Why Open win would put Jordan Spieth into the record books

21-year-old is going for third consecutive major

Can Jordan Spieth add to his Masters and US Open wins so far this year? (Getty Images)

While the 22-year-old amateur Paul Dunne's rise to the top of the leaderboard has taken most of the headlines, not far behind Jordan Spieth is lurking, attempting to write his name into the record books.

Back in April, Spieth blew away the golfing world with an incredible performance at the Masters, breaking the 36 and 54-hole scoring records and finishing on -18, tying Tiger Woods' 1997 record.

Then in June he won the US Open, beating Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke, and became only the sixth player ever to win the Masters and the US Open back to back - a feat not achieved since Tiger Woods in 2002.

Now however he has an even more exclusive record in his sights, winning the Open and becoming only the second man in history to win three consecutive majors, matching the efforts of Ben Hogan in 1953.

He was given a boost before the tournament even started when Rory McIlroy pulled out after rupturing a ligament in his ankle playing football, and now with one day to go he is just one shot off the pace, perfectly poised to join Hogan's very exclusive club.

"Only one person has ever done it before — that opportunity very rarely comes around — and I'd like to have a chance to do something nobody has ever done," said Spieth.

"If I think about it that way, then I just want it a little bit more tomorrow."

Should Spieth win today he will go into the last major of the year trying to become the first man ever to win all four in a row.

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