Spieth returns from six-week break seeking to rekindle Aussie Open bounce

Two years ago, Jordan Spieth closed with a final-round 63 to win the Emirates Australian Open in conditions that flummoxed most everyone in the field, including Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy was so impressed by Spieth’s performance, he said that Spieth, or anyone at their level, would be lucky to post that 63 again given 100 more chances in the same conditions.

Turns out, that round, that week, was a jumping pad for Spieth toward a two-major season in 2015 that ended with a FedEx Cup title and a total of five PGA Tour wins. This week, Spieth returns to Australia, after a six-week break, looking to once again bottle some Down Under mojo for 2017.

“I learned how to really close a tournament,” Spieth said Tuesday of that week. “And then we went into (2015) and did that a few times. So, it was big. I could use another experience like that in order to gather how we felt, how we produced.”

Jordan Spieth returns to the Aussie Open. (Getty Images)

It’s not like Spieth had a bad 2016. He won twice on the PGA Tour, including at Colonial in his native Texas. However, Spieth wasn’t a factor in the majors and, at times, bristled under the weight of expectations that came with barnstorming the world of golf to the No. 1 ranking. Spieth, now 23, admits he, too, grew frustrated.

“It was just the second half that I would say I maybe tried just a bit too hard, didn’t let it come to me, was getting a little frustrated with the lack of first place finishes I guess,” he said.

However, as he’s previously said, Spieth has a long view of his career. After chasing money from appearance fees at the end of 2015, he chose to take a more measured approach to creating a true off-season. He hopes that will get him moving in a positive direction like he did to start each of the last two years.

“Even though, if you win five times a year for the amount of time I expect to be on tour, I’ll have more than Tiger’s, so it’s unrealistic,” he said. “If we win two times for the next 20 years, that’s Phil Mickelson territory and people think he’s a pretty good golfer, he’ll go down in history as a pretty good golfer.”

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