World number one Jordan Spieth brilliantly kept alive a successful defence of his title on Saturday with an eagle at the penultimate hole on day three of the Australian Open in Sydney.
Advertisement
After starting the day at four over and 14 strokes off the pace, Pampling dropped another shot on the first hole before racking up nine birdies and then draining a 70-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 18th to set the Open alight. He’ll be making his third appearance in the season’s third major and second at Firestone.
Bidding to become the first global player since the legendary Jack Nicklaus in 1976 to win back-to-back Open crowns, Spieth at one point trailed Jones by eight shots before setting up what shapes as a grandstand finish to the 100th Open.
“I drove it in the rough and had got it right back on the green but left myself plenty of work”.
“I just have to wait and see now and cross fingers that it works out”. “I could have let it slip and let it get away easily, but I fought it out”. I’m sure I’ll be noticed a little more walking around a street maybe in Australia or at the horse races next weekend, but I’m just happy to have my name on this trophy.
Veteran Rod Pampling finished a gallant fourth, two shots behind Jones, after firing a spectacular course-record 10-under 61 and sharing the lead for nearly two hours late on Sunday.
Pampling said of trumping the course record of 63 by Spieth a year ago.
“To know you’re in the event is fantastic”.
It was a respectable performance after a two-week layoff, “the longest time by a week that I’ve taken off since I was probably 12 or 13 years old”, he said.
“I get to play with the No 1 player in the world on Sunday”. Obviously it’s where the game started.
Between the end of the Presidents Cup on October 11 and the start of the Australian Open, he had played one tournament, the WGC-HSBC Champions, finishing T-7.
“We’ve been working on some things”, he told reporters. “It’s certainly awesome to be getting back into The Open again”.
Spieth was three over par for his first six holes after two opening bogeys and another at the sixth, while Jones opened with a bogey and a double-bogey to also find himself three over for the day after a couple of holes.
Advertisement
“It is probably one of the most memorable experiences I have had (playing at The Open in 2012)”.
