The magic of Jordan Spieth was right there in the flesh, leaning against the stone wall of the Road Hole. Jim Mackay, Phil Mickelson's guy, had spent a little more than a quarter century as a caddie on tour, and never before had he finished a round and then planted himself on the golf course to wait for a different player to do the same.
Built like a 1-iron, the caddie universally known as "Bones" was tired and weather-beaten and still feeling the chill of the downpour that drenched his group earlier in the day. Mickelson had teed off two hours before Spieth, rolled his first shot into the burn, and then posted an indifferent score of 2-under 70 on a day when everyone was tearing the Old Course to shreds.
Lefty was out of the tournament, and yet Spieth was pulling Lefty's caddie right back into it. Mackay was waiting near the 17th green, the small of his back pressed against that ancient wall, because he wanted to see a 21-year-old chase history on the greatest par-4 in the world.
"I just think the kid is special," Mackay said. "I think he's gifted between the ears. When I say gifted, I mean like Jack Nicklaus-gifted. Jordan is going to do amazing things because he's such a killer between the ears."
Mackay looked toward the scoreboard that showed Spieth in the lead at 11-under, and shook his head in disbelief that the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Bobby Jones' in 1930 was still in play. The Masters and U.S. Open champ looked cooked after needing 37 putts in an even-par second round that lasted longer than any of the Anglo-Scottish wars, leaving him 5 strokes off Dustin Johnson's lead. "Not many people thought you'd see his name leading the Open on Saturday," Mackay said, "and there he is. Special."