Spieth ends long journey back to the winner’s circle

Apr 4, 2021; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Jordan Spieth holds the trophy after winning the Valero Texas Open golf tournament. Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

After nearly four winless years, 27-year-old American Jordan Spieth is back in business.

The one-time wunderkind picked up his first PGA Tour win a couple weeks shy of his 20th birthday in 2013 and went on win the Masters – his first of three major titles – two years later, kicking off a remarkable early-career run. But he hadn’t hoisted a trophy since the British Open in 2017.

That drought ended on Sunday as he beat compatriot Charley Hoffman by two strokes at the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio, telling reporters after the final round that it hadn’t completely hit him yet that he was back in the winner’s circle.

“It’s been a road that’s had a lot of tough days. I’ve had people in my corner that have always believed in me even when I’ve kind of believed less in myself,” said Spieth. “I just feel a lot of gratitude to those who have helped me kind of get back here.”

The win could provide much-needed momentum for the 12-time PGA Tour winner, who came into the tournament largely looking to fine-tune his short game before traveling to Augusta this week to compete in the Masters.

“I’ve got quite a bit to piece together in my game, so it’s actually pretty easy for me to put my head down and actually focus on getting to work for this next week,” said Spieth, adding that he hoped to work on his swing.

“The consistency and the cleanup and kind of the tightness of the swing has still quite a ways to go.”

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