Jordan Spieth is having a hard time with one of the traditions of the Claret Jug, as he has to return it to the R&A clubhouse on Monday.
“The traditions of The Open are very special, even if you’re on the wrong end of that one,” Spieth said (h/t ESPN).
“It didn’t really hit me,” he said. “I thought maybe somebody would meet me in the parking lot, and I’d just give them the case back, and we’d move on. But it was a ceremony and because of that, it actually hit me harder.
“I was like, man, this was my possession. I took it to all the places that allowed me to get to where I am today. My family was able to take it around. Members of my team were able to take it. It’s the coolest trophy that our sport has to offer. So having to return that was certainly difficult, kind of hit me a little bit there on the tee box.”
Spieth has not cracked the top 20 in any event, missed the cut at the Memorial and U.S. Open and tied for 42nd at the Travelers Championship, but feels good about his game moving forward.
“My game feels good, but I needed a break,” Spieth said. “I was kind of dragging along, cut-line golf for a while, and playing a pretty heavy schedule, and I needed to kind of get away from the game, which I did. I feel good about the way I did it and the coming back to it.”