The countdown begins for next month’s 2016 Masters tournament.
Jordan Spieth and Lexi Thompson are the top male and female American golfers. Both began as teenage members of the 2008 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team.
Spieth is now the No.1 men’s golfer in the world. He won last year’s Masters and U.S. Open.
“I got off to a really good start earlier in the season. We won in Hawaii, the first event in the New Year, and then took a crazy travel schedule around the world. Been a little bit off lately, but I started to gain some momentum this past week,” Spieth said Monday on “CBS This Morning.”
To get back into the game, Spieth said he’s analyzing whether he needs rest, more practice, or both.
“I think right now I need a mix of both, so that’s going to be key,” Spieth said. “I need to get myself in contention — kind of find out what’s on and what’s off under the pressure before heading to Augusta.”
Sporting his green jacket, Spieth said the Masters is his favorite tournament in the world, and that he hopes collect another jacket this year.
Thompson is the world’s No.3 in women’s golf. She has seven LPGA tour wins, with the most recent win in Thailand last month.
“We’ve only played in about four or five tournaments, but, yeah, I’ve had pretty consistent finishes so far. And getting a win there in Thailand was pretty huge,” Thompson said.
With golf returning to the Olympics, Thompson is hoping to be a part of Team USA.
“I think it just shows how much golf is growing as a sport,” she said. “It’ll grow dramatically after [the Olympics.]”
Thompson has also played golf with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach is Thompson’s home course.
“He loves golf. So he’s a big supporter of golf, so yeah, it was a lot of fun. Entertaining,” Thompson said.
Both Thompson and Spieth are also supporters of the youth golf initiative, Drive, Chip & Putt, open to boys and girls ages 7 through 15.
“It’s just great to see the excitement in the little kids’ faces out playing,” Thompson said.
Masters week begins in three weeks. You can watch CBS Sports coverage of the tournament beginning Saturday, April 9.
