Spieth is favoured in Hawaii

Open champion Jordan Spieth wants to get a 12th PGA Tour title under his belt before turning his attention to more major championship glory.

Spieth’s victory at Royal Birkdale last year was his third major and leaves him needing a US PGA win to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods in completing a career Grand Slam.

The world number two has finished outside the top 10 just twice in his last 11 worldwide starts. He recovered from an opening 75 to finish ninth in last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.

He has been installed as the favourite to win the Sony Open in Hawaii, ahead of defending champion Justin Thomas.

Spieth told a press conference at Waialae CC in Honolulu: “This time of the season, the next four or five events that I play, I’m not really thinking about the Masters.

“But once we get into March that’s when the real preparations start.”

Thomas was the defending champion in Kapalua last week and could only finish 22nd in the 34-man field, but that did include a final round of 67 in his first tournament for a month.

The US PGA champion is without his regular caddie in Honolulu due to injury.

He has enlisted Phil Mickelson’s former bagman Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, now an on-course commentator, to stand-in for the event.

Last year Thomas started it with a stunning 59 on his way to breaking the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record.

Jordan Spieth needs one more major for career Grand Slam.