Spieth looking for Open launchpad at John Deere

Jordan Spieth will be looking to fine-tune his British Open challenge on Thursday as he returns to the scene of his first ever US PGA Tour victory at the $4.7 million John Deere Classic.

The 21-year-old American has electrified men's golf this year after winning the Masters and US Open, and is now lining up victory at St Andrews next week to stay on course for a calendar year Grand Slam.

Spieth has happy memories of the John Deere, winning the event as a teenager in 2013 to become the youngest winner on the PGA Tour in 82 years after beating Zach Johnson and David Hearn in a play-off.

"This tournament has truly launched my career to a different level, and those memories I don't forget," said Spieth as he prepared for a fresh assault on TPC Deere Run in Illinois.

Spieth's decision to play the John Deere -- rather than the Scottish Open in Gullane -- has raised eyebrows among many tour watchers.

However Spieth is adamant that his decision to remain in the United States rather than head to Scotland will not impact his Open challenge.
"I felt like I've played well in the Open Championship the last couple years having played at the John Deere right before and competed," he said.

"If I thought that I wasn't going to play well next week because I played here, it would be a different story. I probably wouldn't be here.

"I think that this is a good preparation for me to get good feels, to get in contention, and to find out what's on and what's off when I'm in contention."

Spieth meanwhile leapt to the defence of world number one Rory McIlroy after the reigning PGA Championship and British Open champion suffered an ankle injury which has forced him out of defending the Claret Jug.

Spieth insisted McIlroy had done nothing wrong by playing in the game of football with friends which led to the injury.

"It's unlucky, it's unfortunate and I'm sure he's taking it harder on himself than anybody else," Spieth said.

"But I don't think he did anything wrong. It just was an unfortunate situation and hopefully he rebounds quickly and gets back right to where he was."
Spieth revealed that his own downtime had recently included a hair-raising encounter with a shark during a fishing trip to the Bahamas, including a near-three-hour wrestling match with the 300-pound beast.

"I almost got pulled in," Spieth said of the encounter, which occurred when the shark attacked a tuna the golfer had hooked.

Spieth's biggest challenge at Deere Run could well come from Johnson, one of his victims in the playoff two years ago.

Johnson, the 2012 winner, paid tribute to Spieth's remarkable recent run of results which have left him on the cusp of history.

"I don't even know how to measure it," said Johnson.

"I mean, I honestly don't. When you're confident and you're seeing putts go in and you're signing for a low number on your scorecard, that confidence as an athlete and I think in my sport can breed momentum.

"And he just has got a lot of momentum right now."
Source: AFP