SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND -- Anyone who has watched Jordan Spieth closely the past five years likely understands how obsessive he is about maintaining routines. He tries to hit the same number of balls in warm-ups before each round. He's used the same putter since he was 15 years old. His meticulous pre-shot routine almost never varies, even when he's criticized for slowing down play. He is a man who thrives the most when he can disappear into the familiarity of the mundane.
It was somewhat surprising, then, to see Spieth chomping hard on a piece of gum as he worked his way around Royal Birkdale on Thursday in the first round of The Open.