A dramatic final round capped the tournament, with Spieth vying with fellow American Matt Kuchar for the top position. China's Li Haotong finished six strokes back in third place.

Spieth, 23, started the day with a three-shot lead over Kuchar, but temporarily lost it after a shaky performance for the first 13 holes, including an almost catastrophic drive on the 13th that required him to take an unplayable and drop between sponsorship trucks.

But he regained his footing on the home stretch scoring a birdie, an eagle, and two more birdies to win the tournament.

Only 23 years old, Spieth already has two major championship titles, and was heavily favored to win entering Sunday's final round. Kuchar, 39, has never won a major title.

Earlier in the tournament, South African Branden Grace broke the record for lowest score ever in a men's major championship – a 62.

Afterwards, the 29-year-old South African said he wasn't aware of history unfolding because he was in a zone. Said Grace, "sometimes it helps not knowing these things." 62 has been a major tournament holy grail — players have shot 63 31 times, with several near misses. Last year at the British Open, American Phil Mickelson missed a putt for 62 by an inch. But Saturday, Grace calmly sank a putt from a few feet away on the final hole to claim the record.



Jordan Spieth's win at the British Open makes him one of only two golfers to win three of the four major championships before the age of 24. The only other is Jack Nicklaus, who holds the all-time record with 18 major titles. Spieth will try for his fourth next month at the PGA Championship.</s>SOUTHPORT, England -- Jordan Spieth is The Open champion, just as it was expected. But not as anyone could have imagined.

On the verge of another meltdown in a major, so wild off the tee that he played one shot from the driving range at Royal Birkdale and lost the lead for the first time all weekend, Spieth bounced back with a collection of clutch shots, delivering a rally that ranks among the best.

A near-ace. A 50-foot eagle putt. A 30-foot birdie putt.

Spieth played the final five holes in 5 under and closed with a 1-under 69 for a 3-shot victory over Matt Kuchar, giving him the third leg of the career Grand Slam and a chance next month at the PGA Championship to be the youngest to win them all.

"This is a dream come true for me," Spieth said, gazing at his name on the Claret Jug. "Absolutely a dream come true."

Jordan Spieth played the final five holes in 5 under and closed with a 1-under 69. Ian Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports

For so much of Sunday, it felt like a recurring nightmare.

Just 15 months ago, Spieth lost a 5-shot lead on the back nine at the Masters, coming undone with a quadruple-bogey 7 on the 12th hole. It was more of a slow bleed at Royal Birkdale, with three bogeys on the opening four holes and four putts inside 8 feet that he missed on the front nine to fall into a tie with Kuchar.

And then it all fell apart -- or so it seemed.

His tee shot in the rain on the par-4 13th was so far right that it sailed over the gallery, over the dunes behind them and was closer to the practice range than the fairway. When he finally found the ball, it was nestled in thick grass on a hill so steep Spieth could barely stand up. He appeared to be headed for a double-bogey at best.

Kuchar was 15 feet away for birdie, waiting -- and waiting -- on the green.

"We knew we were going to be there for a while," said Kuchar, who also shot a 69 Sunday. "We made ourselves comfy and told some stories. Certainly it was not anything I was ever going to be upset with. It's very understanding. It's a very difficult situation."

But the break of the tournament -- and a moment that will rate alongside Seve Ballesteros making birdie from the car park when he won at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 1979 -- was when Spieth discovered the range was part of the course.

He took a 1-shot penalty for an unplayable lie and took relief as far back as he wanted, onto the range, behind the equipment trucks. Then he received free relief from the trucks. That still left him a blind shot over the tall dunes to a fairway littered with pot bunkers.

His 3-iron stopped just short of one of them in front of the green, and he pitched over it to about 7 feet and holed the putt to escape with a bogey.

Asked if he had studied the rules in great detail, Spieth said: "No, I've just hit it in a lot of places before. And honestly, if I was a very straight driver of the golf ball, I would have made a different score on that hole.

"The amount of time it took was trying to figure out where exactly the drop would be, to where my nearest point of relief from the equipment trailers, would be to the right side on the driving range instead of to the left side, where I wouldn't be able to get a lot of club on the ball."

Kuchar missed his birdie on the 13th, but he had the lead for the first time.

"Once we started playing again, I had a great shot at birdie and nearly thought my putt was going in to make a birdie there," Kuchar said. "I didn't lose any momentum. All of a sudden I now have a 1-shot lead after that hole in the British Open with five to go. I'm playing really well. Hitting a lot of good shots. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. And he just -- he really turned it up."

Spieth had momentum from his bogey, and on his very next shot, his 6-iron landed in front of the flag on the 14th and missed going in by inches. He made a 4-footer for birdie to tie for the lead, and then seized control with a 50-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole, looking at caddie Michael Greller filled with playful bravado and barking, "Go get that!"

Spieth said his caddie played a massive role in keeping his head in the game.

"I was getting down on myself, as I think anyone would," Spieth said. "This is as much mine as it is his."

Kuchar made birdie from the bunker on the 15th to stay 1 stroke behind, but he had no answer when Spieth poured in a 30-foot birdie at the 16th. And after Kuchar rolled in a 20-foot birdie on the 17th to stay in the game, Spieth buried a 7-foot birdie on top of him to keep that 2-shot lead going to the 18th.

The sequence left the fans -- the largest four-day crowd for The Open in England -- simply delirious.

And they weren't alone. Jack Nicklaus tweeted about the excitement that was unfolding.

Wow! What a wild back nine! Is @JordanSpieth something else? — Jack Nicklaus (@jacknicklaus) July 23, 2017

Zach Johnson, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler were among those who waited by the 18th to watch Spieth win yet another major. Johnson won at St. Andrews two years ago, when Spieth missed the playoff by 1 shot in his bid for the calendar Grand Slam. Spieth drank wine from the jug that year, which he was told was bad luck for anyone wanting to possess the trophy one day.

"I started to believe them a bit through nine holes today," he said. "It feels good to have this in my hands."

From the driving range to the Claret Jug, Spieth put himself in hallowed territory just four days before his 24th birthday. He joined Nicklaus (who was also 23) as the only other player to win three different majors before turning 24.

Spieth goes to Quail Hollow in North Carolina next month with a chance to get that final leg of the Grand Slam.

Spieth, who finished at 12-under 268, became the first player to post all four rounds in the 60s at Royal Birkdale, which was hosting its 10th Open.

Li Haotong of China shot a 63 and finished third at 6-under 274. He was on the practice range in case the leaders came back to him, and Spieth joined him there as he tried to figure out how to get out of his pickle on the 13th.

Moments later, following one massive roar after another for Spieth's theatrics, Li got in a cart and left.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Jordan Spieth leads Matt Kuchar by three shots heading into the final round of the Open Championship after a gripping battle between the pair at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

Spieth, 23, finished the day 11-under with a final birdie that Kuchar (eight—under) was unable to match. It opens up a clear gap for the young Texan who will clinch his third major if he can hold his nerve on Sunday (22 July).

Brooks Koepka, Austin Connelly (five-under) and Branden Grace and Hideki Matsuyama (four-under) head into the final day tied for third and fifth respectively.

And on a day that started with so much promise for Rory McIlroy where he moved to within two shots of the lead, his hopes of challenging on the final day now appear to be over having fallen nine shots off Spieth by the end of play.

Spieth meanwhile was imperious from the off, masterfully draining one on the third before back-to-back birdies on the eighth and ninth which saw him move to nine-under, two clear of nearest challenger Kuchar. The elder American diligently kept pace with the two-time major champion, however, and was finally able to close the gap to a single shot on the 14th hole, sinking a wonderfully measured effort from 12 feet out for his fifth birdie of the round.

On the 15th par-five, Spieth looked to have left the door open for Kuchar to move level when he dragged his third shot 10 foot wide. Cool as ever, however, he stroked it home to move 10-under, albeit with Kuchar keeping pace with a birdie of his own.

Storm clouds had been gathering menacingly and it was at that point with three holes left where the Texan found a decisive break. Or rather, it was handed to him. Spieth missed the opportunity to birdie himself, but was given a reprieve as he watched his opponent fall three shots back after a double bogey.

But following Kucher into the bunker from his tee shot on the 17th however, the grin was quickly wiped from his face as his opponent closed the lead to just two again. But while Spieth held his nerve to register one last birdie from further out on the last shot of the day, Kuchar lost his.

Rory McIlroy's challenge now all but over

McIlroy had steadily grown into a force once again after a disastrous first half to his opening round on Thursday and looked reborn as he took to the greens on Saturday. Teeing off just before Spieth, the Northern Irishman holed three birdies from his first five holes, including an exquisite 20 yard chip on the second to jump to four-under par.

Bogeys on the seventh and eighth took the wind of out his sails, however, and on the 10th, his championship hopes took a sizeable blow after he bunkered from the fairway. Unable to get his chipped effort right, he settled for a double bogey to fall six shots off the lead – a gap that would grow as the day wore on.

Ian Poulter exploded into life during the first two rounds and had placed himself right among it with an overnight score of three-under. But his hopes for a first career major evaporated in no time as he fell off the pace after three consecutive bogeys. A much needed birdie on the 15th steadied the ship and allowed him to finish the day two-under but it is likely to prove too little too late.

Earlier in the afternoon, Grace carded a 62 eight-under par, a lowest ever course score at Royal Birkdale Golf Club which ensured he will be part of the chasing pack on the final day.</s>Jordan Spieth won The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday in dramatic fashion, earning the golfer his third major championship. 



 Spieth is the youngest American to ever win The Open. He also joins Jack Nicklaus at the only two golfers to win three legs of golf's grand slam before the age of 24. Spieth won both the Masters Tournament and the US Open in 2015. 



 Spieth is only one win away from obtaining golf's elusive "grand slam." He'll have his chance in August at the PGA Championship in Charlotte. Until then, here's everything you need to know about the superstar golfer.</s>SOUTHPORT, England — On a day when Branden Grace made golfing history, shooting the lowest round ever in a major championship, Jordan Spieth continued along the path to making his own.

Playing early, Grace shot a 62 on Saturday in the third round of the British Open at Royal Birkdale. Playing in the last group of the day, Spieth shot a 65 and has a three-stroke lead as he tries to become the second youngest player to win three majors.

“I’m extremely pleased,” Spieth said. “Couldn’t ask for more.”

Spieth, a few days from his 24th birthday, is already a Masters and U.S. Open champion. He could join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three major championships by the age of 23.

Spieth’s second bogey-free round of the three so far put him at 11-under par 199. Matt Kuchar, paired with Spieth, is at 8-under 202 after a round of 66.

Tied for third at 205 are Austin Connelly, a young Texan who grew up playing with Spieth and shot 66, and U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who had a 68. After his record round Grace shared fifth with Hideki Matsuyama at 206.

Most of the day the weather was pleasant, sunshine and light wind, although light rain arrived when the leaders had three holes to go. After Friday’s storm the golfers went out Saturday to attack the softened course.

“I thought it was a favorable day for scoring,” said Spieth, “And recognizing that ahead of time made it tough mentally because — I was leading by two — you’re in the position you’d think you can play safer, but you had to play aggressive.”

Kuchar, starting the round two strokes behind Spieth, could never quite catch him. He twice made birdies that momentarily tied him for the lead, only for Spieth to pour in birdie putts on top of him to stay in front. Kuchar’s one slip was a drive into the pot bunker on No. 16 when the rain finally arrived, and a three-putt that led to double bogey there.

Spieth had five birdies, including one on the final hole to which the crowd responded with a huge roar.

Walking up 18 at Birkdale toward the white clubhouse is a chilling experience for those on the top of the leader board.

“I kind of take out my notes walking to the green,” said Spieth, “but I saw the 18th, and I’m like I can’t. Everybody is giving us an ovation, and it’s time to appreciate and enjoy the walk.”

Kuchar, 39, who never has won a major, said he wasn’t trying to beat Spieth head-to-head. “I was playing with him but not focused on him. My goal is to go out and play Royal Birkdale. He and I had a lot of birdies.”

Spieth blew the 2016 Masters with a triple-bogey on the 12th hole of the final round, but he believes that will work to his advantage.

“Everything I’ve gone through, the good, the bad,” he said. “I understand that leads can be squandered and quickly, and I also understand you can keep rolling on one.”</s>A dramatic final round capped the tournament, with Spieth vying with fellow American Matt Kuchar for the top position. China's Li Haotong finished six strokes back in third place.

Spieth, 23, started the day with a three-shot lead over Kuchar, but temporarily lost it after a shaky performance for the first 13 holes, including an almost catastrophic drive on the 13th that required him to take an unplayable and drop between sponsorship trucks.

But he regained his footing on the home stretch scoring a birdie, an eagle, and two more birdies to win the tournament.

Only 23 years old, Spieth already has two major championship titles, and was heavily favored to win entering Sunday's final round. Kuchar, 39, has never won a major title.

Earlier in the tournament, South African Branden Grace broke the record for lowest score ever in a men's major championship – a 62.

Afterwards, the 29-year-old South African said he wasn't aware of history unfolding because he was in a zone. Said Grace, "sometimes it helps not knowing these things." 62 has been a major tournament holy grail — players have shot 63 31 times, with several near misses. Last year at the British Open, American Phil Mickelson missed a putt for 62 by an inch. But Saturday, Grace calmly sank a putt from a few feet away on the final hole to claim the record.



Jordan Spieth's win at the British Open makes him one of only two golfers to win three of the four major championships before the age of 24. The only other is Jack Nicklaus, who holds the all-time record with 18 major titles. Spieth will try for his fourth next month at the PGA Championship.</s>SOUTHPORT, England — Where do we begin?

For starters, if you didn't shoot under par on Saturday at Royal Birkdale, you might as well head to the nearest airport. A565 to Liverpool or Manchester.

You won't see Jordan Spieth there. He's 18 holes away from winning the third leg of the career grand slam.

On a day when nearly everyone in the field went low — including Branden Grace's historically low 62 — the 23-year-old Spieth is still the man to beat at the 146th British Open. Spieth shot a "stress-free" (his words) five-under 65 and is 11 under for the week. He's three shots clear of playing partner Matt Kuchar, who was two back to begin the day.

This is the fifth time Spieth has held the 54-hole lead at a major but the first time he'll be in the final Sunday pairing at a major since the 2016 Masters, when he lost the lead, and tournament, with a triple-bogey 7 on the 12th hole at Augusta National.

"I think I'm in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I've gone through: the good, the bad, and everything in the middle," he said. "I understand that leads can be squandered quickly, and I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one. So it was a humbling experience that I thought at the time could serve me well going forward. And if I don't win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that."

Friday's rain and wind kept the field bunched. But conditions were ideal on moving day. No rain coats, oversized umbrellas or ponchos — or at least not until the final hour of play, when a quick shower rolled in. Before that, there was a soothing breeze, sleeveless shirts and thirsty British golf fans.

The grounds were buzzing. Spectator village looked like the floor of an Adele concert. Twenty-four hours earlier, in that same area, golf fans took cover to escape the rain. On Saturday they laid blankets on the ground and sunbathed.

Shaun Norris, a 35-year-old South African, was the first man out this morning. He shot 65, a harbinger of more low scores to come. Jim "Bones" Mackay, Phil Mickelson's long-time caddie-turned-on-course reporter this week, sensed it, too. He said on the telecast that 62 was very much in play. Hours later Grace signed for 62—the lowest round in men's major championship history.

The boards bled red. Dustin Johnson: 64. Henrik Stenson: 65. Rickie Fowler: 67. And on and on. Forty-three of 62 players posted under-par scores on Saturday.

Spieth, teeing off after Grace set the pace, made the turn in three-under 31, the same as Kuchar, who despite playing well was unable to gain any ground. He inched closer with a birdie on the par-3 14th to get to eight under, one back. They both birdied 15, but Kuchar suffered a disastrous double bogey on the par-4 16th and fell three behind. His drive found a pot bunker, he blasted out back into the fairway and three-putted. He got one stroke back with a birdie on 17, but Spieth punctuated his round with a long birdie on 18, even though he was frustrated with his approach shot.

"I thought it was going to be in the bunker, but I guess it hit right on the mounds there and had enough spin to be able to check," he said. "When I got up to the green I was happily shocked. And then from there I thought this is where I normally capitalize and I kind of make a scrappy birdie. And even though I had missed quite a few putts from that range, and I had a lot of them today, that one just felt good looking at it. I could cast it out a little bit, and put the right speed on with a few feet to go, it was going to go in and it was a good feeling."

Spieth said his goal this morning was four under. The birdie on 18 got him to five.

Grace's 62 broke the long-standing low-scoring mark of 63 in the majors. Johnny Miller shot the first, a final-round eight-under 63 to win the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont. It's been matched 30 times since then, most recently by Justin Thomas, who shot 63 at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills last month, which set the major record for relation to par at nine under.

Grace, a 29-year-old South African still in search of his first major title, didn't know how good his round was on Saturday, even after the final putt had dropped. His caddie, Zack Rasego, had to tell him.

"Zack came up and said, 'You're in the history books,'" Grace said. "And I was like, 'What are you talking about?' So obviously now it makes the day even sweeter."

Grace made the turn in 29, putting #62Watch on Twitter's radar. He added birdies on 14, 16 and 17 then parred 18. He started the day four over and 10 shots off the lead but vaulted up the leaderboard in the afternoon.

"Today was one of those days where we had the conditions," Grace said. "Just trying to shoot a number to try to get myself back in there and have a decent finish for the week. Obviously now the mindset changed a bit.

Austin Connelly and Brooks Koepka are tied for third at five under, with Grace and Hideki Matsuyama tied for fifth and seven back. Plenty of big names are on the first page of the leaderboard, but it still might be too little too late. Johnson and Stenson are tied for seventh but sit eight off the lead, and Rory McIlroy, who started the day hot but cooled off late, is nine back.

With a win Sunday, Spieth would become just the second player to notch three legs of the career grand slam before turning 24. The other? Jack Nicklaus.

"I wouldn't rather be in any other position than where we're at," Spieth said. "And we have an opportunity to have a really special day on the golf course tomorrow."</s>A dramatic final round capped the tournament, with Spieth vying with fellow American Matt Kuchar for the top position. China's Li Haotong finished six strokes back in third place.

Spieth, 23, started the day with a three-shot lead over Kuchar, but temporarily lost it after a shaky performance for the first 13 holes, including an almost catastrophic drive on the 13th that required him to take an unplayable and drop between sponsorship trucks.

But he regained his footing on the home stretch scoring a birdie, an eagle, and two more birdies to win the tournament.

Only 23 years old, Spieth already has two major championship titles, and was heavily favored to win entering Sunday's final round. Kuchar, 39, has never won a major title.

Earlier in the tournament, South African Branden Grace broke the record for lowest score ever in a men's major championship – a 62.

Afterwards, the 29-year-old South African said he wasn't aware of history unfolding because he was in a zone. Said Grace, "sometimes it helps not knowing these things." 62 has been a major tournament holy grail — players have shot 63 31 times, with several near misses. Last year at the British Open, American Phil Mickelson missed a putt for 62 by an inch. But Saturday, Grace calmly sank a putt from a few feet away on the final hole to claim the record.



Jordan Spieth's win at the British Open makes him one of only two golfers to win three of the four major championships before the age of 24. The only other is Jack Nicklaus, who holds the all-time record with 18 major titles. Spieth will try for his fourth next month at the PGA Championship.</s>SOUTHPORT, United Kingdom: Jordan Spieth won the British Open at Royal Birkdale on Sunday (Jul 23) by three shots from fellow American Matt Kuchar.

Spieth, 23, shot a final round of 69 to finish on 12 under par, with Kuchar second at nine-under. He is the first man to post four rounds in the 60s in an Open at Birkdale.

It is Spieth's third major title after he won the Masters and US Open in 2015.

Spieth had been top of the leaderboard after each of the first three rounds and his victory saw him emulate the great Jack Nicklaus in getting his hands on a third different major before turning 24.

He had started the day three shots ahead of Kuchar but he very nearly threw it away, bogeying three of the first four holes as he went out in 37, three-over.

Spieth and Kuchar were level at eight-under standing on the 13th tee, when the former's wild tee shot forced him to take a drop and play his approach to the green from an adjacent practice ground.

He escaped with a bogey to trail by just one shot going onto the 14th, before recovering his nerve to pick up three birdies and an eagle in his next four holes to secure the Claret Jug in astonishing fashion.

Kuchar had four birdies but also three bogeys, including at the 18th, as he finished with a one-under 69 and missed out on what would have been a first major of his career at the age of 39.

China's Li Haotong came from nowhere to finish third on six-under after a stunning seven-under-par last round of 63.

Rory McIlroy, the 2014 champion, finished with a 67 to share fourth on five-under with Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello.</s>Just after the tee shots of the final two competitors on the 18th hole at The British Open, a commercial said, “This is how legends are made”. The spot was not talking about Jordan Spieth. But it could have been. Spieth, at 23 years old, was about to finish the 18th as one of only two players in history to win three different legs of the Grand Slam of golf before age 24. The other is the already legendary Jack Nicklaus.

It matters not that Spieth would be 24 years old in four days and Tiger Woods was 24 when he won his third. There are no asterisks because Spieth, in just in his 5th year as a professional staged one of the greatest finishes in golf championship history.

If Hollywood was writing the best possible script, it would create drama through adversity where the star could thereafter collapse under the weight of it or rise above it in dramatic fashion. For Spieth, a bogey on the unlucky 13th hole was that adversity. It was in fact a great save after a tee shot so errant in direction that it hit a spectator on the head, and took what seemed like a year to find it. It actually was 20 minutes before he took his next shot.

Spieth suddenly fell out of the lead for the first time. The consistent 39-year old Matt Kuchar, looking for his first major, became the leader heading to the 14th hole. Golf experts said he was due, and would easily see Kuchar as a worthy champion. The drama was in full bloom.

A script would then need to have a turn-around that is rare in the sport. Spieth played that role to perfection. He shot 5-under par the remaining four holes. The stretch of birdie-eagle-birdie on holes 14, 15, and 16 is already “legendary” , and not likely to be repeated in even Spieth’s lifetime.

Then there would need to be something historic. The British Open has been flowing since 1860. Spieth is now the youngest American to win it. And though Spieth is the 87th different player to win The Open, this is probably the most dramatic final round ever. His long birdie putt on 16 left NBC commentators speechless. The terms “poise” and “determination” is already attached to him and his ability to turn on the switch when it was winning time. That reminded many of Tiger Woods, the last to display consistency in winning majors.

But now, sponsors will not be speechless. Current Spieth sponsors include Under Armour, Titleist, Netjets, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Rolex, and Wheaties.
In golf, American Jordan Spieth wins by three shots over fellow American Matt Kuchar, becoming only the second male player, after Jack Nicklaus, to win three different major championships before turning 24.