Jordan Spieth Compares '14 Masters and Players Losses; Eyes a Players Victory

Jordan Spieth’s big losses in 2014 at the Masters and The Players Championship were great learning experiences. But they were different from his perspective.

“This year at the Masters, I was in the lead after two rounds. I was able to look back and say I got a little bit ahead of myself, towards the top of the leaderboard at the Masters the year before,” he explained. “I didn’t have enough experience to not let my mind wander.”

He said that lack of focus played a part in his loss there.

“It was enough to where a great champion like Bubba Watson will take advantage of it,” he added about 2014.

This year at Augusta National, he had two major champions threatening on Sunday, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. He recognized what could have happened before it did. He did not want to get ahead of himself twice.

“I couldn’t let the slightest bit, even with the four-shot lead, couldn’t let that creep in or else they would pounce on it,” he explained. “I don’t think, without the experience in 2014, I would have been able to close the tournament out the way it was closed out this year.”

With the green jacket now in his closet, he hopes to contend at the Players this week after coming so close last year.

“I was probably more upset than I was after the Masters,” he said about not winning the 2014 Players. “This one hurt a little more.”

But in a strange twist, he’s now using the Masters to help him succeed at the Players.  

“It’s easier for me to just look at the back on this year’s Masters for this week and take that kind of confidence, versus revenge off of last year,” he explained. “That’s what wining that tournament (the Masters) has kind of done for me.”

He likes the always-controversial TPC Sawgrass track.  

“I think this course is interesting because, the way the holes shape, you normally need one shape off the tee, and then the next shot calls for the other shape,” he said.  In other words, a draw off the tee could be followed by a fade to the green.

As a self-described feel player, he believes the imagination required to play the course works to his advantage. He is also a fan of the greens.

“I love this Bermuda,” he said enthusiastically. “It’s what I grew up on. I think that’s also an advantage for me.”

What he likes best about the TPC Sawgrass is the finish, the last three holes.

“You think about them, the last three holes, throughout the round, and it requires you to hit really good golf shots,” he said. “There’s so much trouble around if you’re not mentally strong at that time. But if you are, you can take advantage of those opportunities.”

He kind of had a gleam in his eye when he said it, like he was ready for the challenge that Pete Dye created.  

“I love that kind of finish to a golf tournament where it requires you to stand up there and pick a tight line and completely focus on it and not let your mind wander,” he said. “Not a lot of courses have that.”

After another practice session, Spieth will be ready to tee it up with Rory McIlroy and Jason Day Thursday morning. He has already turned the disappointing 2014 Masters experience into a 2015 victory, and now the question is can he do the same thing at the Players?

Kathy Bissell is a Golf Writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand or from official interview materials from the PGA Tour, USGA or PGA of America.