Jordan Spieth has high Masters expectations despite recent play

Jordan Spieth’s recent struggles have little bearing on his expectations for this week.

The 2015 Masters Tournament champion missed the cut at The Players Championship in March. He tied for 30th at last week’s Valero Texas Open, and his best finish this year is a tie for 24th at the WGC-Match Play. In fact, his most recent top-five was a year ago at Augusta National.

“I’ve come in here twice after missing cuts in the week before and been in the last group Sunday,” he said. “Certainly form is important, especially on and around the greens, feeling like you’re in control of your speed control, distance control, your spin control, having all the shots around here. That’s more important I think than like overall how you played prior.”

Photos: Tuesday Masters Practice Round

The amount of rain Augusta National has seen this week may affect tactics for a good portion of the field. The fairways will certainly play slower, favoring the longest hitters.

“I think there’s less strategy when it’s softer, but I don’t think that it changes,” he said. “And I’ve played it soft, and that was the year I won; it was pretty soft in, I want to say, 2016, it was pretty soft, as well.”

Despite his recent play, his expectations are still high. His Masters resume supports those expectations. In five career starts, he owns four top-three finishes. His worst was a tie for 11th in 2017.

“I feel like my recent results aren’t a tell of where my game is actually at, and I feel I’ve made a lot of strides in the last couple days in the tee‑to‑green game, really just off the tee, my long game, which has been the only separation from being able to win golf tournaments over the last month or so,” he said. “It’s just a matter of trust in the stuff that I’m working on, and I don’t feel like I have to play well. I don’t feel like there’s any added pressure this week.”