Friday 20 May 2016 20:14, UK
Jordan Spieth believes the hard work he put in after an early exit from the Players Championship is paying off after a much-improved start to the week at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
The 22-year-old missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass last week in his first event since a final-round collapse at the Masters, but he has made a strong start in Texas by following an opening-round 64 with a five-under 65 on Friday.
Spieth mixed six birdies with a solitary bogey at TPC Four Seasons, a course he has notoriously struggled at over the years, giving him the early clubhouse second-round lead with Brooks Koepka.
The world No 2 has not finished inside the top-25 in the event since a tie for 16th as an amateur in 2010, but feels the extra work put in with coach Cameron Mccormick this week has brought a marked improvement.
"It's very gratifying," Spieth told the PGA Tour's featured group coverage. "I have complete trust in Cameron's (Mccormick) eye and he has the trust that I'm going to put in the work to get to a point where we're successful.
"Sometimes that's not the next week but fortunately, this week it is. Most of our work has been on the greens, and that has shown today.
"I feel a little loose with my iron play and even some of my wedges, and the proximity to the hole from a lot of the positions I've been playing hasn't been where I want it.
"We've made up for it with the putter thus far and if we can tone that down a little bit and keep the putter hot, we'll be in good shape."
After missing a 10-footer for birdie at the 11th, Spieth picked up a shot from a similar distance at the next but gave it straight back with a three-putt bogey at the short 13th.
The world No 2 drained a 20-footer at the 14th and made a move up the leaderboard with a hat-trick of gains from the 16th to reach the turn in 31.
A run of close-range pars came to an end with a two-putt birdie at the par-five seventh, before Spieth closed a bogey-free second nine and set the clubhouse target by holing from 10 feet to save par at the ninth.
"The 13th I've three-putted twice in a row now and then I ended up in a really tough spot on 14," Spieth added. "I've been on that spot every year and made bogeys, made doubles and made pars, but finally made a birdie out of that.
"It was a really nice break to get some momentum for sure."
Watch the AT&T Byron Nelson throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf
