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Jordan Spieth not convinced by good omen despite strong start at Open

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Jordan Spieth remains unconvinced that a curious coincidence means he has a 50/50 chance of winning the 149th Open Championship, although his prospects look bright following a superb start at Royal St George’s.

South Africa’s Branden Grace has played alongside the eventual winner in the first two rounds in both 2018 and 2019, with Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau getting the prized draw this year.

And although DeChambeau complained that his driver “sucks” after an opening 71, Spieth had no cause for concern following an opening 65 to lie a shot off the lead held by fellow former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

“I think that’s a coincidence,” Spieth said with a smile when asked about the ‘Grace effect’. “If it happens four or five times in a row, maybe people start paying to see who can get paired with him the first two rounds.

“I think that when you have a top-50, top-25 player in the world that Branden has been, he’s going to be in some pairings with guys who are certainly capable of winning major championships and it just so happened it was two years in a row.

“I did hear that ahead of time, though, which just made me laugh.”

Spieth, who claimed his first victory since winning the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale in his native Texas in April, bogeyed the third but bounced back with four straight birdies from the fifth and also picked up shots on the 15th and 16th.

The former world number one fell to 92nd in the world rankings following a missed cut in his first event of the season, but the 27-year-old has since recorded six top 10s in strokeplay events, including a tie for third in the Masters.

“I look back and I had a chance to win at least one of the majors each year when I felt like I had no idea where the ball was going which, I guess, could be bad and good,” the three-time major winner said.

“Golf is a game played between the ears, right? When it’s not going great, you can certainly lose quite a bit of confidence in it. That was the first time I’ve had to really try and build confidence back up, and it takes time.

“By no means do I feel like I’m where I want to be mechanically yet, but this year has been a really, really good progression for me, and all I’m trying to do is just get a little bit better each day.”

Oosthuizen, who won at St Andrews in 2010 and lost a play-off at the same venue five years later, carded a flawless six-under-par 64 to enjoy a one-shot lead over Spieth and Brian Harman, with 2009 champion Stewart Cink part of a five-strong group on four under.

Major champions Danny Willett and Justin Rose led the home challenge on three under alongside Jack Senior and Andy Sullivan, while Rory McIlroy birdied two of his last five holes in a battling 70 as US PGA winner Phil Mickelson slumped to an 80.

Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka returned a 69, while US Open champion and pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm had to birdie the last to shoot 71, the same score as defending champion Shane Lowry.

Already a runner-up in all four major championships, Oosthuizen took his unwanted total of near misses to six by finishing second in both the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island and the US Open at Torrey Pines this season.

Asked how he copes with such losses, the 38-year-old South African said: “It depends if you lost it or someone else beat you. In both of those I was beaten by better golf at the end.

“It takes a little while but you have to get over it quickly otherwise it’s going to hold you back from performing again.”

Oosthuizen currently leads the putting statistics on the PGA Tour and is so pleased with that part of his game that his old putters could even be consigned to a watery grave.

“I’ve got a bag there at home that I might just throw in a river someday,” Oosthuizen joked.

“I found one that I really like the look of and I worked on it. There were tournaments where I felt my stroke wasn’t great and I would actually change that putter then for the round. I didn’t want to have any bad memories of that putter being not good on the day.”

England’s Richard Bland had got play under way at 6.35am, the 48-year-old recognised for winning his first European Tour title at the 478th attempt in May and becoming the oldest halfway leader in US Open history last month.

Bland, who carded three birdies and three bogeys in his 70, added: “It was very special, very nerve-wracking. I was hoping I might get a good draw but that was something else. I’m very grateful to the R&A for considering me.”

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Austin Butler praises Jodie Comer’s work ethic on The Bikeriders

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Austin Butler has praised Jodie Comer’s work ethic in The Bikeriders, a new Jeff Nichols film inspired by a woman caught up with the culture of a 1960s motorcycle club in Illinois.

The movie follows the story of Kathy (Comer), who is drawn to Benny (Butler) – the newest member of the Vandals led by Johnny (Tom Hardy).

As the club evolves from a gathering place into a dangerous underworld of violence, Benny is forced to choose between Kathy and his club loyalty.

Butler said of his co-star: “I just have such a respect for her…. When you have a kind of a mutual love of what you do and care [about], we felt like we bonded very quickly.”

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Austin Butler reflects on Paul McCartney’s house party with Taylor Swift

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Austin Butler just shared the details of his wild night at Paul McCartney’s house party.

The star-studded affair was not only the most “insane” time Butler’s had in a while, but it was the most glamorous, being surrounded by his childhood icons and legendary music artists like Meryl Streep and Bruce Springsteen.

Butler, 32, reflected on the experience while speaking with Jimmy Kimmel, who was also lucky enough to be at the party. During the June 17 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the two gushed about having last seen each other at McCartney’s house.

“Last time I saw you was at maybe the craziest party I’ve ever been to in my whole life,” Kimmel, 56, admitted before Butler agreed: “That was insane.”

Kimmel noted: “It was like a party where Tom Hanks is going: ‘Oh my God, can you believe who’s here?!’”

Emblem rockers like Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ringo Starr graced McCartney’s home, leaving Hollywood’s elite to mingle with music royalty, the pair said. Even Taylor Swift was there, according to Butler and Kimmel.

The Elvisstar said the “Anti-Hero” singer wasn’t a normal guest, she was the DJ. “Yeah, she was DJing at one point,” Butler told Kimmel, who then quipped about how Swift isn’t booked and busy enough, she must oversee the music for McCartney’s party, too.

While Swift’s appearance may have been cause for celebration among some of the other guests, Butler confessed a different idol sent him into complete awe. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Meryl Streep in the same room as him.

“She’s just the greatest. I felt like, you know in high school when you have a crush on somebody and they’re across the room and you don’t really know how to say hello to them?” he said. “That’s how it was. I saw her there and I couldn’t believe I was in the same room.”

Too star-struck to approach the It’s Complicatedlead himself, Butler headed into McCartney’s kitchen to bide his time and eat some vegan pizza. Thankfully, his friend offered to introduce him and Streep.

“I couldn’t believe I was meeting Meryl Streep with Paul McCartney’s vegan pizza in my mouth,” Butler confessed.

He was then pulled into a circle of people he couldn’t pass the opportunity to spend time with. Butler was invited to “have tacos with Snoop Dogg and Robert De Niro.”

“I dropped everything I was doing and I was there in a heartbeat,” he told Kimmel.

Another crazy conversation Butler had was with Bruce Springsteen. The 74-year-old recounted a time when he was fearless, hopping the fence at Graceland to sing Elvis Presley a song.

Butler had heard rumors that Springsteen had done that but wasn’t sure it was true until he confirmed. Of course, Presley wasn’t there when Springsteen approached his front door.

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Austin Butler says Bruce Springsteen once tried and failed to bring a song to Elvis Presley

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Austin Butler has recalled the epic story of Bruce Springsteen hopping the gates at Graceland to try and deliver Elvis Presley a song he had written.

The 32-year-old actor, who starred as Presley in the 2022 Oscar-nominated biopic Elvis, shared the “mythical story” during an appearance on Monday (June 17) night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Recounting a recent star-studded party that they had both attended, Kimmel said: “I got to watch Bruce Springsteen tell you a story about Elvis. Do you remember the story?”

“I had heard this sort of mythical story,” Butler responded, “and then to hear from him of him being a huge Elvis fan and then hopping the gates at Graceland to try and get up there and he knocked on the door and he wanted to give Elvis a song to sing.”

“Do you remember what he said to the guy? ‘Is Elvis home?’” Kimmel laughed, with Butler continuing: “And he said, ‘No, he’s in Tahoe,’ or something.”

“And this is when Bruce Springsteen, by the way, had been on the cover of Time magazine, on the cover of Rolling Stone,” Kimmel said incredulously. “I mean, he was not like some unknown kid from New Jersey. He was famous, jumped over the fence…”

“Somehow evaded the dogs,” Butler added. “He’s a fast runner.”

Kimmel remembered: “And he gave the guy a song he had written for Elvis and then Elvis never – I don’t know. Nothing happened. He didn’t record the song.”

“I’m so bummed I never got to hear that song,” Butler said.

Austin Butler retold a story of Bruce Springsteen wanting to give Elvis Presley a song to sing

Austin Butler retold a story of Bruce Springsteen wanting to give Elvis Presley a song to sing (Getty Images)

Butler’s performance as the King of Rock and Roll in the Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

He’s since been booked and busy, starring in back-to-back projects, including Dune: Part Two, which was released in March, and the Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air.

The latter tells the journey of a group of 10 men who fly an aluminum bomber, called the “Flying Fortress,” to battle German forces in WWII.

“It’s hard to resist the pulse-quickening action of this epic Second World War tale,” Nick Hilton wrote in a four-star review for The Independent.

“The Bloody Hundredth, staffed by men scarcely into adulthood, might be a glamorous bunch, but they are also losing their innocence. Playing out on a canvas in the skies, this is daring, big-budget filmmaking that just about sticks the landing.”

Butler currently stars in Jeff Nichols’s new crime thriller, The Bikeriders, alongside Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy.

The movie follows a Midwestern motorcycle club through the course of a decade as they evolve from a gathering place for local outsiders to a sinister gang.

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