The Open: Is Jordan Spieth poised to win a second Claret Jug?

Jordan Spieth is looking like his vintage self at this year’s Open Championship, the last major he won back in 2017, now sitting one point from the lead.

Jordan Spieth finished the first day at The Open with an elegant 65. It is the same score he started with on Day One when he collected the Claret Jug trophy in 2017.

That was the last major he won. Can we safely predict Spieth’s major redemption in Sandwich, England?

Truthfully, Jordan Spieth has been on an impressive redemption arch since the beginning of the year. With a win at the Valero Texas Open in April, the 27-year-old ended his four-year title draught, one that began directly after winning The Open in 2017.

The UT alum has sowed the ground with top finishes throughout the year, including beginning 2021 with T4 and T3 finishes at the Waster Management Open and the AT&T at Pebble Beach, as well as another T4 at Arnold Palmer in March. Spieth’s win at Valero saw him surging to a thrilling T3 at the next major, The Masters, just one week later. With a second place finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Spieth has left the low ranking of 92 he started out 2021 with in the dust.

British Open: Jordan Spieth is prime position

Surely, at the 149th Open, a very confident Jordan Spieth is on the cusp of translating all this forward momentum into major glory again.

"“The path that I’m on and where I’ve been before in the game, I feel really good about my chances going forward,” said Spieth, after he finished the first round, where he hit six stunning birdies and one bogey, according to The Guardian.“I feel like I’ve been trending the right way and certainly had a chance this year already at Augusta. I made some mistakes in the first round and second round that I shouldn’t have made. I very well could have won that golf tournament this year.”"

Spieth’s return to form has been building all year long and The Open looks like the perfect landscape for him to achieve his fourth major. It’s a tournament he’s played consistently at, with past T4 and T9 finishes at the event. He’s never missed the cut at the British tournament and besides the first year he played, he’s never dipped lower than T36.

On Thursday, Jordan Spieth looked to be in absolute control, but also completely at-ease. A relaxed, confident Spieth is one who lets four magnificent birdies in a row fly off his club, like he did on D1’s front nine.

https://twitter.com/NUCLRGOLF/status/1415652889914138626

With Spieth just one behind the leader in Kent, Louis Oosthuizen, at five under, all eyes will be on the Texas native to thrill crowds again. It’s clear that Spieth has said goodbye to his earlier slump, but can he overtake the lead in the coming days of The Open Championship? His run in Kent will be exciting to behold.

The Open continues on Friday as Day Two gets underway, with South African Oosthuizen sitting on top the leaderboard with six under.