PGA Championship: Jordan Spieth welcomes Tiger Woods circus

McIlroy admitted he was happy to make his own attempt to complete the grand slam at the Masters largely “unhindered” thanks to the attention on Woods making another improbable injury comeback at Augusta National.

Spieth will not have that luxury at Southern Hills though, the former world No 1 having being placed in a stellar group with Woods and McIlroy for the first two rounds in Tulsa, where Woods won his 13th major title in the 2007 US PGA.

“They’re both just great to play with,” said Spieth. “They’re quick. They’re positive. I think you’ve got to embrace it and have fun and recognise these are the kind of pairings I’ll get to tell my kid about some day. I got to play with Tiger in a major. Last year, you weren’t sure if that was ever going to happen again.

“I know it’s obviously great for golf, but selfishly it’s pretty exciting to be able to play these events with the guy that you idolised growing up.

“You know there’s going to be some extra noise. You’ve got to wait longer for the crosswalks. When Tiger finishes out on a hole there’s going to be people leaving.

“You just know it’s going to happen, and honestly if there’s enough of it, it doesn’t bother you. It’s when it’s super quiet and the one thing is yelled when you can flinch.”

Woods remarkably made the cut in the Masters on his return to top-level competitive action 14 months after almost losing his right leg in a car accident in Los Angeles.

Surprisingly, Spieth made an early exit from Augusta for the first time in his career and did not even watch the final round as fellow Texan Scottie Scheffler, among the favourites again, claimed his first major title.

“I didn’t feel very good about myself knowing Tiger was on one leg and he made the cut and I didn’t,” joked Spieth. “But he also beat everybody in a US Open on one leg, so when I thought about that, it made me feel a little better.

“It’s pretty incredible what he did there (Augusta), given everything that happened.”