In the surrounds of the richest golf ambiance anywhere and on the threshold of the oldest championship the sport knows, it probably isn’t the proper time to ask if you’ve ever heard of the Greater Milwaukee Open or the Quad City Classic or something called the BC Open, or even the LaCantera Texas Open.

Spieth’s victory in the John Deere Classic means he can overtake McIlroy in the rankings by lifting the Claret Jug at St Andrews.

“For him to go back, despite the opportunity to continue on with the third leg of the grand slam, shows a lot of class on his part."