Although it's tough for me to root against Spieth, count me in as another who'd prefer to see Kuchar win Sunday. I thought he withstood some of Jordan's best golf today very well, only gave up one stroke against him (and really shouldn't have given up any, because it was definitely uncharacteristic of him 3-putting on the 16th for double bogey.)
But when Spieth is on - he makes everyone have to play flawless golf to beat him. I thought Jordan's unlikely birdie on the 18th was a huge turning point.... Kooch had to be thinking that he was gonna cut into his lead after that terrific shot he hit in there close, then Jordan does what Jordan does, makes birdie, and Kooch fails to convert the short one. That might prove to be huge tomorrow.
Yet there's still 18 more holes ahead of these guys. Two bad swings could easily derail a player's confidence, just like it happened with Rory Saturday. He got out of the gate quick with birdieing three of the first five holes, looking like maybe the old Rory is back... then stumbles with back-to-back bogeys on holes 7 and 8, and then just lost all of his focus with the disaster that played out on the 10th.
Speaking of Rory... Birkdale played incredibly soft today, no wind to speak of, I mean lots of great scores, a historic round of 62 coming from Grace. Rory hits the ball miles... hits his irons higher than any player in the game, two really huge advantages that a majority of those guys would sign a deal with the devil to have themselves. But there he was today midway through the round, struggling to focus, hanging his head and absolutely no positive vibes coming from his demeanor whatsoever. That's one thing that separates the average from the best... the grinding, the not throwing in the towel mentally when they know they're not playing their best golf, that ability to elevate the focus and kick themselves in the ass when they need to get going and right the ship.
Rory had a huge opportunity today to give the last couple of groups something to think about, and was well on his way. And then he just lost it when things suddenly got a little challenging.
It's easy for those guys to shoot 4 or 5-under when things are going their way. But it's those guys who can keep their shit together during that tough stretch who factor on Sunday's in a major. Ian Poulter shot two shots worse than Rory today, but that guy was grinding his ass off, start to finish. Yeah, he got frustrated and it showed on a few holes, but the guy never stopped grinding. And he could only wish he had as much talent as Rory McIlroy. And quite frankly, Rory could only wish he had as much fight and determination as Poulter.
I mean, it wasn't like Rory was gonna catapult to the top of the leaderboard today, but he could've shot 5 or 6-under in those benign conditions. Four shots back of the lead going into Sunday? Great situation to be in, not thinking about protecting a lead, a much lower level of pressure, not having to worry about playing conservative golf, and with a little wind and rain in the forecast for Sunday - who the hell knows!
I never thought I'd say this, but it looks like Rory just ain't that hungry anymore. And really, I guess, who could blame him. Nike provided him generational wealth and it's not like he's gotta make cuts to pay the mortgage. He's a good lad... just wish he could channel some of that younger kid who had something to prove a little more often.