THIS was always going to be a grinding, battle of attrition. Not quite the Western Front, more the Southport seafront.
There had been amber warnings sent out by the Met Office ahead of day two of the 146th Open Championship here at Royal Birkdale. Be prepared? The field was certainly on high alert as they set out on an exercise of damage limitation.
The early starters got buffeted by significant winds but at least it stayed dry. Those in the latter half of the draw got the winds as well as some quite desperate downpours.
At one point, as the rain came down in thunderous torrents and play was briefly suspended, you half expected Poseidon to appear at the greenside with a squeegee.
By the end of a day requiring patience, poise and steely mental resolve, it was Jordan Spieth who was undaunted if slightly drookit.
A gritty 69 for a six-under 134, which equalled the lowest halfway tally at a Birkdale Open, left him two clear of Matt Kuchar with Ian Poulter and Brooks Koepka a stroke further back.
There’s a saltire proudly billowing in the merry midst of this engaging conflict too as Richie Ramsay harnessed the conditions to fine effect with a 70 for a 138 to share fifth, one ahead of the lurking Rory McIlroy.
Spieth demonstrated fortitude. He also enjoyed a touch of fortune. A putt of some 30 feet for an eagle on the 15th may have been a classy conclusion to a hole but he confessed his “gross” approach with a 3-wood was a “mis-hit”.
The end result wasn’t bad, though. “I hit it low off the heel, which is easy to do when you’re trying to carve a cut and it scooted around the group of bunkers and kept on going,” he said. “We knew it was pretty lucky. And we got away with one there.”
In the capricious theatre of the links battlegrounds, you need a bit of luck.
As the combatants ventured forth in the morning, Zach Johnson, the Open champion at St Andrews in 2015, showed what could be achieved as his guile was rewarded with a fine 66 early on. After an opening 75, it was a mightily impressive salvage operation. Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, continued to work up a head of steam after his first round rally and three birdies over his first six holes yesterday continued the gathering momentum. His surge was tempered on the run-in back to Birkdale’s Art Deco clubhouse, but having been five over after just six holes on Thursday, the 2014 champion is nicely perched on 139 after his 68.
It was Kuchar, part of a three-way tie at the top going into day two, who set the initial target as he he just about held it all together with a one-over 71 which cemented his place in the upper reaches. The 39-year-old, who missed the cut the last time the Open was at Birkdale but has been around at the weekend in his last five appearances in the championship, knew he had been in a real tussle. That trademark grin merely confirmed his satisfaction on a day when commitment and trusting the instincts was key. “On the par-3 12th, there’s a hill right of the green with nasty, weedy grass that you just don’t want to be in,” reflected Kuchar. “I must have aimed 30 yards left of the pin into the crowd and it stayed on the crowd for a long, long time before, in the last 20 yards, it started drifting over and ended up in the middle of the green.”
Kuchar had emerged unscathed. “The cool thing is that you get finished, put on the TV and watch the hard wind, the rain and the guys just trying to survive out there,” said Kuchar as if he was preparing to watch the opening 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan.
It was hardly surprising that Spieth felt apprehensive ahead of his 2.48pm tee-time. “I was watching the coverage of the morning’s play and I would’ve gladly stayed on the couch,” he said. “It wasn't a great feeling knowing we were coming into something harder than what we were watching.”
If that aforementioned eagle on 15 helped him make a sizeable stride then it was his par save on the 10th which would provide a telling, defining moment. Off the back of the green, the 23-year-old dinked a tidy chip into the hole. It was a timely tonic just when Mother Nature and her excruciating antics were beginning to become a wearisome pest. “My patience wore a bit thin around the turn,” conceded Spieth who dug deep into his reserves and drew on the experiences from the ghastly elements he encountered during round two of last year’s championship at Troon. “I was able to regroup and that chip-in was massive. That Friday at Troon I think was the worst stuff I've ever played in. It was just sheets of sideways rain. I talked to my caddie about that as we went round here and that experience stood me in good stead.”
Spieth was home even if he wasn't quite dry. Nobody would rain on his parade, though.
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