Open Championship Recap: Spieth Wins Third Major

The history of sports is littered with remarkable athletes who, even on The Greatest Day They Ever Had, came up short against the truly elite. That's what happened to Matt Kuchar on Sunday.

Kuchar was stalking Jordan Spieth for four days and finally wrested the lead with five holes to play in the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. At that point, Spieth shifted gears and overwhelmed the gallant Kuchar the way Road Runner would leave Wile E. Coyote in the dust at just the moment before capture.

Spieth is the Champion Golfer of the Year, besting Kuchar by three strokes, though it was so much closer than that.

The Texan is the third golfer to win three majors before his 24th birthday, which incidentally is on Thursday, behind only Gene Sarazen and Jack Nicklaus. No, not even Tiger Woods won three majors before turning 24. At the PGA Championship in three weeks, Spieth can become the youngest to complete the career grand slam.

Spieth has come full circle from 15 months ago, when the 2016 Masters debacle interrupted his march toward all-time greatness. Spieth blew a five-stroke lead on the back nine at Augusta that Sunday; at Royal Birkdale, it was not quite as stark, having begun the day with a three-shot margin.

Kuchar took the lead on No. 13, but then Spieth began one of the greatest finishing kicks in major championship history, playing the next four holes in 5-under-par. Spieth's jaw-dropping birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie run – that's 2-3-3-4 if you're scoring at home – on Nos. 14 through 17 followed what may go down as an even more miraculous moment in golf lore: losing only one shot on No. 13 after a drive some 100 yards off line led to an unplayable lie and a second shot from the driving range.

On just about any other day, Kuchar would've won. Paired in the final group with Spieth, he played the same four holes in 2-under, yet lost three strokes.

And so in the ever-changing game of Who's the Top Golfer in the World, Spieth has to be considered tops, for the moment, even though Dustin Johnson is still well ahead of the now-second-ranked Spieth in the OWGR. Rory McIlroy even re-entered the picture, tying for fourth at Birkdale to affirm his No. 4 ranking.

The question will be addressed in two weeks at the WGC-Bridgestone, and there may not be an answer until a week later at Quail Hollow, where McIlroy has already won a major.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Matt Kuchar

Kuchar's history of backdoor top-10s in majors is no secret. This was his ninth such result, though never before had he been in contention like this, in second place after 36 holes and playing Sunday in the final group. And this probably was his best chance to win one. He's had a very nice career, winning a Players and a WGC among seven PGA Tour titles, but he'll always be viewed as someone who came up short. Kuchar never seems bothered not to win the big one, which is probably why he never wins the big one. As for fantasy golf, Kuchar probably will continue cranking out top-10s in majors and other events, maybe even at Firestone in two weeks and at Quail Hollow in three. He's up to No. 12 in the world, his best standing in more than two years.

Rory McIlroy

Speaking of backdoor top-10s … McIlroy knows a thing or two about them, too. All snark aside, he tied for fourth at Royal Birkdale and did so after a disastrous start on Thursday. McIlroy likely accomplished two things this week: He figured out his putting woes and he's finally gotten enough reps in during a year in which he's missed extended time twice. He already has a great history at Quail Hollow with two victories; now, his game is rounding into form at the just the right time.

Rafa Cabrera Bello

We hear a lot about Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm, but there's a third Spaniard excelling on the world stage. Cabrera Bello tied for fourth with McIlroy at Birkdale a week after winning the Scottish Open. He's now up to No. 16 in the OWGR. It might be a bit much to envision a big win either at the Bridgestone or the PGA, but top-10s are certainly within reason, as is a deep run in the FedEx Cup playoffs (yes, he's a member). And Cabrera Bello likely is still to be favorably priced, at least in comparison to those ahead of him in the top-15 in the world.

Alex Noren

Noren never gets his due, even after winning six times in the past two years. That's because European Tour wins aren't taken all that seriously, though a tie for sixth in the Open is the real deal. Noren also tied for 10th at The Players (he did miss the cut at the first two majors). So the Swede has to be considered a lineup option – at some of the best prices in relation to world ranking you ever will see – in the two upcoming big tournaments.

Bubba Watson

Watson was perilously close to the embarrassment of missing the FedEx Cup playoffs until a decent week at Royal Birkdale. He tied for 27th, lifting him from outside the top-125 in the point standings to 117th. That should be enough so late in the season. But Watson can make a big rise this week in a weak field at the RBC Canadian Open.

Dustin Johnson

Hello, remember me? No. 1 in the world? Well, maybe not so much after a 7-over 77 on Sunday. That sent Johnson plummeting from a tie for seventh after three rounds to a T54 finish. Johnson has done next to nothing since injuring his back before the Masters, but he showed in flashes at Royal Birkdale that his game, too, is rebounding. He'll be the lone representative in the OWGR top-10 at this week's Canadian Open, and a victory would be far from a surprise.

Barbasol Championship

Grayson Murray

We kind of saw this coming. Murray has been playing better for months and, amid the weak field of an opposite-field event, the rookie captured the Barbasol Championship in Opelika, Ala., by a stroke over Chad Collins. It won't get him into the Masters, but he's set deep into this year's playoffs and for two more years on the PGA Tour. Murray is also up to 87th in the world rankings, so another good result or two could get him into the Masters regardless. But don't expect anything quite so great when he moves up in class with stronger fields in the coming weeks.

Ben Martin

Martin tied for sixth at the Barbasol, continuing his late-season surge and securing his card for next year. Martin moved from 125th to 113th in the point standings, with a chance to zoom even higher this week in Canada. And in such a weak field, Martin absolutely should be a lineup consideration.

Smylie Kaufman

Kaufman may be down for vacations with Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, but one of these things is not like the other. And it's Kaufman. Playing in his native Alabama, Kaufman did tie for 12th. But that moved him only two places, to 134th in the point standings. He's in the field for the Canadian Open, and it'll be just his second-to-last chance to get into the top 125. Barring a win, Kaufman won't be in the WGC or the PGA, leaving just the regular-season finale, the Wyndham, on his schedule. Kaufman will keep his card, having won the 2015 Shriners, but it would be an embarrassment to miss the playoffs.

Daniel Summerhays

It sure seems we have seen Summerhays' name on leaderboards a number of times recently. But he is perilously close to heading to the Web.com Tour finals to retain his card. Summerhays cashed in 63rd place at the Barbasol, and that dropped him outside the top-125, to the position of Mr. Irrelevant at No. 126. Summerhays was coming off consecutive top-20s at the Quicken Loans and John Deere (with a T10 at the Memorial in June), but too many poor finishes have left him on the brink. Like Kaufman, he'll have Canada and the Wyndham to advance.

RotoWire Value Picks

Last week: Winner (DeChambeau), four top-5s, six top-12s, four missed cuts, one WD
This week: Two top-10s, eight top-25s, two missed cuts

We had some great results, though they certainly weren't in Tier 1. Henrik Stenson led the way at T11, followed by Tommy Fleetwood at T27, Sergio Garcia at T37 and Justin Rose at T54. In Tier 2, Paul Casey also tied for 11th, with Hideki Matsuyama T14 and Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott both T22. In Tier 3, we struck with both Alex Noren and Branden Grace tying for sixth and Zach Johnson tying for 14th. Bernd Wiesberger disappointed by finishing 74th. Among the long shots, Steve Stricker was the best of the bunch at T37, while Andy Sullivan tied for 70th. Padraig Harrington and Ryan Fox were our lone missed cuts.