line. He’s going onto the driving range, and there are Titleist and Taylor Made trucks in the road! It appears he’s going to take the drop in between the trucks - in line - and then he’ll get a free line-of-sight drop from that vehicular obstruction. You really couldn’t script this. Penny for Matt Kuchar’s thoughts; he’s standing on the fairway whistling, waiting for the circus to leave town. Oh, meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has just eagled 17 to rise to -5! If he can birdie the last, he’ll have a share of the clubhouse lead with Li Haotong. This is a glorious nonsense!
After a long search, a punter called George finds Spieth’s ball. According to Wayne Riley on Sky, it’s 120 yards off line! As Spieth stands atop a hillock, surveying the scene, his ball snagged in cabbage one side, the fairway many yards to the other, Kuchar smacks his second into the heart of the green. A clever match-play move, for the pressure is now really ratcheted up on Spieth. If the 23-year-old fails to win today, pictures of Spieth up on the bank (Texans and grassy knolls, don’t even go there) may become the defining image of this Open. Shades of van de Velde?
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Right now, Matt Kuchar looks less jittery than Jordan Spieth. That’s about as much as can be said right now. Kuchar pushes his drive into filth down the right of 13. Spieth however slices an awful effort miles further right, over a bank and into the long grass. They might have trouble finding that. Spieth was holding his head in his hands as his ball took off on its hysterical journey. This is in danger of turning into a collapse for the ages, and Spieth knows it all too well.
Kuchar knocks his three-footer straight into the cup. Par. So does Spieth, though he takes an absolute age to line up the short putt. He’ll be beginning to test the patience of the officials, who have already threatened the pair with the clock. Bogey meanwhile for Brooks Koepka at 13; he’s back to -3. A ten-foot birdie chance passed up by Rafa Cabrera-Bello on the par-five 15th. And par for Branden Grace on 14. The chasing pack are running out of chances to close the gap on both the on-course pacesetters and clubhouse leader Li Haotong.
-8: Kuchar (12), Spieth (12)
-6: Li (F)
-4: Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (16), Cabrera-Bello (15), Grace (14)
Kuchar’s left-to-right slider is sent skittering towards the hole bang on line. But he doesn’t quite hit it, and there’s a little work to do if he wants his par. Spieth is up next. And he leaves his short too! Both very tentative. Both a bag of nerves. This is grimly fascinating.
Kuchar’s iron into 12 flies over the flag. “Bite! Land softly!” The ball complies with his master’s wishes, but that’s still 30 feet away. And then it’s the turn of Spieth to scream “Softly! Softly! Softly! Aarrrgggghhh!” They’re not studies in serenity, are they? Perhaps they’ve been taking lessons from Frank Costanza. Spieth’s ball lands a similar distance behind the cup. A putting contest coming up.
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Spieth has a decent lie on grass trodden down by the gallery. He clips it softly, down onto the green, resting the ball six feet from the cup. Kuchar very nearly drains his long right-to-left curler across the green; so close to birdie, but that’s just par. Spieth tidies up for his par, and the pair are still locked together at -8. McIlroy meanwhile is forced to play his provisional at 15; the lost ball costs him a bogey. He drops to -3, and there goes that pipe dream on a hole he realistically needed to eagle in order to put some pressure on the leaders.
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“Aw Jesus! I hit it fat!” There’s Jordan Spieth, describing how he’s shortsided himself on 11, his ball sent into the punters to the left of the green from the middle of the fairway. The pin is tight to that side of the green; he’ll have quite a chip coming back down a bank. Matt Kuchar meanwhile sends his second pin high, though 30 feet from the cup. Meanwhile young Austin Connelly suffered a little bit on the front nine: out in 38, with bogeys at 1, 5, 7 and 9. But he’s just made back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, to spring back up to -3.
Spieth and Kuchar make a couple of fuss-free two-putts from distance on 10. Pars, as the rain begins to come down. Rory McIlroy meanwhile looks to have cooked his goose, hoicking a wild, wild, wild drive down the left of 15 and into the wilderness. That looks like it’s disappeared under a gorse bush. And Jason Dufner follows up his 66 yesterday with a 68 today, the 2013 PGA champ finishing at -2. His previous best at an Open was a tie for 22nd last year; it’s been a dream week for the Somnambulist.
The R&A have politely told Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar to pick up the pace. They’re not on the clock, but a very British request has been filed. They both have difficult shots coming in to 10, to be fair, having flayed their drives either side of the track. Both find the green, just about. Meanwhile the defending champion Henrik Stenson birdies 11 and 12, a gentle reminder that his duel with Phil Mickelson at Troon this time last year was of rather better quality than the one we’re currently watching. Not that we’re complaining: this is as tense as golf gets! It takes all types of battles.
Rory McIlroy fires his tee shot at the final par three, 14, straight at the flag. But he’s half a club short and can’t drain the birdie putt. He stays put at -4. Paul Casey signs for a 67; he’s -3. That second-round 77, on his 40th birthday, could have cost him the Open.
Some admin, set aside while Spieth was giving up his lead: Koepka watches in anguish as a birdie putt at 10 shaves the hole; it would have taken him back to -5, but he just can’t get anything going. Rory pars 13, though it’ll seem like a birdie after a wild drive. Sergio signs off with a 72: he’s +2, and off to get married. All the best, sir! To great bedlam, and with love in the air, Beef makes his way up 18 - so much for the opinion-forming clout of Talksport - and signs for a 71. He’s +1, and it’s another fine Open for the big man! Don’t go changing, Andrew Johnston!
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The leaders aren’t exactly exuding confidence. Spieth and Kuchar both miss the fairway at 9, though suddenly they click into gear. Spieth sends his approach over the flag to 20 feet, while Kuchar gently lands his six feet to the left of the hole. Spieth races his putt five feet past. Kuchar finally converts one of his chances. And then Spieth’s short par putt horseshoes out, after a long deliberation on line with his caddy. Caddy misinforms player, player goes with it, and suddenly they’re all square at the top! And this news will reverberate around Birkdale, because Spieth is coming back to the pack at pace. He’s three over for his round!
-8: Kuchar (9), Spieth (9)
-6: Li (F)
-4: Southgate (F), Leishman (F), Noren (14), McIlroy (13), Cabrera-Bello (12), Grace (11), Koepka (10)
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Maybe Rafa Cabrera-Bello’s race isn’t quite run yet! He arrows his tee shot at 12 straight at the flag: two bounces and it’s nearly in the cup, before rolling off to the left at the last. That’s a kick-in birdie, and he’ll be back to -4. Meanwhile Paul Casey creams two beauties up the par-five 17th, setting himself up with a straightforward 12-footer for eagle. He doesn’t hit it, though, and it dies to the left. It’s still three birdies in a row, and he’s -3 all of a sudden, but that kind of sums his week up. Brilliant, but not quite brilliant enough.
Branden Grace registers his first birdie of the day with a huge rake up 10. At this point in his round yesterday, he already had five on his card. The beauty of golf, right there! He raises his putter in the air in celebration as he moves back to -4, having bogeyed 6 earlier. Whatever happens for the rest of this round, he’ll always have Birkdale, and will always be Mr 62.
Spieth gives his long birdie putt every chance of dropping. It’s a fine effort, though it’s always staying out on the left. He’ll escape with his par after that dismal approach. Kuchar’s ten-footer slips by the right, and for the second hole in succession, a chance to close the two-shot gap at the top goes begging. Rory McIlroy nearly drains a monster from the back of 12; not quite, and he really needs everything to drop. He’s -4. And a wayward drive down 11 by Rafa Cabrera-Bello costs the Spaniard a shot. He most likely won’t be following up Scottish Open glory with a victory in the Open like Phil Mickelson did four years ago: he’s -3.
-9: Spieth (8)
-7: Kuchar (8)
-6: Li (F)
A par for the local hero Tommy Fleetwood at the last, and he’s signing for a 70. He’s +1 for the tournament, a decent week in the end after a nightmare start with that 76 on the opening day. The crowd give him their all. His partner Marc Leishman pars too, and that’s a final-day 65 that brings him to -4, in the clubhouse alongside Matthew Southgate. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar blooter a couple of fine tee shots down 8. Kuchar wedges in to set himself up for another birdie chance, but Spieth’s radar is seriously off: he sends his miles over the flag, and though that’s still on the putting surface, it’s a long two putts for his par. The momentum could be about to shift yet again!
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Another birdie for Rory McIlroy, this time at 11: he’s -4. The crowd erupt, perhaps allowing themselves to dream some dreamy dreams. If McIlroy gets a wriggle on over these closing holes ... if Spieth and Kuchar continue to shake with nerves ... if the rain and wind come back ... well, stranger things have happened. Fans of Alex Noren may also be making similar calculations: having turned in 31, the 35-year-old Swede bogeyed 11, but he’s just reclaimed the shot at 13. He’s -4 too.
Matt Kuchar picks himself up from that body blow, sending his tee shot at the par-three 7th to ten feet. Jordan Spieth is pin high, but a good 40 feet from the flag. And he’s got a slippery downhill one with a snaky break. Spieth gets a good line, but doesn’t it it, and has to settle for par. Kuchar should close the gap, but he lets the birdie putt slide by, and a pained look washes over his face. Meanwhile up on 18, Matthew Southgate makes par, and that’s a stunning 65 that guarantees a high finish at -4! He celebrates like he’s won the Open itself, and after all his health problems, it’s wonderful to see him so happy, having come out the other side.
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Kuchar, in the bunker front right of 6, has a long way to go to reach the pin back left. He can only smack his ball out of the sand to 15 feet. Two putts, and that’s a bogey. Spieth however bumps his chip from the side to four feet, a lovely touch, and he’s taken advantage of that lucky break from his errant drive by saving his par! All of a sudden, things are looking a little more comfortable for Spieth. Whether he’s feeling much more comfortable is another matter, but this - featuring birdie for Open specialist Marc Leishman at 17 - is where we are.
-9: Spieth (6)
-7: Kuchar (6)
-6: Li (F)
-4: Southgate (17), Leishman (17), Cabrera-Bello (9)
That’s a huge stroke of luck for Spieth, who could have been faced with an unplayable lie under a bush had his ball not come into contact with a spectator. From a trodden-down lie, he bundles a fairway wood to the side of the green. Kuchar is snagged in thick stuff on the hood of the bunker; his lash up the hole ends up in the sand front left of the putting surface. Meanwhile another birdie for Matthew Southgate, this time at 17, and he’s -4. He celebrates by punching the air, and why not? He’s tied for fourth at the Open with Rafa Cabrera-Bello ... but not Brooks Koepka, who is forced to splash out sideways from sand at the par-three 7th, and drops to -3. Koepka’s partner Austin Connelly bogeys too, his third of the day after 1 and 5: he’s -2 now.
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Has that birdie calmed Jordan Spieth down? Not on the evidence of his drive at 6, hooked hysterically into the crowd down the left. His ball hits some poor sod in the gallery, and doesn’t fly into the bush as it would for your everyday hacker. That’s a lucky break, though on Sky, the on-course commentator Wayne Riley describes Spieth as a “startled rabbit in headlights”, which doesn’t augur well. Perhaps the 12th at Augusta has scarred him more than we realised. The first cut is always the deepest, baby. Once again, though, Matt Kuchar doesn’t really take advantage, sending his tee shot whistling into bother in or around the bunker to the left of the dogleg.
Kuchar races his long birdie effort five feet past the hole. He does well to get the one coming back for par, because in between strokes Spieth strokes in a gentle left-to-right curler to re-establish his lead. His first birdie of the day, and a rather brave response to a spirit-sapping start.
-9: Spieth (5)
-8: Kuchar (5)
-6: Li (F)
Jordan Spieth needs something to settle him down, and he might have just found it. He whips his second at the short par-five 5th pin high to eight feet. Kuchar’s wedge in is dreadful, 30 feet short of the flag. It’s very easy to forget that these two players are leading the Open, or perhaps it’s all too apparent. A lot of nervous golf being played in this last pairing. Matthew Southgate continues to go well, though: birdies at 14 and 15, and very nearly at 16. He’s -3. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy turns in 33 after rolling in a 15-footer for birdie on 9. He’s -3. And birdie for Rafa Cabrera-Bello at 8: he’s -4.
A lot of players will have had their interest piqued at what’s going on at the top of the leader board. A long trundle for Rickie Fowler on 9 results in birdie: he turns in 33 and he’s -1. And his playing partner picks up a shot there too; it’s his third of the day, after birdies at 5 and 6, and he reaches the turn in 31. He’s -4. Birdie for Marc Leishman at 15: he’s -3. But another dropped shot for Austin Connelly, who has had his young-man thunder well and truly stolen by Li Haotong!
Did anybody see any of this coming?! Kuchar splashes out of the sand to a couple of feet, and that’s his par. Spieth however leaves his first putt a good 12 feet short, and can’t salvage the situation. He’s started 5-4-5-4 and looks very shaky indeed, three over for his round through just four holes! I suppose it’s easy to forget that, for all his achievements, he’s still a very young man, just 23 years old. Even so, this is quite sensational.
-8: Kuchar (4), Spieth (4)
-6: Li (F)
-4: Noren (10), Grace (5), Koepka (5)
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Up on 18, Li splits the fairway with a gorgeous drive - then caresses his second to five feet! He knocks it in! He’s finished with four birdies in a row, and will be signing for a 63! More importantly, he’s the new clubhouse leader at -6 ... which suddenly seems like a mark, because back on 4, Matt Kuchar (-8) can only find the bunker front right, while Jordan Spieth (-9) is a club short, albeit on the green. What a round by the 21-year-old from Shanghai, who has proved quite the surprise this week. A new talent has just announced itself! He smiles broadly, as well he might. What a round! On the final day! It’s his first Open!!!
-9: Spieth (3)
-8: Kuchar (3)
-6: Li (18)
Kuchar splashes out delicately to eight feet, about the best he could do when facing a high face and a downhill lie. Spieth has two putts from the fringe at the back, over 80 feet to save par. He judges the distance well, but it breaks to the right. He’s about six feet away. Both have tricky par savers to make. Neither manage them. And up on 17, Li Haotong makes it three birdies on the bounce, and he’s in third on his own ... just four shots off the lead at -5! A quite astonishing start to this final round, thanks to the shaky travails of the supposedly runaway leading pair!
-9: Spieth (3)
-8: Kuchar (3)
-5: Li (17)
-4: Noren (9), Grace (4), Koepka (4), Connelly (4)
Coming out of the rough at 3, Spieth gets a “jumper” through the green. He looks a little stunned at the double whammy he’s suffered over the opening two holes. Easy to forget that he’s still leading the Open. But the momentum is with Kuchar right now. However the 39-year-old Floridian - whose best finish at an Open was a tie for ninth at Lytham in 2012 - doesn’t take the opportunity to zip through the open door. From the centre of the fairway, he sends his approach into the pot bunker guarding the front right of the green. A high lip and not a lot of green to play with at all. A chance to keep his Footjoy on Spieth’s neck spurned.
The tension crackles around Birkdale! Could we be about to witness another Stenson-Mickelson duel? Troon II? As it stands, it’s on! Kuchar finds the centre of the 3rd fairway, while Spieth’s tee shot bleeds off to the right and ends up in some light rough. Buckle in, everyone. Meanwhile up on 18, Zach Johnson signs for his second 66 of the week, and he’s the new clubhouse leader at -2.
The gap at the top is now just one! Spieth and Kuchar pepper the flag at 2. Kuchar sends his approach in first, and it’s a doozy, to tap-in distance. Spieth does very well in response, sending his second to ten feet, but his putt slips by the cup on the left. Meanwhile pars for Koepka and Connelly at 3. Dustin Johnson earlier bogeyed 2; he’s already back to level par, his race run. His namesake Zach makes his fifth birdie today, at 17, to rise to -2. And Rory McIlroy pars the gimme-birdie 5th; he’s -2, and it’s time to start regrouping for Quail Hollow.
-10: Spieth (2)
-9: Kuchar (2)
-4: Li (16), Grace (3), Koepka (3), Connelly (3)
Alfie Plant wins the silver medal for leading amateur! He goes round in 73 today, finishing at +6 for the tournament. He’s the only amateur to have survived the cut, so having completed the 72 holes, the precious prize is his! He gets a grand ovation from the crowd at 18, deserving every last clap and cheer, both for his magnificent play, and his cheery demeanour. He looked as though he enjoyed every single second. Wonderful to watch. He’s living the dream!
Spieth does pretty well to clip his ball from a tight lie over sand to 12 feet. He’ll at least have a look at saving par. Kuchar doesn’t hit his long birdie putt from off the green, but that’s a tap-in par. And then Spieth’s par putt glides off to the right. The lead is suddenly only two! Meanwhile another birdie for Li Haotong, this time at 16! The 21-year-old from Shanghai is tied for third right now on his Open debut!
-10: Spieth (1)
-8: Kuchar (1)
-4: Li (16), Grace (2), Koepka (2), Connelly (4)
-3: Noren (7), Cabrera-Bello (4)
The first hole claims a couple more victims. Koepka putts up from the swale to the left of the green. He should tidy up for par, from four feet, but his putt lips out. Connelly races his sand blast 15 feet past, and that’s a shot gone too. Both drop to -4. And the carnage might not be over, because back down the hole, Spieth’s skelp out of the thick stuff is sent into the punters down the left. He’ll have a tricky pitch over bunkers. Kuchar’s second isn’t all that, either, pin high but off the green to the right. Some better news: another birdie for Alex Noren, this time at 6, and he’s -3. And there’s one for Ian Poulter at 5, claiming back the shot he dropped at 3. He’s -2 again.
A quick word on Marc Leishman, a runner-up in 2015 and a player who is threatening to take the step up to major winner. He won’t be doing that here at Birkdale, though he’s putting in another good performance at the oldest championship: out in 31, he’s since parred the first three holes on the back nine, and is -2 for the tournament, looking at a top-ten finish.
The final pairing is out! Matt Kuchar - fans honking his name in the signature style - smashes his drive down the middle, though the camber of the fairway sends the ball into the first cut on the right. And then it’s the leader Jordan Spieth, who clatters a huge drive down the hole. But it’s an inch or two too far to the left, and snags in very thick garbage on the hill to the side. You’ve seen most of those bounce back out into the fairway this week, but Spieth isn’t afforded the luck. That’s going to be a testing approach.
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This opening hole is proving quite the test today. Now the penultimate pairing of Brooks Koepka and Austin Connelly fail to reach the green in regulation. Koepka’s ball topples off the left-hand side of the putting surface; Connelly’s is snaffled by the pot bunker at the front left of the green. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy has now parred the first four holes. But it’s another birdie for Li Haotong, this time at 15, and the Chinese debutant is going along very nicely indeed at -4.
Coming behind, Matsuyama’s playing his provisional, and he sends his fourth to the left of the green. It’s a tricky spot from which to get up and down in the best of circumstances, and he can only send his chip 20 feet past the hole. A triple to start with, and he’s toast with his round barely begun. He plummets to -1. Grace however powers his second onto the front, and saves his par. Mr 62’s still -4. And birdies for Rickie Fowler and Alex Noren at 5, both moving to -2. Similar, but not too similar: the former sent his wedge to kick-in range; the latter drained a 40-footer up the green.
Dustin Johnson finds the bunker guarding the front left of 1. He’s left with no backswing, so can only take his medicine and chip out sideways. He can’t get up and down from off the front of the green - the chip up’s not bad, it’s the short putt at fault - and that’s a double bogey that drops him back to -1. Any faint hopes he had are kaput.
The world number two, Hideki Matsuyama, is on the first tee. He takes an age to pull the trigger: he looks nervous. And he sprays his drive into the bushes down the right. Chances are that’s lost. It might be out of bounds. He’s got to hit a provisional, anyway. Up next, Mr 62, Branden Grace. And one day is a long time in golf. He hoicks a dreadful drive towards shrubs on the other side of the hole, and gets a very lucky break back into the rough, possibly off the top of some poor punter’s noggin. He has the good, eh, grace to smile at the wild error. The only way is up for these two.
Thanks to Lawrence, a gentleman and a scholar. Rafa Cabrera-Bello, a winner last week at the Scottish Open, hacks his way up the right-hand side of the opening hole. But he gets up and down from distance to scramble his par. He stays at -3. Rory McIlroy saves himself again, making a missable putt at 2 to remain at -2. Li Haotong, the 21-year-old from Shanghai playing in his first Open, is going along very nicely, three under for his round today after birdies at 8, 9 and 12, -2 overall. And a word for the current clubhouse leader, Xander Schauffele. He’s making his Open debut too, having secured his spot with his spectacular win at the Greenbrier. After winning that tournament by hitting his tee shot pretty much dead at the par-three 18th, the 23-year-old from San Diego was quizzed about links golf. He said he hadn’t played much of it, but was looking forward to learning about it. He learns fast. A 65 today, and he’s in the clubhouse at -1. Couple that with his top-five finish at the US Open, and golf appears to have unearthed another gem. A future major winner, maybe.
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Rafael Cabrera-Bello (-3) and Kim Chan (-3) get their final rounds under way and now only four matches remain. Next up it’s the turn of Dustin Johnson (-3) and Henrik Stenson (-3), followed by Matsuyama (-4) and Grace (-4), Koepka (-5) and Connelly (-5), and finally Kuchar (-8) and Spieth (-11). With that I’ll hand you back to your MC for the rest of this final round, Scott Murray. Enjoy!
Aaron Baddeley’s six-under-par 64 earlier in the day illustrates just what can be done today in very favourable conditions once again. McIlroy and Fisher are the sort of players in the chasing pack who can take inspiration but both have made a bit of a hash of this opening hole. Fisher hacks out of the rough on to the fairway with his second shot, then chips to 18 feet with his third. McIlroy can’t capitalise on his stunning tee shot, missing the green with his pitch and having to chip to leave himself a par attempt. Fisher’s par putt just fades away and he begins with a bogey five all emanating from his missed tee shot, and slips back to -1. McIlroy, from 10 feet, finds the cup and remains at -2 after making the par far harder than it should have been. Zach Johnson, going so well today, drops a shot at the 14th par-three following a wayward tee shot.
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Poulter’s approach into the opening green is a lovely one and he’s a little unlucky it doesn’t quite grip and rip as it seemed to do so reliably yesterday. Ramsay comes at the flag from the opposite side of the fairway with a similar result and both will have birdie putts from perhaps 10 or 12 feet. While McIlroy and Fisher wait to get their round under way, they are joined on the leaderboard at two under par by Zach Johnson, who is -4 today after just making birdie on the 13th. McIlroy strikes the ball perfectly with the driver down the left of the 1st fairway to leave himself a measured pitch, but Fisher’s tee shot with a long iron is a little nervy and he sends it into the sticky stuff down the right. On the green, Poulter just misses out on a birdie, his ball teetering but not quite falling into the cup and he grins. Ramsay drains his and he’s down to -3.
Ian Poulter started poorly yesterday and never quite recovered. This time he’s away well, landing in the first cut down the left and bobbling on to the fairway. Richie Ramsay goes down the right-hand side but both players will have a decent look at the pin which is positioned in the centre of the green today. Up ahead, Rickie Fowler and Alex Noren both wrap up regulation pars on the 1st. Behind, Rory McIlroy arrives at the tee.
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Behind the scenes the big names are preparing. Jordan Spieth strolls into Birkdale with long shorts and baseball cap straight out of One Tree Hill. Rory McIlroy, wearing dashing yellow, is hitting a few practice balls. Ian Poulter arrives on the first tee shaking a few hands with onlookers in the stands. And here’s Matt Kuchar, who will go off with Spieth in the final group: “I tell a lot of people, you get nervous. It’s kind of like public speaking, you do it the first time you feel nervous, you do it the 100th time you’re not so nervous. If Jordan goes out and has a great day there’s not a lot I can do. I’m out here trying to win this thing, not trying to protect second place.”
We are nearing the beginning of the business end of this final round. The final duo to go at one under, Sweden’s Alex Noren and America’s Rickie Fowler, take their tee shots. Noren slaps a wood straight down centre of the fairway – perfect. Fowler snaps a low one on a pretty similar line and those are about as good a pair of opening strikes as we’ll see all day. Next up are Richie Ramsay and Ian Poulter, then six more groups to follow.
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Paul Casey has made a promising start having made a birdie on the 1st. The man with forearms the size of a small person backed that up with a par at the 2nd before setting up a presentable birdie chance at the 3rd, but his putt slides wide. He looks extremely frustrated by that one. Up the road at the 16th, Lee Westwood drains a 20-foot putt to be two under for the round, down to +2 overall. A decent day today but it hasn’t been his week.
Hello, and straight to the 1st where Jason Day may have had a morning coffee too many, booming his opening iron off the tee into the thick stuff down the right. He takes a provisional shot and then goes delving for his original ball, fails to find it, and returns to the fairway to play the provisional. Day’s approach gives him a chance at a bogey from the edge of the green, but his effort is just off line and that’s a double to begin his final round. He slips to +2.
The 2015 champion Zach Johnson has reached the turn in 31, after draining a couple of long birdie efforts on 8 and 9. Throw in another birdie at 3, and he’s -1 overall for the tournament. Chris Wood has started fast with birdies at 3 and 5; he’s -1. Matthew Southgate’s pleasing renaissance continues: a 67 yesterday, and birdies st 2 and 5: he’s -1 too. Charley Hoffman reaches the turn in 32; he’s level par. Andrew Johnston, who had to deal with some attention seekers on the internet last night - forget them, Beef, it’s not worth it - bogeys the first top drop to +1. And Paul Casey will be ruing his unhappy 40th-birthday 77 on Friday. Other than that, he’s posted a 66 and a 67, and he’s out today with birdie at the opening hole. He’s -1, and would be right in the thick of it without that McIlroyesque outward 39 on day two.
And with that, I’m going to hand over to Lawrence Ostlere, who’ll guide you through the next hour. Enjoy, enjoy. See you again soon!
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Kent Bulle, the reigning Argentinian Open champion from Glasgow, Kentucky, was bothering the business end of the leaderboard during the early stages of this Open. An opening-round 68, then an early birdie on day two, and at one point he was just a couple of strokes off the lead. But he’s been heading in the wrong direction since, incrementally so: that 68 was followed by a 72, then a 74 yesterday, and now a final-day 76. No birdies today, and he’s currently bottom of the weekend field at +10. Whether or not he ends up in 77th spot out of 77 looks to be in Gary Woodland’s hands. The big-hitting American already has a double and a triple bogey on his card today, but he’s just birdied 12 and 13 to give himself a bit of breathing space at the bottom: he’s +8.
The 2012 US Open champion Webb Simpson hasn’t done much since his career-defining victory. One win at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Vegas in October 2013, and that’s that. But the 31-year-old from Raleigh, North Carolina has been hinting at a partial return to form: a top-15 finish at last year’s PGA, an epic play-off defeat to Hideki Matsuyama at the Phoenix Open in February, a top-40 finish at the recent US Open, a tie for eighth at the Travelers. He’s in with a 67 today, which puts him at +2 overall. It won’t be his best Open finish - that was a tie for 16th on his debut at Sandwich in 2011 - but it’s a boost going into the PGA, held this year in his home state.
Yikeun Chang was the 54-hole leader at the Yeangder Heritage event on the Asian Tour in April. He shot 68 on the final day, but Shiv Kapur carded a 64 to steal off with the prize. “Next time when I have an opportunity to win,” he promised, “I will pull it off.” And so next time out, he emerged victorious from a play-off to lift the Korean Open. A man as good as his word! The 23-year-old from Seoul has enjoyed a steady week, shooting three 71s in a row. He was going a wee bit better today, after birdies at 6 and 8, but he’s just required two chips to get up onto the 9th green, a faff that’s resulted in his first bogey of the day. Still, he’s reached the turn in 33, his best performance on the front nine so far, and at +2 an impressive finish in his very first major is within reach.
A slight lull right now, the calm before the storm. Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar won’t be out for a couple of hours yet. In the meantime, just in case you missed it, here’s a Small Talk with one of the game’s true legends, Mr Gary Player. The word genius is bandied about far too often, but here’s a man who deserves every plaudit thrown his way. Nine majors, and a career grand slam! Plus the fact he’s a genuine force of nature, a non-stop ball of energy, his age of 81 no more than a number. A born entertainer.
Russell Henley is threatening to break into the big time. Not quite yet, but it’s coming. A fine 67 today for the 28-year-old from Georgia, and he ends the week at +2, yesterday’s miserable 75 costing him quite a few places in an otherwise steady week. He’s already won on the PGA Tour this season - that aforementioned victory at the Shell Houston Open, when a final-day 65 took him past Sung Kang - and finished in a tie for 11th at the Masters. Throw in a top-30 finish at the US Open, and he could be a dark horse at the PGA in North Carolina next month.
A 66 for Baddeley’s playing partner Sung Kang. He ends his first Open at +3, a very decent showing for the South Korean. It could have been a whole lot better were it not for back-to-back doubles yesterday at 8 and 9 on his way to a worst-of-day 76. Meanwhile a good start for the late-blooming Charley Hoffman. Coming off the back of a top-ten finish at the US Open - and having made the top ten at the 2015 Masters too - the 40 year old from San Diego is threatening another agreeable finish here. Birdies at 1 and 4, and he’s level par for the tournament, inside the top 20 right now. A good chance of besting his previous Open high, a tie for 35th at Carnoustie in 2007.
Par for Aaron Baddeley down the last, and he’s signing for a 64. If there’s a better round today, we’ll be in for a treat. He ends the tournament at +1, currently tied for 29th though chances are he’ll slip down the ranking a bit during the afternoon. But he’s certain to beat his previous best finish at an Open, a tie for 69 at Lytham in 2012. The 36-year-old Aussie certainly likes the historic county of Lancashire’s golf coast.
A slightly unfortunate start to Alfie Plant’s round. He can’t get out of a greenside bunker at 2 at the first time of asking, then misses a short bogey putt. A double that drops him to +5. But he’s steadied himself well with pars at 3 and 4, no doubt buoyed by the vociferous support he’s receiving from the gallery. Whatever happens today, the 25-year-old from Bexleyheath, south-east London, can be very proud of his Open performance. As the only amateur to survive the cut, he’s already secured the silver medal, and it’s a much-deserved prize too. His eagle on 15 on Friday to ensure his weekend participation was an act of timely brilliance, while many a pro would have been happy with his breezy 69 yesterday. He’s +5, and will be at this evening’s prize-giving ceremony come what may!
Aaron Baddeley keeps on trucking. More birdies at 16 and 17 - that’s three in a row - and he’s six under for his round now. A birdie down the last, and he’ll be signing for a 63, which would have meant something this time yesterday. If the wind doesn’t get too fresh, we could witness quite a few similar birdie blitzes today.
Daniel Berger played better than Jordan Spieth over the closing stretch of the Travelers a few weeks ago. But he lost out in a play-off when Spieth holed out from a bunker. Here’s another reminder of the 24-year-old’s potential this morning: birdies at 6, 7 and now 9, and he’s reached the turn in 31. He’s +1. “I hope that Spieth wraps this up on the front nine,” begins Hubert O’Hearn. “I rather think he will. He will be a very worthy champion; the only golf pro to whom comparisons to Nicklaus can be made without sounding like over-hyped nonsense. He seems to game-plan like Jack, and perhaps more critically than that he shares the same quality to snap himself back into focus after a bad shot. When yesterday he horribly misread a putt on 15, he laughed it off.” His mental fortitude is out of this world, his slightly troublesome relationship with the 12th hole at Augusta the glaring exception to this rule. He looked shaky for a while on the final day at the aforementioned Travelers ... and look how he turned that one around.
The 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett was out first on his own this morning, and so he’s the first man back in the clubhouse. He finishes with a round of 71 to go with his earlier rounds of 71, 74 and 73. He’s +9. Far from ideal, but he’s been struggling with confidence and injury for much of this year, and this is the first major of 2017 at which he’s completed 72 holes. Given he’s only made it to the weekend in three of his previous ten starts, this can be viewed as progress, and will hopefully give him succour moving forward.
The hottest players out there so far today are Sung Kang and Aaron Baddeley, who started out together early, like the milk train. Birdies at 2, 3 and 4 gave the 30-year-old Kang - who has had three near misses on the PGA Tour this season, most notably at the Shell Houston Open when he was overtaken on the final day by a rampant Russell Henley - a flying start. Bogeys at 5 and 6 stalled his momentum somewhat, but he’s since birdied 10, 13 and 15 to move to four under par for his round. He’s +3 overall. Ditto the 36-year-old Aussie Baddeley, who reached the turn in 31 and has just added another birdie at 15. They’re currently on course for a pair of 66s, proof that there are low scores on offer today. Though as we say, the wind is forecast to rise a tad in the afternoon, so these benign conditions may not last forever.
Here we go, then: the final round of the Open! The weather isn’t wholly dissimilar to yesterday: sunny spells, a bit of cloud later, maybe the odd rain shower as the day goes on. There’s not much wind right now, though it’s expected to pick up a little during the afternoon, perhaps as high as 15 or 20 miles per hour at times. But no Friday-style tempests. In fact once again, with the course still receptive, there should be plenty of birdies out there today. Another 62? Let’s not get greedy.
If the remarkable Jordan Spieth closes this out today, and wins the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, he’ll have completed three-quarters of the career grand slam four days before his 24th birthday. The Jack Nicklaus de nos jours, all right. There really isn’t much more to say. And you thought Branden Grace becoming the first man to break through the 63 barrier at the majors was history enough for one week!
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though. Matt Kuchar could turn this final round into a mano-a-mano battle to rival Watson-Nicklaus and Stenson-Mickelson. The US Open champion Brooks Koepka could take a long run at Spieth; so could the US Open runner-up Hideki Matsuyama or the sensationally Zen 20-year-old debutant Austin Connelly. The world-number one Dustin Johnson could shoot 64 again; Branden Grace could post another 62; the defending champ Henrik Stenson could become the first man in a major to shoot 61. Rickie Fowler could match Paul Lawrie’s 1999 feat by winning from ten shots back ... but look how quickly we started stretching these scenarios to breaking point. Realistically, this is Spieth’s to lose. And the way he pressed on the gas every time he felt someone on his shoulder yesterday - that Kuch-spooking birdie putt at 18! - he doesn’t look in the mood to let it slip.
Still, these are not normal circumstances. It’s the final day of the Open, where anything can happen. Adrenaline does funny things. So whether we’re about to witness a duel, a collapse or a procession, we’re guaranteed one hell of a spectacle. Here’s how they stand at the top of the leader board after three rounds:
-11: Spieth
-8: Kuchar
-5: Connelly, Koepka
-4: Grace, Matsuyama
-3: D Johnson, Stenson, Kim, Cabrera-Bello
-2: Fisher, McIlroy, Ramsay, Poulter
-1: Fowler, Noren, Bland
And here are the tee times (all BST):
7.55 am: Danny Willett
8.05 am: Sung-hoon Kang, Aaron Baddeley
8.15 am: Thorbjorn Olesen, Sean O’Hair
8.25 am: Russell Henley, Kevin Kisner
8.35 am: Bernd Wiesberger, Charl Schwartzel
8.45 am: Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Webb Simpson
8.55 am: Kent Bulle, Laurie Canter
9.05 am: Soren Kjeldsen, J.B. Holmes
9.15 am: Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker
9.25 am: Daniel Berger, Xander Schauffele
9.40 am: James Hahn, Joe Dean
9.50 am: Toby Tree, Andy Sullivan
10 am: Lee Westwood, Younghan Song
10.10 am: Justin Rose, Gary Woodland
10.20 am: Yikeun Chang, Adam Scott
10.30 am: Jon Rahm, Andrew Dodt
10.40 am: K.T. Kim, Peter Uihlein
10.50 am: Alfie Plant (a), Brandon Stone
11 am: Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson
11.10 am: Thomas Pieters, Bubba Watson
11.25 am: Ernie Els, Li Haotong
11.35 am: Steve Stricker, Kevin Na
11.45 am: Chris Wood, Thongchai Jaidee
11.55 am: Matthew Southgate, David Drysdale
12.05 pm: Marc Leishman, Tommy Fleetwood
12.15 pm: Jamie Lovemark, Joost Luiten
12.25 pm: Sergio Garcia, Matthew Fitzpatrick
12.35 pm: Andrew Johnston, Paul Casey
12.45 pm: Tony Finau, Jason Dufner
12.55 pm: Jason Day, Scott Hend
1.10 pm: Shaun Norris, Richard Bland
1.20 pm: Alex Noren, Rickie Fowler
1.30 pm: Ian Poulter, Richie Ramsay
1.40 pm: Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher
1.50 pm: Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Chan Kim
2 pm: Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson
2.10 pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace
2.20 pm: Brooks Koepka, Austin Connelly
2.30 pm: Matt Kuchar, Jordan Spieth
Help! Dr Golf! Please will you rid us of this raging fever!
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