Jordan Spieth a winner again heading to Augusta National

Jordan Spieth was a 20-year-old with a 30-year-old head on his shoulders when he first played the Masters and nearly won until Bubba Watson rallied over the last 11 holes to beat him.

Now he's a 27-year-old who has reason to feel much younger.

It's amazing what winning can do in golf, and the timing was never better for Spieth. He had gone 82 starts dating to the summer of 2017 since his last victory at the British Open, a slump so severe that even Spieth began to question if he would get back.

Jordan Spieth works on the range during a practice day for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoDavid J. Phillip)

He answered that at the Texas Open with a two-shot victory that sent him to Augusta National with belief he's headed down the right road and the hardware to prove it.

“It's actually been a lot easier for me over the last 12 hours to just look forward versus looking back, I guess. That's exciting," he said.

Spieth arrived at midday as the first full day of practice was in full swing on an Augusta National course that was far different from when the world's best players were there five months ago for the pandemic-postponed Masters in November.

Billy Horschel putts on the 13th hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoCharlie Riedel)

The azaleas were blazing. The greens already had that shine on them from an abundance of warm sunshine. The course is firm.

Billy Horschel realized that on the 15th hole when his second attempt to reach the green cleared the water and landed safely on the front portion of the green. Or so he thought. After he took 15 steps, the ball had trickled to the front. And a few seconds later, it had rolled all the way back into the water.

Dustin Johnson won in November at a record 20-under par, a record that Patrick Cantlay believes will be “pretty safe for many years to come.”

Dustin Johnson walks to the range during practice for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoDavid J. Phillip)

“This week, I expect it to get really firm and fast, and I think that’s when this golf course shines,” Cantlay said.

Spieth seems to play it well in any condition. A year after he was runner-up in his 2014 debut, he went wire-to-wire to win by four. He was runner-up the following year — the infamous meltdown on the back nine when he lost a five-shot lead — and finished third in 2018.

And now he is moving closer, though still not there, to the player who reached had three legs of the career Grand Slam before he turned 24.

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, and Dustin Johnson walk along the sixth hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoDavid J. Phillip)

It hasn't been easy. Spieth attributed his fall to a combination of injury and ignorance, one being a bone chip is his left hand early in 2018, the other working on the wrong mechanics that sent him further away from where he needed to be.

He said he thought about a discussion he had with Tiger Woods the two approaches to the game. On one end of the spectrum is a player who doesn't clutter his mind with thoughts and just plays. Someone like Johnson would occupy that territory, and Spieth once did.

“On the other side, you have an astute knowledge of exactly what you do well, why you do it and how to continue to do that,” Spieth said recently. "Anywhere in the middle is tough. You don't know enough but you're overthinking a little more than it should. I feel like it took me awhile to cross that barrier to the other side.

Dustin Johnson hits his tee shot on the first hole during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoDavid J. Phillip)

“And once you go some of the way, you can't go back.”

He now believes he knows enough about what he's doing and why that he is almost back to where he wants to be, without having arrived. He wasn't in total control at the Texas Open, but enough felt right that he won.

It got the attention in Las Vegas, where Westgate Superbook offered odds of 14-1 at the Masters. After his win, Spieth is at 10-1, trailing only Johnson as betting favorites.

Dogwood flowers frame the clubhouse during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoDavid J. Phillip)

He called that victory “monumental” during his television interview immediately after he won, and later joked that was an “aggressive” choice of words.

It was important because it had been too long since he last won, and because he could sense expectations rising each time he went into the final round with a shot at winning. Spieth doesn't pay much attention to what gets said or written about him, but he is savvy enough to get a sense of it by the questions he gets.

He expected more emotions — he felt it only when he saw his wife, Annie — but instead it felt normal. That turned out to be a good sign, too.

Patrick Cantlay walks to the 13th green during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP PhotoCharlie Riedel)

“It felt more normal, that it felt like me and that's where I'm supposed to be and this is who I am,” Spieth said.

He said he was considered older than his 20 years when he first came to the Masters because of the decisions he made. Now at 27, he thought about Phil Mickelson not winning his first major until he was 33, and Brooks Koepka winning the first of his four majors at 27.

“A lot of people's careers get started at 27 in this sport. So there's a lot of ways to look at it," he said. “I like the progress that I'm making. ... I'm going to work at trying to just be a little bit better than I was last week.”

History is not necessarily on his side. Only four Masters champions won the week before, the last one Mickelslon in 2006.

A man has been charged in federal court in Illinois in the transport of millions of dollars worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia stolen from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

A document filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois accuses Richard Globensky of transporting the items across state lines to Tampa, Florida, “knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The items were taken from the famous golf club and other locations beginning in 2009 through 2022, according to the government.

Upon conviction, Globensky would have to forfeit any property and cash attained from proceeds traced to the stolen items, the government said.

The Associated Press was unable Wednesday to reach Globensky by phone using numbers listed in public records. Lawyer Tom Church, who’s listed in online court records as representing Globensky, did not immediately respond Wednesday to a voicemail and an email.

A message was also left Wednesday seeking comment from Augusta National.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office said he did not have any information on why the case was filed in Illinois.

Court records do not say whether Globensky worked for the golf club.

Augusta National is the home of the legendary Masters golf tournament, which was held over the weekend and won by Scottie Scheffler.

For many fans, the chance to buy exclusive merchandise that’s not officially sold online is a key part of the Masters experience. In recent years, gnome garden statues that debuted in 2016 have been a hot-ticket item. Even logo-etched cups — once emptied of beer or other drinks — are a prized souvenir fans pile up through the tournament.

In 2017, the Georgia company that owns Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters golf tournament sued to stop a golf memorabilia company from auctioning off a Masters champion’s green jacket and other items it says were never supposed to have left the club’s grounds. Augusta National Inc. filed the federal lawsuit against the Florida-based auction company seeking to stop it from selling a champion’s green jacket and two member green jackets, as well as silverware and a belt buckle bearing Augusta National’s map and flag logo.

Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta and AP researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

A sign is posted closing the golf shop line during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. Richard Globensky has been charged in federal court in Illinois in the transport of millions of dollars worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia stolen from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, according to court documents filed Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The items were taken from the famous golf club and other locations beginning in 2009 through 2022, according to the government. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - The clubhouse of the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., is seen in this Sunday, April 3, 2005, file photo. Richard Globensky has been charged in federal court in Illinois in the transport of millions of dollars worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and memorabilia stolen from Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, according to court documents filed Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The items were taken from the famous golf club and other locations beginning in 2009 through 2022, according to the government. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)