Spieth makes easy work of return to scene of Masters collapse
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[April 05, 2017]
By Frank Pingue
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - It may
have only been a practice round but Jordan Spieth proved on his
return to the site of his U.S. Masters collapse that he has moved on
from the disastrous sequence that cost him a win.
Spieth, who was leading the Masters last year until his debacle at
the par-three 12th, stuck his tee shot about a foot from the pin on
the same hole on Tuesday.
"I really could have used that one about 12 months ago," an amused
Spieth turned and said to the crowd, prompting laughter, before
going on to tap in for a birdie.
Those two shots, the first time he has played the hole in front of a
crowd since last year, could prove just the tonic for the former
world number one as he chases a second Masters title.
Spieth took a five-shot lead into the back nine last year in his bid
to become the first player to lead from start to finish at Augusta
National in successive years.
The Texan reached the 12th tee with a one-stroke lead and walked off
the green after a quadruple-bogey sitting three shots behind new
leader and eventual winner Danny Willett.
While Spieth has moved on from the most memorable moment of last
year's Masters, he admits it is one he will not forget.
"It will surely be there and it has been," Spieth told a news
conference on Tuesday. "It is one of many tournaments I've lost
given a certain performance on a hole or a stretch of holes. It
happens in this game.
"But I'm excited about the opportunity ahead, which is now I can go
back and really tear this golf course up."
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Jordan Spieth of the U.S. hits a driver off the 14th tee during
Tuesday practice rounds for the 2017 Masters at Augusta National
Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mike
Segar
The 23-year-old world number six has one win and two
runner-up finishes in his three Masters appearances.
He enters the year's first major, which begins on Thursday, with a
win and four top-10 finishes this season and said he was not worried
about last week's missed cut in Houston hindering his chances at
Augusta National.
"I feel very comfortable out there," said Spieth.
"I feel like we have it mapped out and, as we dissect the golf
course, we know the spots to go, where not to go and therefore the
commitment on shots.
"Certain shots you hit versus others, you obviously feel more
comfortable, but I feel like we're freed up because we know where
those spots are and where they aren't."
(Editing by Ken Ferris) [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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