Augusta National Golf Club is Jordan Spieth’s kind of place

Trying to break out of a slump that has lasted nearly a year, Jordan Spieth is heading to a place where he historically enjoys success.

The 25-year-old Texan always plays well at Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament.

Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, has played 20 career rounds at Augusta National Golf Club and has held at least a share of the lead after nine of them, including last year’s first round.

His scoring average of 70.05 is the lowest in Masters history for players with at least 20 rounds, which is exactly the number Spieth has. Tiger Woods is next at 70.93 for 82 rounds. Spieth and Woods are the only players under 71 in scoring average. Phil Mickelson, with 98 rounds, is next at 71.30.

Spieth has had a chance to win the tournament in each of his five years in the field. Though he finished in a tie for 11th in 2017, he was only two shots off the lead going into the final round. A closing 75 dropped him out of contention. His other finishes were a tie for second in 2014 and 2016 and solo third last year.

It’s no surprise that Spieth calls the Masters his favorite tournament.

“Maybe it’s the crowds, maybe it’s the beauty of the golf course, the Augusta National Golf Club in general,” he said. “Everything about it off the golf course that’s just so spectacular. Obviously the history and the shots that have been hit, because it is the same golf course. So you just have so much of it. Maybe a combination of all of it.

“The other majors and other golf tournaments certainly have similar history, and The Open Championship has even more history than any other tournament,” he added. “But to be played at the same place, to have - to play No. 16 and see Tiger’s chip go in, to see Phil’s holing bunker shots on 15 for eagle, all the putts guys have made on 18 to that Sunday pin, it’s just - and the amphitheater setup as you come up 18, it’s just like, it’s a walk that I’ll certainly never forget. So personally it’s a no‑brainer for me to say so.”

Last year, he needed to par the final hole for 63 and tie the tournament’s 18-hole scoring record and keep the pressure on leader Patrick Reed, who was four groups behind him.

But his tee shot on the par-4 18th hole clipped a tree lining the left side of the fairway. The shot traveled only 177 yards, leaving him 267 yards to the hole. He couldn’t reach the green, so Spieth still had 88 yards for his third shot, which he knocked to 8 feet. The putt missed low and left. It was his only bogey of the day and he finished two shots behind Reed.

“I look back on it and I actually thought I truly could have shot 59 without doing much more other than making a few more putts,” Spieth said of his 64. “I put myself in opportunities on each hole to shoot 59 that day, which is really, really cool.”

The confidence gained from winning his second Masters could have changed the course of Spieth’s season. Instead, he continued his winless streak, which dates back to the 2017 British Open, which was his third major championship victory (he has 11 PGA Tour wins). His last top-10 finish came in the British Open last July, where he tied for ninth.

Last year, Spieth failed to qualify for the Tour Championship (top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings) for the first time in his career. Spieth finished 31st in the FedEx Cup, which he won in 2015. In his other years, he was seventh in 2013, 15th in 2014, ninth in 2016 and second in 2017.

The former world No. 1 has seen his world ranking drop as low as 25th earlier this season.

His long game and putting have been a problem during his down period. However, he was encouraged by his putting after shooting 69 in the second round of The Players Championship in mid-March. He had 24 putts that day but couldn’t overcome an opening 76 and missed the cut.

“Putting’s back. It’s very close to being top of the world again,” said Spieth, who gained 5.159 strokes on the field average in putting at TPC Sawgrass. “I know exactly how to get there, which is good news. I’ve been very patient with the way I’ve wanted to work on it and I knew that at some point soon it was going to start to come around and I’ve had some really solid rounds.”

Spieth was asked at The Players if he enjoyed the process of trying to get his swing back where it was between 2014-16 when he won seven times, including two majors, a FedEx Cup and was the world’s top-ranked player.

“Normally, yes, but I’m getting tired of it now, yeah,” he said. “But for the most part most of the questions going into last year and even the beginning of this year were around putting. I knew that at some point soon it was going to start to come around.”

His tee-to-green game has been a different story.

“The toughest part is if everything looks good, but to me it doesn’t feel good,” he said. “On the driving range, everything is top-notch. But it’s about finding that last piece. It’s very close.”

At The Players, Spieth hit just 12 of 28 fairways in regulation.

He expects his driving accuracy stats to be much better at Augusta National Golf Club. He hit 11 of 14 fairways in the final round last year.

“Yeah, there I really like the look of it off the tees,” Spieth said. “I tend to drive the ball better there than I do other places, it makes you hit certain shots, really work it, the fairways work the ball both directions and even moving a lot at some points in time.”