Barring a rain or wind delay, former Kansas University golfer Gary Woodland will have finished his final round at the British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews, known as the “home of golf,” by the time you arrive at the office Monday morning.
Woodland finished Sunday tied for 57th, at 3-under, nine strokes behind the three co-leaders and out of contention after shooting a 71.
Despite that, there are plenty of compelling story lines. A cheat sheet to reference when your co-workers start talking golf and you don’t want to be left out of the conversation because, well, like most people, you prefer to talk rather than listen:
Jordan Spieth: One stroke off the pace and in fourth place behind Paul Dunne, Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Day, Spieth can become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win the first three legs of the Grand Slam.
In one of the many excellent interviews conducted by ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi during the week, Spieth shared that he discovered midway through the round that his putting alignment was off. He corrected it and made just 10 putts on the final nine holes. He’s one stroke behind, despite stroking an atypically high 37 putts in his second round.
Spieth also told Rinaldi that he has felt less pressure in each leg of the Grand Slam he chases. He said when he looks around at others who have not won a major, he takes comfort in knowing they are feeling more pressure than he is. He finds ways such as that to fuel his confidence, and he does an amazing job of refreshing his focus every shot.
Big 12 golf, take a bow: Five of the top six Americans on the leader board are from Big 12 schools.
Spieth played a year at Texas. Amateur Jordan Niebrugge, tied for sixth, has played three seasons at Oklahoma State. Robert Streb from Kansas State also is tied for sixth. Rickie Fowler and Ryan Palmer, tied for 18th, also played at Big 12 schools, Fowler at Oklahoma State and Palmer at Texas A&M, which since has moved to the SEC.
Even the lone exception among the top six Americans, Zach Johnson, has a Big 12 connection. Jamie Bermel, Johnson’s coach at Drake University, now is KU’s coach.
The ultimate international tournament: No fewer than 14 golfers from six countries were within three strokes, tied for sixth or better, heading into the final round: USA (four), Australia (three), Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa (two) and Spain (one).
Best non-Spieth story heading into final round: Amateur Paul Dunne, 22, shared the lead after the third round with Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Day. Dunne, ESPN reported, miscalculated how long it would take him to get from the clubhouse to the 10th tee in a British Open qualifying round, ran to the tee and arrived with just one minute to spare.
A native of Dublin, Ireland, Dunne just completed his fourth year of golf at University of Alabama-Birmingham and has college coach Alan Murray on his bag. Dunne won just one collegiate tournament and until late in the 2015 season didn’t even have UAB’s lowest scoring average.
He pointed out that he also briefly held the lead Thursday because he was part of the second threesome to tee off and birdied the first two holes. He will try to become the first amateur since Bobby Jones in 1930 to win the Claret Jug. His amateur status prohibits him from accepting a check for his performance. Bummer.
Local betting parlors had him as a 1,500-to-1 shot to win. His buddies, Dunne shared with Rinaldi, already have made money off of him by betting on him to make the cut.
Fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington, who had faded from prominence, is in contention at 10-under, two strokes back. David Duval, who shot a 67 to drop to 5-under, also turned back the clock.
Dustin Johnson, golf’s best rabbit: Johnson has shot 31-under par in the first two rounds of his past five majors. After carding a 75 on Sunday to fade from leading to five strokes off the pace, Johnson is 3-over par in post-cut rounds in his past five majors.
Day’s major day yet to come: Day has three second-place finishes in majors (Masters and U.S. Open in 2011, 2013 U.S. Open) and a third (2013 Masters). He shapes up as the biggest threat to Spieth’s quest to head into the PGA in contention for a Grand Slam. However, Oosthuizen has accomplished what Day has not. He won a major, the 2010 British Open, to go with a pair of runner-up finishes (2012 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open, where he tied Dustin Johnson).
Personal flashback: I never would have remembered what former Little League/freshman basketball team strong-armed Dave Streb’s expression looked like when the umpire didn’t give him a strike call. I hadn’t thought of it for 44 years, until his son Robert’s putt broke in the opposite direction he thought it would Friday. Identical expression, exact same gait, so many similar mannerisms.
Tee times of note: The first group was to go off at 1:45 a.m. Central time; Woodland at 3:05 with Graeme McDowell; Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson at 6:25; Adam Scott and Streb at 7:40; Spieth and Day at 8:20; Oosthuizen and Dunne at 8:30.
ESPN was to begin its coverage at 5 a.m. Central.