Spieth four clear in Hawaii

A new year, and everything is falling Jordan Spieth’s way.

Players at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions faced a dramatically altered golf course when they arrived for Round 3.

Jordan Spieth reacts after putting for birdie on the 18th green.

Two rounds into 2016, it already feels a lot like last year for the 2015 PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Spieth, who would match Tiger Woods with a seventh PGA win before the age of 23 should he finish top of the leaderboard on Sunday, putted brilliantly on greens he said were the slowest he had ever encountered on the PGA Tour. Spieth is holing chip shots.

Harrington is just seven shots off the leader Spieth, in 11th position.

Australia’s Jason Day, whose five victories in 2015 included a major breakthrough at the PGA Championship, opened with a three-under par 70.

There was no stopping Jordan Spieth, however, as the world No 1 continued his masterclass at the Plantation Course at Kapalua with an eight-under to hold the lead heading into the final round on 24-under.

“I haven’t hit my targets to the extent that I would like to see at the highest level of my game”, said Spieth.

“For whatever reason it is, whether we want to feed off each other or we want to beat the crap out of each other, we somehow play well together”, Spieth said following the first round.

Spieth started the day with a four-shot lead and ran off four straight birdies.

He was at 16-under 130, four shots clear of Kevin Kisner (65), Fabian Gomez (66) and Patrick Reed (69).

“It was a similar round to yesterday”, said Spieth. The Australian was one under for the round after his outward nine heralded three birdies and two bogeys, and he appeared to be heading in the right direction with further birdies at the 12th and 14th. “We’ll just make a bunch of birdies and see what happens”. “There are going to be a lot of birdies made and my lead won’t be four when I tee off I guarantee it. And that is what’s tough on a course that yields a lot of birdies, you really have to stay patient and understand that you have more holes than they do”.

He birdied 13, 14 and 15, and added a last birdie at 18 – where his 13-foot putt hung on the lip for a fraction of a second before falling.

And with a par on the closing hole, he still had a career-best 63. Els had a three-shot lead when he set the record at Kapalua at 17 under.

“I would call it as easy as the course could play”, said Spieth. “He’ll probably shoot another 15 [under], so I better get going tomorrow, the way he plays”.