Chambers Bay may have been the site of one of the more controversial US Opens in recent history, but it looked destined to help set the perfect stage for The Open Championship at The Old Course in 2015.
The Open Championship always seems to hit a little differently when it finds itself in the town of St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland. What the course lacks in difficulty when the weather is calm, it more than makes up for in charm and prestige.
And there is surely no course on the rota the majority of the world’s best players would rather lift the Claret Jug at.
A decade ago, it appeared that fans were going to be treated to a titanic battle on arguably the most iconic course on the planet between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, with the Northern Irishman at the peak of his powers and Spieth looking to move a giant step closer to making history.
The dream battle between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth at The Open Championship which never happened
McIlroy was the world number one heading into the third major of the year. He had finished fourth at The Masters and tied for ninth at the US Open. He had also won the WGC Match Play and the Wells Fargo Championship.
There was also the small matter of McIlroy being the defending champion heading into The Open. He had won his third major title at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
Spieth, meanwhile, had had quite the year leading into The Open. He was approaching his 22nd birthday having already won The Masters and the US Open. Understandably, so much of the talk surrounded whether Spieth could become the first player to win all four of the current majors in the same calendar year.
Tiger Woods was the previous player to win the first two majors of the year, back in 2002. And ahead of his opening round 13 years later, Woods explained some of the challenges he faced once he got to the British Isles.
“I remember in 2002 from my own experience, I put myself right there in contention after two rounds. I think I was about three or four back at the time, so I was playing great. I was right there with a great chance going into the weekend. Just happened to catch it at the wrong time and then came back on Sunday, and I think I shot 65 on Sunday,” he said.
“He’s playing well, obviously. He’s won two major championships and just won last week. Obviously he’s in great form. It’s just a matter of going out there and executing his game plan. I mean, that’s what he talks about a lot is formulating a game plan and executing it, and this is a golf course in which you have to do that. You have to execute it and trust it and be a very good lag putter because you’re going to have a good shot sometimes is going to be 40, 50, 60, 70 feet away, and you just can’t get it close. The wind is blowing too hard. To be able to lag putt those putts stone dead is very key.”
Unfortunately, the golfing world was to be denied the chance to watch McIlroy up against Spieth that week – due to a football.
Why Rory McIlroy missed the 2015 Open Championship
McIlroy announced little more than a week before The Open that he had ruptured an ankle ligament during a kick about with friends. He was having to wear a protective boot in what was clearly an ominous sign.
It certainly did not surprise anyone when it was subsequently announced that McIlroy would indeed be unable to defend his title. In fact, McIlroy became the first player since Ben Hogan to not play the year after winning the Claret Jug. It remains the only major McIlroy has missed since the start of 2009.
Sir Nick Faldo was among those to express some disappointment that he would not be teeing it up.
“What we want is a showdown between Jordan and maybe Rickie Fowler, as well, as we’re now building is this going to be the next big — well, we’ve already got the big two. If you want to put Rickie in there, as well, but that’s what we’re missing. So that’s a huge disappointment,” he said.
“Obviously Rory had a serious opportunity, the way he drives the golf ball, because as we know, the length these guys are hitting, it’s obviously playing tough. It’s playing a little tougher than I thought, but if it had been a little firmer, you know you’ll get on the fifth hole in two. They’re going to either drive nine or 10 depending on the wind, they’re going to drive 12. 14, they’ll get there in two, and 18. So if you’re driving the ball really well, you are there or very close to six holes under regulation.
“So he must be kicking himself, as long as he doesn’t injure it. Hey, boys will be boys. They want to go and play, and he had a weird and wonderful accident. Hey, I wish him — I hope he gets himself fully fit and strong. It’s unfortunate with an injury like that, he’s got to get himself 100 per cent fit before he can start the comeback. But not the sort of thing you’d expect to happen, but it’s happened. So yeah, I feel for Rory.”
Jordan Spieth finishes one shot back at St Andrews – and produces his worst major result of the year
It was an American who got off to the best start on Thursday at St Andrews. However, it was the man whose agony at Chambers Bay led to Spieth’s ecstasy, with Dustin Johnson posting a seven under par round of 65.
Spieth was two shots back in a tie for eighth.
Johnson stayed out in front at the halfway mark. While it was a ghost of Spieth’s majors yet to come who was one shot back in the shape of Danny Willett. The Englishman would end the week finishing tied for sixth.
Spieth followed a 72 on Friday with a 66 in the third round to move up to fourth place. Crucially, he was just one shot back of the leaders with 18 holes to play. One of those players was Louis Oosthuizen, who had won the last time The Open was held at St Andrews. The others – Jason Day and amateur Paul Dunne – were looking to win their first majors.
Oddly, Oosthuizen would remain in a three-way tie at the top after Sunday’s round. What was strange was that he was joined by two different players, with Zach Johnson and Marc Leishman forcing their way into the playoff.
Spieth had got to the magic number of 15 under par on the 70th hole. However, a bogey on the Road Hole and a par up the last meant that he would have to settle for fourth.
He did reflect after his final round on how disappointing it was to miss out on a third major title in a row.
“I don’t know how many guys have done three majors in a year. I’m sure there’s only been a few. I know Tiger has done it, and I’m sure Jack has. I don’t know that. So that would be the next goal as far as the history goes. Sights set on the PGA Championship, and from here I’ve got a couple weeks off now, and I’m going to go home and reflect on — it won’t hurt too bad,” he said.
“It’s not like I really lost it on the last hole, and 17 was brutally challenging. I just didn’t hit a great putt there, and I just picked the wrong wedge out of the bag on 18. I made a lot of the right decisions down the stretch and certainly closed plenty of tournaments out, and this just wasn’t one of those. It’s hard to do that every single time. I won’t beat myself up too bad because I do understand that.”
His day in the British sun would come just two years later at Royal Birkdale.
The most recent victory of Zach Johnson’s career
As for the playoff, Johnson would win his second major title – following the 2007 Masters – after finishing one shot clear of Oosthuizen. Leishman was a further two shots back after making two bogeys over the four additional holes.
McIlroy’s return would eventually come at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits where he would finish 17th.
Spieth would finish second to Jason Day. Incredibly, that meant that the youngster’s worst major result in 2015 did indeed come with his fourth place finish at The Open.