Jordan Spieth expected a rough time at The Open before he even got to the golf course.
He spent Friday morning at his rented house in front of the television, watching players battle a relentless wind at Royal Birkdale, all the while checking a forecast that was even worse for when he played in the afternoon.
“It wasn’t a great feeling knowing we were coming into something harder than what we were watching,” he said.
Photo: AP
Spieth did more than just survive.
With a short game as sharp as it has been all year, and a three-wood that turned out a lot better than it looked and led to an eagle, Spieth seized control with a one-under 69 that gave him a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar going into the weekend.
Spieth turned a bogey or worse into an unlikely par by chipping in from just short of the 10th green.
He learned enough from watching TV to know that going a little long on the par-five 15th would give him a better birdie chance than playing short.
So he switched from a three-iron to a three-wood, hit it a little off the neck and watched it run hot and fast about 100 yards along the wet turf to about 18 feet away from the hole.
“I mishit the shot, which is probably why it looked so gross,” Spieth said. “I hit it low off the heel, which is easy to do when you’re trying to carve a cut. And it just ... one hop, scooted around the group of bunkers there, and then it was obviously fortunate to get all the way to the green.”
The flight of that three-wood looked as ugly as the weather.
The outcome was as bright as his chances of getting his name on another major championship trophy.
Spieth was at six-under 134.
Kuchar played in the morning in steadily strong wind, but without rain, and pieced together a solid round until a few mistakes at the end for a 71.
Kuchar was at four-under 136 and it would have been a good bet that he would be leading with the nasty weather that arrived.
“I think that’s what people enjoy about the British Open is watching the hard wind, the rain, the guys just trying to survive out there,” Kuchar said. “Today is my day. I get to kick back in the afternoon and watch the guys just try to survive.”
He wound up watching another short-game clinic from Spieth.
The chasing pack features US Open champion Brooks Koepka, who failed to make a birdie, but stayed in the hunt with 16 pars in a 72, and Ian Poulter with his newfound confidence, which is growing even higher with the support of the English crowd.
Poulter shot 70.
Not to be overlooked was Rory McIlroy, who recovered from a horrific start on Thursday to salvage a 71 and then kept right on rolling.
McIlroy, who was five-over through the opening six holes of the tournament, ran off three birdies with full control of every shot on the front nine.
Much like Spieth, he kept his round together with crucial par saves early on the back nine when the wind was at its worse. McIlroy posted a 68 and was at one-under 139, only five shots behind with only five players in front of him.
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