Spieth has 'plenty in the tank' for Presidents Cup
Jordan Spieth heads into this week's Presidents Cup as a talisman for his country – and he is ready for the challenge.
After spearheading a United States victory over Europe in last year's Ryder Cup, Spieth will be counted on to stifle the Internationals this week in New Jersey.
Spieth and Patrick Reed proved a successful pairing at Hazeltine National, where the US prevailed 17-11, and Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker has opted to keep the two young stars together.
"Patrick and I are very serious and very focused on [Thursday] in this alternate-shot format where we have been very successful in this tournament – in either tournament," Spieth said on Wednesday.
"We're out there. Doesn't matter who we are playing. We're doing our best to try and just control what we can control because tomorrow is a big day in shutting down any momentum they may feel."
After a long, grueling PGA Tour season, in which Spieth added his third major championship win and nearly claimed the season-long FedEx Cup, it would have been understandable for the 24-year-old to endure some fatigue. However, he made sure that will not be the case.
"I'll have plenty in the tank," said the Open champion. "There's enough adrenaline running through these events for sure. Took off Monday. Didn't do anything and then we've had some busy couple days the last two days. I'm glad we're starting later tomorrow.
"We can catch up on sleep, and we're doing one round and one round tomorrow in an alternate-shot format, it almost feels like you're playing less golf. So you can almost gather rest for the rest of the week as you're playing in this event the next two days.
"I feel good. I had some things I needed to work on on the greens, and then a little bit off the tee. My coach, Cameron [McCormick], has been here, and we've been able to work on a little, and so I feel very confident."
As if Spieth needed any more motivation, he was paired up against long-time competitor Emiliano Grillo, who was named PGA Tour's rookie of the year after the 2015-16 season.
"It's really cool to have somebody I grew up playing golf with the last 10 to 15 years," Spieth said of playing against Grillo. "We grew up with each other and played against each other through high school, to play each other in a Presidents Cup match is really, really cool. I don't think that happens very often and I think we're going to have good fun with it."
Spieth and Reed will take on Players Championship winner Si Woo-kim and Grillo in the third match out.