Spieth set to defy weather gods at Open

Jordan Spieth was set Wednesday to carry his storming start to the season into the British Open at St Andrews, while all eyes were looking skywards for further signs of rough weather on the way.

The 21-year-old Texan finally broke his silence after arriving at the Old Course on Monday, a day after winning the John Deere Classic in Illinois.

It wasn't the ideal way to prepare for a links course tournament, the 21-year-old Texan agreed, especially with what is at stake, but it was the one that suited him best.

Spieth has already won the Masters and the US Open and a first British Open triumph would make him just the second player, after Ben Hogan in 1953, to win the year's first three majors.
That is a feat that escaped Jack Nicklaus and so far also Tiger Woods, and it would open the door for him to achieve golfing immortality in Wisconsin next month by winning the PGA Championship to become the first player to bag the Grand Slam of golf.

Spieth says he is aware of the historical implications of what lies in front of him on a course he had only played once before this week.

"I think we've done a lot of good work," he said of his on course preparation this week.

"We played 18 holes late into the evening on Monday when we got here, and then I played a loop of I think 10 holes yesterday, the 10 holes I really wanted to see, and I'll play another full round today.
"I think that's more golf than I usually play going into a tournament that I haven't played the golf course before, but at the same time, this one is a little more tricky, so I feel like it's necessary."

The task on hand for Spieth has been made slightly easier by the absence though injury of world number one Rory McIlroy and he leads a strong American challenge including last week's Scottish Open winner Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and 2013 champion Phil Mickelson, not to mention Woods, looking to rebound on his favourite course.

Henrik Stenson is the top-ranking European and the big Swede said he would like nothing more than to become his country's first Open champion.

"It would be huge, of course. We've (Swedish golfers) come close a number of times. I think we've got four or five second, runner-up finishes in Open Championships and a bunch of other close, good results," he said.

- Stark warning -
Stenson, like the rest of the field, were meanwhile keeping one eye on the weather bulletins with heavy rain and winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour (65 kilometres per hour) forecast to spill in off the North Sea on Friday and Saturday.

Royal and Ancient (R&A) chief Peter Dawson said that there had been concerns over how the course might bear up to the heavy rain that has softened the greens and fairways but that these had been dealt with to his satisfaction.

Five-time winner Tom Watson, however, had a stark warning for all of those taking part.

"You're going to see some major struggles out there, according to the weather forecast, and it's going to be interesting to see how the field copes with this golf course under those conditions," he said.

Dane Thomas Bjorn will get the 144th Open Championship off and running at 6:32 a.m. (0732GMT) on Thursday.
Source: AFP