By Marc Auker
Jordan Spieth won the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale to capture his third career major championship. Spieth, 23, shot a 1-under 69 during Sunday’s final round, which was good enough to outlast second-place finisher Matt Kuchar.
The young American isn’t new to the winner’s circle during major competition. In 2015, Spieth won the prestigious Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia and the United States (U.S.) Open at Chambers Bay in Washington. With the win on Sunday, Spieth now has an opportunity to complete the career grand slam by winning the P.G.A. Championship in August at the Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina. Jack Nicklaus, a winner of 18 major championships, is the only other competitor to have won three major championships before turning 24.
Spieth’s final round got off to a rocky start. He shot a three-over 37 in his first nine holes of play after three-putting on three different holes, which brought him into a tie with Kuchar. All hope seemed lost after Spieth sliced a ball off the tee at number 13. He took an unplayable lie penalty and played his next shot from the driving range. The possibility of falling apart like he had at the 2016 Masters looked more and more likely as he prepared to take the shot. That wasn’t the case. He made bogey on the hole to save what could have been a very high score.
Spieth bounced back by making birdie on number 14 and sinking a long eagle putt on 15. It was a roller-coaster final round; but in the end, it was Spieth who stood tall and took home the title.
With a win at the P.G.A. Championship, Spieth would become just the sixth player in men’s golf history to achieve the career grand slam. The last player to accomplish the feat was Tiger Woods back in 2000.
