Jordan Spieth Shoots 1 Under at 2019 British Open, Ends Round 4 Tied for 21st

On a windy and rainy Sunday at the Royal Portrush golf course in Northern Ireland, Jordan Spieth's already slim chances of winning The Open Championship were carried away in the breeze. 

Spieth had a performance befitting the miserable weather, shooting a six-over 77 to finish one under for the tournament, well off the pace. It was a disappointing final day, to say the least, after Spieth shot under par in each of his first three rounds and had at least an outside chance of playing his way back into contention Sunday. 

He started off well enough, with a par on the first hole and a birdie on No. 2. But seven bogeys and nine pars down the stretch left him well down the leaderboard. 

As the winds persisted, Spieth hit just 42.9 percent of the fairways on Sunday and 44.4 percent of greens in regulation, per TheOpen.com.

It was a tough tournament for the top names in the game across the board. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day all missed the cut. Brooks Koepka (-6) and Rickie Fowler (-5) finished well behind winner Shane Lowry (-15). Last year's winner, Francesco Molinari, shot a respectable three under and was one of the few players to thrive on Sunday, shooting five under. 

Most players, however, struggled like Spieth. Many of the day's memorable moments were unfortunately lowlights rather than highlights:

And the weather played a central role, even turning Matthew Fitzpatrick into a long-distance runner at one point:

It was a day that only meteorologists could love. And it's been a season to forget for Spieth, who hasn't won a tournament this year, has just three top-10 finishes and finished outside of the top 20 at both the Masters and U.S. Open. 

Spieth is still just 25, a fact that can be easily forgotten given all of his early success as a young player. But he's been trending the wrong way this year, a development that isn't great for the sport in general. Golf is just a bit more fun when Spieth is playing up to his elite potential. 

And it looked like he was getting back on track in May after finishing third at the PGA Championship, eighth at the Charles Schwab Challenge and seventh at the Memorial. But he's since finished 65th at the U.S. Open and missed the cut at the Travelers Championship.

Sunday at Portrush was unkind to most of the field, so it's a round that can be discarded. But Spieth's struggles have become a major storyline this season, and one he likely wants to rewrite.