Dustin Johnson’s jinx at the majors has struck again with the American going from favourite to outsider at the British Open with a scrappy three-over-par 75 in the third round at St Andrews.
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That Spieth needed to vent in such a way indicated the degree to which his hopes of winning the British Open were fading at that point.
That must’ve fired him up. The run Spieth is on is so special it brings back memories of Woods in 2000-01 when he held all four major championships – thought not in the same year – in what became known as the Tiger Slam. He’s now at 10 under for the tournament.
That is Johnson’s lowest 36-hole score ever in a major. Is Jordan Spieth the new favorite to win? “I just didn’t hole any putts”.
Except that Dunne is actually a year older than Spieth, but whatever. It still got him with two shots of the lead. England’s Eddie Pepperell briefly pulled into a tie with Johnson at 10 under, only to knock his tee shot into the hotel along the 17th hole and take a double-bogey.
In danger of being buried by a horde of contenders, Spieth began the back nine with three consecutive birdies and finished with a 6-under-par 66 to move to 11 under for the tournament.
Grand Slam in the making? Rickie Fowler (-7), Jim Furyk (-6) and Ashley Chesters (-6) are within striking distance of the lead after finishing their rounds.
Even for a place packed with centuries of history, this British Open offered endless possibilities. But he missed a 10-foot birdie attempt at the 16th, squandered another good birdie look at the tough 17th, and then watched a wedge to the 18th roll back into the Valley of Sin. Ten other players are one or two strokes behind Spieth.
Leishman is having another strong Open, tying for fifth at Royal Liverpool a year ago.
She has since recovered, and Leishman says the experience “really, really puts things in perspective”. As for Jones, he was fully 28 when he won the 1930 version, the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open.
Heavy rains are pounding the Old Course, prompting the players to hurriedly break out their umbrellas and weatherproof gear.
Also in the mix for a third Open triumph is Padraig Harrington, whose 65 sent him soaring on “Moving Day” from seven shots shy of the top of the leaderboard to only two behind on -10.
The delays pushed back the third round until Sunday, setting up the first Monday finish since 1988. “It was such a fun day”, he said. That’s his best score in the Open since his closing round 67 to win at Lytham in 2001. He couldn’t summon any of the brilliance he displayed over the first two days, finishing with three sloppy bogeys, and when it was over, he could only shrug.
Of course, the 36-hole leaders have yet to take the course.
Johnson and Willett are in the final group, teeing off at 3 p.m. Just ask David Duval. With winds getting up to 45 miles per hours, balls were being blown around the greens, and according to Bubba Watson’s caddy, most players are pretty pissed at the organizers. Spieth would go on to par the hole after an approach that didn’t… quite… stick on the green, but no matter.
Dunne, whose father Collie was a prominent player with Greystones Rugby Club, has travelled the same route as Graeme McDowell in his golfing development.
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That’s what made Dustin Johnson’s collapse so shocking.
