Branden Grace offered us history. Birkdale offered us as many throat-filled thrills on an Open Saturday as we can remember and Jordan Spieth offered us a three-shot lead that nobody should look past, whatever their memories of last year’s Masters capitulation.

By Sunday evening, we should envisage not only toasting the first 62 ever shot in 157 years of the men's majors – after, incredibly, 31 instances of a 63 - but also only the second male ever to win three different majors before the age of 24.

Tiger Woods did not manage it, but Jack Nicklaus did. That is the calibre of legend against which Spieth is vying. And on a day when this rain-soaked, gust-free links has never seemed so compliant, the young Texan managed to accomplish that most difficult of tasks for a front-runner and increase the advantage while everyone else is furiously sprinting in behind.

If Spieth picks up the Claret Jug, to go with the green jacket and the US Open trophy, he will only need the USPGA’s Wanamaker Trophy next month to complete the career grand slam. He would be the youngest ever to do so.