A day after winning the Valero Texas Open, Jordan Spieth, left, works with his swing doctor Cameron McCormick in getting in some work for the Masters golf tournament on the practice range at Augusta National Golf Club.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — 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.

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.

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.”

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