Jordan Spieth can make history on Monday.
Jordan Spieth is knocking on history’s biggest door, he is calmly standing on its doorstep at the home of golf — the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Spieth will enter the final 18 holes of the 144th playing of the Open Championship on Monday with his eyes calmly focused on the prize — the iconic Claret Jug.
“Another round like today get the job done tomorrow, but nothing less,” Spieth predicted after shooting 66 on Sunday and finishing 54-holes at 11-under par, just a shot off the lead held by the trio of Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day and the ultimate underdog — amateur Paul Dunne of Ireland.
“Right now I feel like I did at the (U.S.) Open,” Spieth went on. “I know it just takes patience — play to my strengths.”
Spieth is calm, not something you’d expect from the soon-to-be 22-year-old. “I’m gonna sleep fine tonight.”
Spieth finished well before the leaders and he was watching what was going on. “Hopefully I”m within a couple of shots so I don’t have to make up too much ground,” Spieth observed. He got his wish. He is only a shot behind and will play with Day in the next-to-last pairing.
Spieth looked back over his round and pointed to a particular stretch. “I’m proud of the way we bounced back after the mistake on nine.” The ninth hole was his only bogey of the day and right after that, he ran off three straight birdies to put himself in the thick of it.
He added another birdie at the 15th and used only 10 putts coming home, nine less than he did on Saturday.
“Today was a lot of fun,” Spieth said. “We were rooting for each other,” he said of playing partner Sergio Garcia.
“I like this kid, I like his heart,” Garcia told one of the ESPN broadcast crew members.
Spieth has a lot of heart to like and he’ll need every ounce of it on Monday.
History is calling, he’s knocking at the door.
