Reigning US Open and Masters champion Jordan Spieth said he wants injured world No 1 Rory McIlroy healthy and playing as soon as possible while trying to overtake him.
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The 21-year-old American, playing at this week’s John Deere Clas- sic, would become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win the US and British Opens and the Masters in the same year if he can add the Claret Jug to his collection of majors next week at St Andrews.
His task might have gotten easier after McIlroy, the reigning PGA Championship and Open champion, injured himself playing football and could be out of the game for months.
No surprises: Rory McIlroy officially pulls out of @theopen. Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth can’t wait to add the claret jug to his collection.
— Stephanie Wei (@StephanieWei) July 8, 2015
“I don’t change much in my life other than a couple things you obviously are a little more cautious of,” Spieth said of mixing fun with avoiding injury. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. It’s just sometimes there are fluke accidents.
“And as far as with Rory, it’s just… we want him back. Everybody does. It’s unlucky, it’s unfortunate and I’m sure he’s taking it harder on himself than anybody else.
“But I don’t think he did anything wrong. It just was an unfortunate situation and hopefully he rebounds quickly and gets back right to where he was.”
While the injury appears to have delayed a showdown between the top two players on earth, world No 2 Spieth wants McIlroy at his best as he tries to move past him into the top of the rankings heap.
“The more you look at the big picture of things, the more weight there is on it,” Spieth said. “I think if I just focus on how can I try and win the golf tournament this week, I’m going to inch my way closer to that ultimate goal.
“I didn’t think at the beginning of the year I would have a chance to get there this year and there certainly is an opportunity now. I’ve never been closer.
“If Rory hadn’t played the way he has played over the last couple years, I think I would have been No1. I’ve certainly played solid enough to be No1 in the world a lot of different years. It’s just it’s a tough position this year given how successful Rory is.”
Some have criticised Spieth for playing so far from Scotland this week, but the American is at the event which he won in 2013 to seal his spot on the PGA Tour and he sees no major problems in getting across the Atlantic Ocean as well as some major benefits from playing the John Deere Classic.
“I’m here because I believe I can win this week. It’s advantageous for me to try and win this week and to get any kind of momentum I can into the Open Championship.”
