Houston. TX …

In a very blunt admission Jordan Spieth says he has headed into a prior Masters in poorer form than the current crestfallen nature of Texas golfer’s golf game.

The 24-year old Dallas native tees-up this week on Lone Star State home soil and in the Houston Open not having tasted success since capturing last year’s back-to-back Travelers Championship in Connecticut and then collecting a third Major with victory at The Open championship at Royal Birkdale.

Spieth did go close to victory in the opening two events of last year’s FedEx Play-Off Series losing a play-off to Dustin Johnson for the Northern Trust Open and also runner-up in the following Dell Technologies.

However in nine PGA Tour events this 2018 season Spieth has finished no higher than ninth along with missing two halfway cuts.

Spieth has dropped to No.4 on the World Rankings while is lying 57th on the FedEx Cup points table.

An animated Jordan Spieth ahead of this week’s Houston Open. (Photo @tourmiss)

“I’ve gone into Augusta feeling, you know, lower than I am right this second about my ability to compete, or the ability to get into contention and win and still been in the last group or last couple groups,” he said.

“In 2016 I was hitting it horrendously going into Augusta. I’m striking the ball a lot better now. I just putted extremely well starting from the first round at Augusta in 16. I came off missed cuts here I think in ’14 and ’17 and was in the last group, second-to-last group come Sunday with a chance to win.

“In order for me really feel like at my highest level of confidence I need to be able to compete next week, it doesn’t make a difference what happens here.”‘

Spieth will tee-up in his fifth Masters having enjoyed results of 2nd (2014), 1st (2015), 2nd (2016) and 11th last year while he is competing this week in Houston where he finished a best of second in 2015  before heading to Augusta to capture the first of now three Major Championships.

But given this downturn in form Spieth was quizzed if he felt more at ease heading into the Masters in not being mentioned as an Augusta favourite.

“No, it doesn’t make a difference to me at all,” he said.

“I don’t care either way. We believe that if we go about our step-by-step goal and check all the boxes next week, then we’ll have a chance to win. I don’t really care who’s on the other side, but it will be fun.

“It will be interesting to see who we’re paired with. I know they’ve done the other three mayor winners in the past and Brooks is out, so that would be Justin and somebody else. So it could be a fun couple days in that sense. I’m not sure how they’re going to work the pairings.

“We’ll just get in there and try and go through the same process every year there.”

And when asked he thought had the most pressure on his shoulders next week, Spieth singled out Rory McIlroy and with McIlroy ‘Take Four’ in his goal to win the one Major to still allude his grasp.

“I think the only person who should feel any pressure on — actually, there’s nobody who should really feel any pressure on them, but I would say Rory has the chance to within the career Grand Slam,” said Spieth.

“That’s something that he truly wants and so if there’s one week a year that if he said he could win one tournament at the beginning of every year, he’ll probably pick Augusta, and therefore he puts more emphasis on it.

“I still don’t feel he should feel any pressure and he probably will feel just the normal championship pressure he feels every week.”