St. Andrews, SCOTLAND — Ever since defending champion Rory McIlroy announced his withdrawal from the 144th Open Championship, all the hype at the magnificent old university town of St Andrews has surrounded Jordan Spieth.
That’s fair, considering what the 21-year-old has managed to achieve in his extremely short career so far, especially this year. After winning the Masters and the US Open earlier in 2015, he is on the verge of history.
But a calendar grand slam for Spieth is not the only intriguing storyline for this week and there is another reason Sunday could be sweet for the Texan. A win would mean 100 world ranking points and he requires just 77 more to beat McIlroy and become the world No1.
It would be a double celebration for Team Spieth if all goes to plan but if he finishes second, the 60 world ranking points he earns for that will not help him edge McIlroy.
The other story capturing the headlines this week takes us to the other extreme of the age spectrum – and to 65-year-old Tom Watson, playing in his last Open Championship.
With five Claret Jugs resting in his drawing room, several of them results of scrappy dogfights in brutal weather conditions, Watson is considered one of the greatest Open players of all time. His 1977 ‘Duel in the Sun’ in Turnberry has consistently been voted as the most unforgettable Open of all time, and a close second was when he finished second aged 59 at the same venue in 2009.
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However, Watson did not become Scotland’s adopted son only for golfing reasons. The American has endearing qualities of being humble and extremely approachable. Those are good enough reasons we will see plenty of teary eyes on Friday. Knowing Watson, he’ll fight tooth and nail to extend his Open stay by another two days by making the cut.
Then there is Tiger Woods. The Greenbrier Classic a couple of weeks ago looked like a turning point for the former world No1. If not for missing several putts from inside 15 feet that week, he could have easily recorded his first-ever top-10 finish since a tied third at the 2013 Turkish Open.
Woods seems to have gotten over his chipping and pitching problems that made him look amateurish in the beginning of the season, and at Greenbrier his ball-striking started looking efficient. Now if he can get his putter to behave this week on a golf course where he has won two previous Opens, it could be a massive step in Woods’ tale of revival.