Spieth: It will be nice having this Masters go by

Jordan Spieth says he will be happy “having this Masters go by” as he looks to move on from his 2016 meltdown.

The first major of the year is just two weeks away, with Spieth set to return to Augusta looking to banish memories of last year’s quadruple-bogey seven at the par-three 12th that saw the American give up a five-shot lead over eventual champion Danny Willett.

Spieth won at Augusta in 2015 and will join a stellar cast including Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy in tuning up at the WGC Dell Match Play in Austin this week.

The Texan is not hell-bent on earning a second green jacket, however, and simply wants to use this year to prove his credentials at a major again.

“No matter what happens at this year’s Masters, whether I can grab the jacket back or I miss the cut or I finish 30th, it will be nice having this Masters go by,” Spieth said.

“The Masters lives on for a year. It brings a non-golf audience into golf. And it will be nice once this year’s finished, from my point of view, to be brutally honest with you.

The roars are #cominginapril. #themasters pic.twitter.com/rCzjsUFxVs

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) March 18, 2017

“It would be best if I could reclaim the jacket. But I believe that I’ll be back up there sooner or later, just the way that we play the golf course, the success we’ve had and the comfort level I have there.

“Whether it happens this year or not, but it will just be nice because that tournament, it’s a 365-day thing. There’s no other Masters.”

One of Spieth’s fellow competitors this week at Augusta can relate. McIlroy – who needs a green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam – says Spieth should expect more questions about the Masters meltdown, speaking from the experience of persistent queries about his own collapse at the legendary venue in 2011.

“It’s just something you have to deal with. It’s something that happened. It’s not going to go away. It’s there and it always will be,” McIlroy said.

“I still get questioned about the back nine at Augusta in 2011. But of course, I sympathise with him. The guy had a chance to win the green jacket and I didn’t.

“He had the same last year. But as I said last week, he can console himself by opening up his wardrobe and seeing one hanging there. It’s a little bit different.”