Jordan, D.J. paired at Open Championship

In the group ahead was Tiger Woods, who spent Monday with Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland. Maturity is the aspect of Spieth’s character that instantly hits anybody who spends time in his company.

Not only that, but he made a par on the second playoff hole Sunday to beat journeyman Tom Gillis and win at TPC Deere Run for the second time in three years.

All he had at the start of the season was one PGA Tour victory, a great short game and an uncanny sense of the moment. And if someone wanted a bet today, give us one please…

Fowler missed the cut at the USA, but took the Scottish Open with three birdies on the final four holes to finish at 12-under over the weekend, and he’s gone from 25/1 to 16/1.

The next stop on this wonderful ride? And he has the added bonus of being able to keep an eye, possibly both, on Spieth.

The man from Burhill Golf Club in Surrey has been in top form this year, narrowly missing out on wins at Riviera and the Travelers Championship. That was in 1953 when the final two majors overlapped. Competition is fierce and Spieth won’t have things all his own way. And he is embracing it. “Each one helps me get closer, to actually getting a Major”, said Johnson.

Dustin Johnson, the world’s fourth-best golfer, possesses an intriguing and slightly amusing combination of personality traits. The defending champion, McIlroy will miss the tournament because of a left ankle injury sustained while playing soccer with friends. Eight days before the start of the Open, he was forced to withdraw.

10am-12pm – Live coverage from the third day of The Open Championship. It looked like it was going to be one of those dust bowls again; hard, fast, like the years I’ve played St Andrews. “With the fun rivalry going on and everything, he’s going to be gutted”. “Do I think he has battled?” And it still is.

St. Andrews, it seems, never fails to surprise. I thought I hit the shots that I was supposed to hit.

Spieth is now on course for an unprecedented calendar grand slam, but some – including former Ryder Cup captian Paul McGinley – have questioned the Amercan’s decision to not contest the Scottish Open at Gullane or practise on links courses in Britain before the Open.

There’s nothing quite like an Open Championship at St Andrews’ Old Course. In the early 1970s a Floridian named Eddie Pearce was heralded as the new Jack Nicklaus. “The speed of the greens, to get used to those is a real thing”, said two-time U.S. Open champ Curtis odd, who’s also on the ESPN telecast.

In 2009, Woods admitted cheating on his then wife Elin Nordegren and having multiple affairs.

The 39-year-old said his preference was for there to be wind during the tournament.

Now it falls to Spieth. Knee surgery forced Tiger Woods to skip the 2008 PGA Championship, and Payne Stewart died in a plane crash a few months after winning the 1999 U.S. Open.

McIlroy’s absence doesn’t clear the way for Spieth.

An eclectic crowd of 300 locals and tourists gathered around the ancient grounds of the 18th hole of the Old Course on a sun-splashed Saturday to watch six kids play golf.