By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) – Jordan Spieth may be in the midst of a lengthy victory drought but the former world number one has shown recent flashes of major championship form and finally feels invigorated ahead of next week’s Masters.
While Spieth, whose last triumph came at the 2017 British Open, acknowledges there is more work to be done to return to the winner’s circle, he feels good about his game after posting four top-10 finishes in his last six PGA Tour starts.
“I feel in a better place than the last — leading into the last couple Masters,” Spieth, who finished in a share of 46th place at last year’s Masters, said on Tuesday in San Antonio ahead of this week’s Valero Texas Open.
“You know, you go there, I expect it to be a very different Masters than what we’ve seen in the last couple. Rumours that I’ve heard already are that it’s already firm and fast.”
The 27-year-old Texan, whose first major victory came at the 2015 Masters, has driven the ball well on some very difficult courses during his recent surge and said his focus right now is more on getting his short game in order.
Spieth said that given his past success at the Masters, where he finished runner-up twice, he does get a comforting feeling each year he pulls into the tree-lined drive members use to enter Augusta National Golf Club.
“It’s normally Monday for me when I get there. Drive down Magnolia Lane, for me it’s like, ‘It’s go time,'” said three-times major champion Spieth.
“Almost like regardless of form, regardless of if you just won or if you’ve missed the previous cut, it really makes no difference to me in my confidence level when I pull into Magnolia Lane.”
Spieth will tee off in Thursday’s opening round of the Valero Texas Open alongside fellow American Ryan Palmer and Canadian Corey Conners.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
