Jordan Spieth’s mental game is as fascinating as his playing approach. Few players have such an openly tortured relationship with each and every shot, and while that has made for a compelling figure over the last decade or so, it’s also clearly worn on Spieth himself. Which is how we got quotes like he delivered ahead of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson (no matter how many times I type that out, it doesn’t get any less ridiculous), with Spieth outlining his goal of a “reset”:

“Yeah, I think I kind of wanted to hit the reset button this last week and I took more days off than I usually do. Got a little burned out trying to find stuff. I wanted to take some time off, clear my mind, and then get back to it. I took an extra couple days more than I normally do. Kind of looking at this as kind of a restart.”

Jordan also noted his respect for what Scottie Scheffler is doing, and how he would like to emulate his fellow Texas resident, while confronting the kind of age-related angst that comes for all of us: 

“It’s kind of the first time I’ve ever looked at somebody younger than me and I’ve driven inspiration. Like I am inspired by what he is doing. It makes me want to go out and get better, and that’s always been someone that’s older than me. Kind of the first time I felt that way about somebody that’s younger.” 

Spieth is only 30 (he’s up there on the list of “Wait how is he not older?” athletes), but he’s already a bit of an elder statesman, and has certainly experienced a career’s worth of peaks and valleys. His game has never been reminiscent of Scottie’s cold consistency, which has been both what draws fans to him and what makes him a painful player to cheer for on occasion. Will his reset work? Well, he opened the CJ Cup Byron Nelson (yep, still ridiculous) with a 68. He only made one bogey, too, so maybe some of that consistency is rubbing off on him.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.