Rejuvenated Spieth fired up for Australian Open

SYDNEY: Former world number one Jordan Spieth says he feels rejuvenated entering his first event in seven weeks at the Australian Open in Sydney starting Thursday (tomorrow).

The 23-year-old double major winner hasn’t played since last month’s Ryder Cup and is the headline act at the Royal Sydney Golf Club along with local favourite and world number seven Adam Scott.

“I feel renewed. I feel mentally in a good place right now going into the end of this year and next year,” said Spieth, who is currently ranked fifth.

“I’ve had some tremendous time off, been able to feel like I’m completely rested, get to do some things in the swing that I’ve been trying to work on for a year now.”

The American is chasing his second Australian Open title in three years.

A final round 63 propelled him to a six-shot victory in 2014 and his title defence last year fell one shot short when he and Scott were joint runners-up behind Australian Matt Jones, who is not defending his crown this week.

Spieth has two worldwide victories in 2016 and has been unable to recapture his remarkable form from 2015 when he won five times on the US PGA Tour including back-to-back majors at the US Masters and US Open.

Spieth is searching for his first victory since May and tees off early Thursday alongside former US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy