Jordan Spieth recovers from wobble to win British Open

Spieth started the day two shots ahead of Kuchar and both started the final round in nervous fashion. Spieth in particular struggled, falling to three over after the first four holes before striking a spectator with a wild drive at the sixth.

By the turn, Kuchar had leveled with his 23-year-old rival and there looked to be hope for clubhouse leader Li Haotong of China, who carded a special round of 63 earlier in the day. His hopes would have grown further as there was even worse to come on the 13th for Spieth. The Texan hit his tee shot almost 100 meters off course and took a drop that meant hitting his iron shot over the driving range. But he managed to salvage a bogey that changed the course of the round once again.

Showing remarkable mental strength, Spieth took full advantage of his miraculous recovery, going birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, par on the remaining holes. Kuchar stayed within a shot or two of his rival but wasn't able to keep up with the relentless pace as Spieth extended his two-shot lead at the last to record a score of 12 under par for the tournament and a three-shot victory and the chance to lift the famous Claret Jug.

"This is a dream come true for me," he said in his winner's speech. "I was able to drink a little wine out of it when Zach Johnson won it a couple of years ago, and a lot of people told me that was bad luck ... I started to believe them a bit through the front nine holes today!" 

The win is Spieth's third major title after wins in the Masters and US Open in 2015 and he now needs just the PGA Championship to complete the career grand slam.