Jordan Spieth aims to build Masters momentum at the Valspar Championship
Thursday 10 March 2016 11:55, UK
Jordan Spieth returns to a familiar hunting ground this week at the Valspar Championship, looking to defend his title and kick-start his form ahead of the Masters.
The world No 1 has struggled in recent appearances to replicate the form that saw him win two majors last year and cruise to victory at January's Hyundai Tournament of Champions, failing to post a top-15 finish in his last three starts.
Spieth's putting hasn't been as successful during the early-season events and he has also struggled from tee-to-green in recent weeks, but he heads to Innisbrook Resort aiming to continue his impressive record at the venue.
The 22-year-old earned temporary membership on the PGA Tour with a tied-seventh finish at the tournament in 2013 and added another top-20 finish a year later, before following that up with a narrow victory last year.
Spieth drained a lengthy birdie putt in a play-off in Florida last season to see off Patrick Reed and Sean O'Hair and claim the first of five worldwide wins in 2015.
Play-off victory sparked a run of form which saw Spieth post back-to-back runner-up finishes in Houston and Texas before a record-breaking win at Augusta, with the 22-year-old now hoping for a similar display this week.
"We've had a win this year already, but obviously the last few PGA Tour events weren't up to par with how we were doing before," Spieth told a pre-tournament press conference.
"Even though the last couple events weren't exactly what I was looking for, I did actually place the same last week that I did in 2015, so that course just doesn't fit me very well.
"All I'm looking to take out is some momentum from what was strong and to build on what I need to do to improve from last week and I'll be ready to go.
"I'm looking at it from the face we've already won this year, so now it's time to build this momentum right into this Major."
Spieth will play alongside Bill Haas and Henrik Stenson for the opening two rounds, with the Swede confirming that he would miss this month's WGC-Dell Match Play to rest ahead of Augusta.
Live PGA Tour Golf
Although Spieth has posted three top-five finishes already this season, he knows there's still plenty of work to do over the next month ahead of his Masters defence.
"I feel pretty good, although I really need to get my putter going," Spieth added. "It hasn't really clicked yet and things haven't been quite going in, but they will.
"My wedge play needs to improve, but my driving of the golf ball is better and I feel better than it was last year. My iron striking has also been consistent from last week into this week.
"The four tournaments that I played in between Hawaii and Doral I certainly think the expectations that I put on myself were too high because of Hawaii, so I kind of needed to dial it back a little bit.
"Obviously you want to set high end, borderline unrealistic expectations for yourself because if you get anywhere close to it you're going to be there, but there's a balance that I need to find. It has been a learning experience this year."
Watch the Valspar Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Or watch live from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
