Jordan Spieth ready for AT&T Byron Nelson after COVID bout
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AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 11: Jordan Spieth of the United States walks to the 18th green during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 11, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Jordan Spieth on his recovery from COVID-19 before AT&T Byron Nelson
Jordan Spieth revealed Tuesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 during his four-week break from the TOUR.
This week’s AT&T Byron Nelson is Spieth’s first start since his third-place finish in the Masters. The Nelson also is Spieth’s hometown event and the tournament where he made his TOUR debut in 2010, finishing T16 at the age of 16.
“I’m not really sure (how) I got it, to be honest, because nobody I was around ever got it,” Spieth said Tuesday. “It was Tuesday of New Orleans when I started my symptoms and it was bad for a day and a half and then it was just kind of annoying for the next five days, kind of lost energy, and sinus stuff.”
Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion, is eighth in this season’s standings after snapping a lengthy winless streak with his victory at the Valero Texas Open in the week preceding the Masters. He has six top-10s in his last eight starts.
His positive diagnosis caused him to miss the Valspar Championship, which he won in 2015.
“I've had a lot of success (at Valspar). I like the golf course there, so I was really bummed,” he said Tuesday. “It was tough watching it knowing that I had been playing well and I would go to a course that I like a lot, but that's unfortunately part of the world we live in right now.
“After that I started to kind of get full strength back and I would say the last week to week and a half now I've been acting as if it never happened. I've just gone about my days and feeling full energy and being able to hit kind of full workouts and practice sessions. So just kind of set me back a little.”
Spieth will play the Nelson alongside fellow Dallas-raised U.S. Junior champions Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris before trying to complete the career Grand Slam at next week’s PGA Championship.
“I was planning on continuing to play. I wasn't planning on taking a month off in the spring,” Spieth said. “So at this point it's get back to playing golf and try and get in the same rhythm I was in and just kind of be patient with it.
“I've only played a couple rounds so I'm looking to kind of maybe knock a little rust off that I didn't think would necessarily be here. But I feel good. I feel strong. I feel ready to go for a good stretch of golf coming up.”
