Jordan Spieth has joked that he was discussing with Scottie Scheffler which one of the pair is considered the defending champion ahead of The Open Championship this month.
The Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale in a few weeks. Of course, the Southport venue was the site of one of the greatest triumphs of Spieth’s career in 2017.
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Spieth began the final round with a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar. However, he stood on the 14th tee one shot behind Kuchar having made five bogeys by that stage.
The Texan then played the next four holes in five under par to take charge of the event again. He would not be caught, and Jordan Spieth ended the day by lifting the Claret Jug.
The joke between Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler ahead of The Open Championship
There was nothing like the same drama when Scottie Scheffler won The Open Championship at Royal Portrush 12 months ago. The world number one had the briefest of wobbles when he got too aggressive over one shot on the front nine.
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However, he quickly steadied the ship and cruised across the line.
And speaking about how much he is looking forward to returning to Birkdale, Spieth revealed the conversation he recently had with Scheffler about the upcoming event.
“Very. I’m excited to see the new holes. A lot of my most fond memories of that, especially the final round, those holes don’t exist. I’ve heard really, really good things,” he said.
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
“It’s a great golf course, an aerial golf course. One of the hardest venues we play in an Open. Yeah, I’m very interested to see what it’s like there.
“I joked with Scottie. I saw him in the locker room before he went out for his final round. I said, well, are you the defending champ, or am I the defending champ next week?
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“He was like, ‘No, it’s you’.
“I was like, ‘no, no, no, you don’t get to do that. It’s you’.
“Yeah, try to get over there a couple of days early and get to learn the course before the official practice rounds start.”
The shot from the 2017 Open Championship Jordan Spieth picked as the greatest of his career
Many will remember Spieth on the practice ground during his final round at Royal Birkdale as he took an incredible amount of time to take a drop on the 13th hole.
But it was what happened on the 14th that really proved to be the turning point for the youngster.
Spieth claimed his tee shot on 14 was the best he has ever hit. It set up the birdie that moved him back level with Kuchar.
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“I have an answer. I hit a six iron at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on the 14th hole. I had lost the lead and hit a six iron and almost made it, lipped it out and it got me going,” he said.
“But it was the prettiest six iron I’ve ever hit. Just a straight ball at the stick and almost went in and it kind of helped rearrange that Open Championship for me and close it out.”
Kuchar won a lot of fans with how he conducted himself on that Sunday. And he admitted that he was stunned by Spieth’s shot into the par three.
“His shot into 14 was spectacular. I think it must have come close to going in. That was a great shot and a great birdie. And the eagle the next. I knew all of a sudden I went from even to one down, even making a birdie, myself,” he said.
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Spieth has not won on the PGA Tour in more than four years heading into the final major of 2026. So it is going to be asking a lot for the 32-year-old to contend, particularly with Scheffler as the defending champion.
However, The Open is, perhaps surprisingly, the only major where Spieth has not missed the cut in his career. So perhaps it should not be a huge surprise if he does manage to evoke some memories of 2017 when he returns to Birkdale.
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