Confident Johnson not getting complacent ahead of Masters

“So far, I would say under”. “I tapped it in, Arnie-style”. “Obviously, it’s not the tournament”.

“The game is good”, Spieth insisted.

Spieth, never worse than second in three career Masters starts, cited McIlroy as an intimidating leaderboard presence. Perhaps then, questions will stop about his quadruple bogey 7 at No. 12 as he blew a five-shot lead with nine holes to play.

“We are really looking forward to the Par 3 Tournament on Wednesday”, he said.

But Spieth isn’t running from his demons.

“So I spent a good bit of time around the short-game area and the putting green”. “I’ve been pretty honest, and I’ve answered every question. But I think certainly therapeutic”. And I felt like I handle situations better out here than other places. “I’ve fought very hard at the end and that’s something that we always do”. Augusta is where Spieth captured his first major, doing so with a dominating score of 18-under in 2015.

“If you want to win around here, you re going to have to putt it well”, Johnson said.

“I stepped up today, first day back with the crowds, and I hit it to (one foot), which is nice”, Spieth said. “I told him, if he hits it longer than Gary, I want a mention because I adjusted the weight in his driver”. I said, If you adjust this, it might help.

No one doubts that Spieth will get another shot at the green jacket.

Last year, his dreams of winning were ruined by two double-bogeys in the final round.

Spieth will give the hole due respect when he faces it in competition on Thursday for the first time since last year’s fateful stumble. His collapse was incomprehensible, but he finally has the opportunity to overcome the demons that have no doubt haunted him over the past year. He won at Colonial and won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year.

Spieth missed the cut last week at the Shell Houston Open, but he’s carrying a positive attitude into this week’s tournament.

She underwent surgery just a couple weeks ago. “If he just ticks a few of the right boxes in the next few months, he can be another breakout star, just like Jon Rahm or Jordan Spieth”, said Scott. I’m sure what happened past year won’t enter his mind.

World number one Dustin Johnson, the first player in 41 years to enter the Masters on a three-event win streak, is an oddsmakers favorite in this year s first major championship.

Another former Masters champion, Justin Spieth, got a chance to reflect on a tough 12th hole at last years tournament.

Rory McIlroy received plenty of criticism for golfing with U.S. President Donald Trump this year and on Tuesday the Northern Irishman said he would “think twice” before accepting a second invitation.