Classy Spieth insists 'emotional' Kuchar will win a major

Matt Kuchar was left deflated by his second-placed finish at The Open, but the man who edged him to the title had some kind words.

Jordan Spieth believes Matt Kuchar will go on to have his moment of major glory after seeing off the threat of his compatriot to win The Open on Sunday.

The American duo played out a dramatic round in the final pairing at Royal Birkdale as a late surge from Spieth restored the three-shot advantage he had held after 54 holes.

It means the 23-year-old can become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam at next month's US PGA Championship, while Kuchar is yet to claim one of golf's four headline events.

That is a situation Spieth believes is certain to change as he heaped praise on a man 16 years his senior.

"I believe Matt Kuchar will win a major championship and I believe that he'll do it sometime soon," said Spieth.  "He's a great champion and he's such a great person, and he's a great individual to look up to.

"He's one of these guys, when I talk about having great role models on the PGA Tour, and I'm fortunate in that, he's at the top of the class.

"And you're able to see it with how he handles that kind of situation right after just a crazy day.

"Matt didn't lose the tournament at all. He played well down the stretch. I just had my long putts go in, his didn't. That was simply it."

Spieth knows the heartbreak of missing out on a major title, having surrendered a five-stroke lead at last year's Masters.

Kuchar led by one after the 13th in Southport, when Spieth veered wildly to the right off the tee and took a drop on the practice range before scrambling a bogey.

And Spieth had sympathy for his playing partner, who appeared to console one of his children in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's drama.

"I noticed it [how emotional Kuchar was] when I walked up and saw his family hugging him, and I think Cameron is his oldest - he was in tears," said Spieth.

"At that moment I'm so happy and at the same time I see that and I thought to myself, man, put this in perspective, he's a dad. I'm not a dad, I don't think that way.

"And I was able to kind of get a little glimpse into what that's like. I'm a son who was very emotional after [the 2016 Masters] and my dad was the guy who came up and was able to calm me.

"It seemed like Matt was doing that to his son and I could tell he was emotional once he had sat down in the scorer's tent."