Spieth returns: 'I can get back to where I was'
2017 Open champ reflects on wild ride at Birkdale, beyond; Clark hangs it up; Stray Shots
Jordan Spieth has his eye on “defending” his 2017 Open win at Birkdale (Stuart Kerr/R&A via Getty Images)
SOUTHPORT, England — The memorable ending is typically overshadowed by the drama that occurred just before it. Jordan Spieth finished birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie par to win the Open Championship by three strokes.
But it was the all-world bogey he made at Royal Birkdale’s 13th hole during the final round of the 2017 Open that is most remembered — a bogey that took some 30 minutes to complete, included a spectator being struck in the head by his tee shot with the ball bounding over the ridge of Birkdale’s largest dune, a lengthy rules discussion and an unplayable-lie drop amidst equipment trailers on the driving range.
He somehow made a 5 in his final-round duel with Matt Kuchar, and then went on to win his third major championship.
Spieth returned to Royal Birkdale for the first time in nine years this week, getting in a practice round on Sunday. The memories, of course, came rushing back.
“It’s come up probably more than any other hole I’ve ever played,” Spieth said during a tournament news conference on Monday — which is saying something considering he made a memorable quadruple-7 on the 12th hole at Augusta to blow the 2016 Masters. “I remember being pretty decisive in what I wanted to do and being frustrated with the amount of time it all took, just because it wasn’t my intent. I remember getting the most out of it and making a bogey there and feeling like I stole a shot back somehow.
“As I was playing it the last couple days, it was fun to stand on that tee and just kind of be like, wow, this is — some stuff really hit the fan last time I was standing on this tee, from here on in. It was the start of a crazy six-hole stretch. But I was like driver, 2-iron the last two days. It’s a completely different hole. You’re trying to hit it down the left side instead of the right.
“It was nice to kind of play it again and get it out of the way and then come tournament time try to — it’s one of the harder holes on the golf course. Try to figure a way to get around in four 4s and beat whatever I did nine years ago on that hole.”
The 13th is different now, namely the area where Spieth hit his tee shot in 2017 is now out of bounds and the practice range where he dropped is covered by corporate hospitality.
Also in today’s DD …
Is U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark ready to ‘hang’ it up at the Open?
Tee times for Thursday’s first round of the 154th Open
Stray Shots from a stirring Scottish Open
Don’t miss yesterday’s DD with Last Chance qualifier and Southport’s RC history
There are other changes at Royal Birkdale, including a new left tee box on 13 that alters the angle to a fairway pinched in by new bunkering to the right and an expanded dune dividing the 13th hole from the fan village. There’s also a ditch that runs he length of the hole on the left.
Spieth tees off on a re-jiggered “lucky 13th” in Birkdale practice round Monday (Stuart Kerr/R&A via Getty Images)
The greenside bunker that Spieth had to pitch over for his fourth shot also has been pushed back nearer to the green. Spieth pitched to 10 feet and made the putt for an unlikely bogey to drop to 7-under, one stroke behind Kuchar with five holes to play.
“There are things I can do now that I can do way better than when I was No. 1 in the world. Therefore, there should be nothing to stop me in my own head to be able to search and believe that I can reach that again.” — Jordan Spieth
Then Spieth stiffed a 6-iron that lipped out to 5 feet at the par-3 14th. That hole no longer exists, with only the green saved as part of a short-game practice area. The new 14th hole is what used to be the par-5 15th, redesigned into a 602-yard par 5 with the green moved back about 30 yards from its previous location. Spieth rolled in a 50-footer for eagle there in 2017 and famously barked at his caddie, Michael Greller, “Go get that!” as the ball was still tracking toward the cup.
The 240-yard, par-3 15th is a new short hole created to diversify the directions and lengths of the course’s one-shotters.
