Jordan Spieth is in St Andrews this week for the 2015 [British] Open, and he is within 72 holes of matching one of the great records of majors golf. The only time in modern majors that a golfer has won the first three majors of the year was in 1953, when Texan Ben Hogan claimed the Masters, U.S. Open and [British] Open. This week, 62 years later, another Texan has the chance to emulate him. Spieth won the Masters in April, the U.S. Open in June at Chambers Bay, and now the forbidding breezes of the Old Course await.

Spieth, 21, has already proved he is capable of reaching heights that not even Tiger Woods has touched, when he posted a record 28 birdies over four rounds at the 2015 Masters, and he became the first wire-to-wire Masters champion since Raymond Floyd in 1976. Spieth’s final score at 18 under par matched the record set by Woods in 1997.

“It’s extremely special,” said Spieth yesterday. “To have a chance to do what only one other person in the history of golf has done doesn’t come around very often. I‘m sure embracing the opportunity, but by the time I start on Thursday it won’t be in my head. It’ll be about how can get out there and get myself into contention.”

Some say Spieth should have made the trip to Scotland sooner, to get acclimatized and to maximize his practice time on St Andrews’ Old Course, but instead he opted to play the John Deere Classic in Illinois last week, which he won, before flying over on Monday.

“The whole point was to try and feel pressure over the weekend and try to perform my best, see what tendencies I got into that we could adjust for major championship pressure, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Spieth. “That was the game plan and I’m happy it worked out.”

Extra practice or extra momentum that comes from winning? Spieth made his choice and he doesn’t sound like he’s under prepared.

“This week we’ve been working a lot on really controlling trajectories with my approach shots,” he said, “being comfortable hitting a punch shot in case it’s 40-mile-an-hour winds into you. Controlling your trajectory as well as still having tight starting lines are the most important parts about attacking this golf course off the tee and into the greens.”

There has also been speculation this week that Spieth attempted to prepare for St Andrews by playing the Old Course on a simulator.

“I have a simulator at my house and I was playing with some buddies and I figured, why not play the Old Course since we’re heading there,” said Spieth. “It was cool to see some of the start lines but it’s not the same as being here. I’m in no way saying that’s what I did to prepare for this Open. The course was a lot easier with 68 degrees and no breeze coming out of the air-conditioner.”

Spieth will be looking for a fast start in the first round, with winds expected to pick-up in the afternoon to affect the afternoon starters. He tees off at 9:33 am with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson, who missed the putt to take Spieth into a playoff in the U.S. Open last month.

Woods, by the way, held all four major titles in succession in his ‘Tiger slam’, but that sequence started at the 2000 U.S. Open and finished at the 2001 Masters. Bobby Jones also won a grand slam of sorts back in 1930, but what was coined the ‘impregnable quadrilateral’ at the time included the U.S. and British Amateur titles instead of the Masters and PGA Championship.