JORDAN SPIETH SAYS playing in the Masters as an American is “essentially our Super Bowl” as he targets a second title at Augusta this week.
Spieth donned the green jacket at the age of 21 three years ago and looked set to retain it in 2016, but a final-round meltdown opened the door for Danny Willett to deny him.
World number four Spieth claimed the U.S. Open title in the same year as his maiden major triumph at Augusta and was crowned Open champion at Royal Birkdale last July.
The Texan said it was only after winning the Masters he realised the scale of his achievement and he is as hungry as ever to become a multiple winner of the first major of the year.
“Potentially now after I saw the extent of what it actually does for you, as an individual, I think I was a little bit kind of naive to it, which may have been a good thing when I started out,” Spieth said.
“I think after 2014, though, I realised what it actually meant. An American winning the Masters is a really special thing, whether it’s for sponsorships going forward, your recognition.
“This is essentially our Super Bowl, and after 2014 [when he was runner-up on his Masters debut] I kind of saw that and had built that desire to win it then.”
Spieth finished tied for third at the Houston Open last week and is ready to follow that up with another strong showing at a course which suits his game.
“I think this course brings out the feel aspect of my game, which is the better side of me on the golf course,” Spieth said. “It’s not a technical driving range golf course, you have a lot of uneven lies and very slopey greens, and so you have to play a lot off of feel and what that lie gives you.
“I think that’s helped me settle in and not overthink things out here and get into a nice groove, and it’s led to some success at this event. So it is my favourite tournament in the world. I’ve certainly made that pretty clear going back the last five years.”
He added: “I feel better coming into this week than I did in 2016 and 2014, where I came off of missed cuts in Houston.
“There’s a lot to be said of the previous week’s momentum, and being able to work my way last week into contention and hit some putts under pressure.”
