SPIETH ON A MISSION
Jordan: I’ll tear up Augusta
JORDAN SPIETH has vowed to take revenge on Augusta and demolish his Masters demons.
The American sensation was left shattered 12 months ago following his monstrous meltdown.
Spieth, 23, looked to be cruising towards his second Green Jacket after building up a five-shot lead with just nine holes to play.
But he fell to pieces after dunking two balls in the water at the iconic par three 12th hole.
He dropped six shots in just three holes and never recovered.
His collapse allowed Englishman Danny Willett to storm through and take the title and will probably haunt Spieth for the rest of his career.
Rory McIlroy suffered his own meltdown in 2011 and has warned his big rival that he will never be able to forget what happened.
But Spieth says he is ready to bounce back as he seeks a repeat of his 2015 Augusta triumph.
He said: “That was one of the many tournaments I’ve lost, given a certain performance on a hole or stretch of holes.
Excited
“It happens in this game. But I’m excited about the opportunity ahead, which is that now I can go back and really tear this golf course up.”
Despite last year’s humiliation, Spieth has an incredible record at Augusta since making his first appearance in 2014.
He tied for second in his debut year and 2016, with performances sandwiched around his wireto-wire win that included him reaching an incredible 19-under par at one stage.
Spieth has crammed a lot into his brief career at the famous course and admits the experiences have helped him mature as a golfer.
He added: “When I played the 12th hole in practice on Tuesday, I made a birdie.
“I tapped it in, Arnie (Palmer) style. I turned to the crowd and I said, ‘I really could have used that one about 12 months ago’, to some significant laughter.
“But this place has an interesting and incredible history in my life.
“Just in the three years of playing it, I think I’ve grown as a golfer significantly. The Masters lives on for a year and brings a non-golf audience into golf.”