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 The American world number one has finished no worse than joint
seventh in his last seven starts worldwide while winning twice, and
relishes competing in the pro-am celebrity event on the picturesque
Monterey Peninsula.
"My game feels good," Masters and U.S. Open champion Spieth, 22,
told Golf Channel on Wednesday while preparing for Thursday's
opening round.
"I played 18 holes the last couple of days, once on Pebble and once
on Cypress, so if you're not refreshed after doing that, I don't
know what's going to refresh you.
"I had a good week of rest coming back from Singapore, a couple of
close finishes overseas and I am trying to look to rebound and maybe
feel a bit more comfortable on the PGA Tour and hopefully get out
there and capitalize with a win."
Spieth tied for fifth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and
finished second at the Singapore Open in his last two starts, and is
looking forward to this week when his amateur partner will be
American country music singer Jake Owen.
"A great pairing, being with Jake as my partner and then with Dustin
(Johnson) and the Great One (former ice hockey great Wayne
Gretzky)," said the Texan.
"We had it (the same pairing) last year, so we kind of already know
each other's games and we are rooting for each other. I'm really
just going to focus on the fun aspects this week.
"When you do that, it kind of frees you up and you are a little more
aggressive," said Spieth, whose last two victories came at the
season-ending Tour Championship in September and the Hyundai
Tournament of Champions in Hawaii last month.
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Spieth heads a strong field this week that features five other
players ranked in the world's top 10, including Australian Jason Day
(third), American Bubba Watson (sixth) and England's Justin Rose
(seventh).
Also competing is defending champion Brandt Snedeker, who was beaten
in a playoff for the Sony Open in Hawaii before winning the
weather-delayed Farmers Insurance Open in two of his last three
starts on the PGA Tour.
"I'm excited about being back, I'm excited about trying to defend
and more importantly my game is in good shape so I'm excited about
what that holds for the rest of the week," said the 35-year-old
American.
"When you get on these hot runs, you feel like this is the way the
game of golf should be played ... you need to make sure you make the
most out of it."
The $7 million PGA Tour event will be played on three courses: the
hosting Pebble Beach Golf Links and its sister venues Spyglass Hill
and Monterey Peninsula Shore.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Andrew
Both)
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