For months, golf fans wondered whether Jordan Spieth was “back’’ after a long spell during which he struggled with his swing and failed to win.
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For months, golf fans wondered whether Jordan Spieth was “back’’ after a long spell during which he struggled with his swing and failed to win. Spieth ended a drought of nearly four years without a victory earlier this year when he won the Valero Texas Open. Now, after the first round of the British Open, Spieth has positioned himself to win his first major championship since 2017. He shot a 5-under-par 65 on Thursday at Royal St. George’s and stands one shot out of the lead held by Louis Oosthuizen. Two omens that may bode well for Spieth: In the previous two major championships when he’s opened with a 65 or better, he won the 2015 Masters and the 2017 British Open, and he’s paired with Branden Grace for the first two rounds. Grace was paired with the last two British Open winners in the first two rounds — Francesco Molinari in 2018 and Shane Lowry in 2019. “I think that’s coincidence,’’ Spieth said. “[But] if it happens four or five times in a row, maybe people start paying off to see who can get paired with him the first two rounds.
