SOUTHPORT, England — Jordan Spieth is the kid in class who obtains the course syllabus over the summer so he can read all the textbooks before the start of the school year and who never turns down an extra-credit assignment.
Rory McIlroy is the kid with the photographic memory who finishes his research papers the morning they are due and who makes acing tests look effortless.
Each is riveting in his own way. Both have a strong stage presence, but neither pretends to be anything — starting with invulnerable — that he isn’t.
“There’s a lot of roads to get there,” Spieth said Sunday night at the 146th British Open regarding his success in the majors.