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.
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 139, 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 25 feet for an eagle on the 12th 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.
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.
It was hardly surprising, therefore, 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 12 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.
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