By Tony Jimenez
ST ANDREWS, Scotland, July 15 (Reuters) - Jordan Spieth will draw on the memory of back-to-back wins at the end of last season when he begins his quest to become the first player in 63 years to capture the first three majors of the campaign.
The American said it would be a simpler task to cope with jet-lag at this week's British Open than it was in November and December when he followed his victory at the Australian Open by finishing first at the Hero World Challenge in Florida.
"The toughest part here is the time change and it's only six hours," Spieth told reporters on Wednesday. "It's not like going to Asia where you normally need a couple of days to even be able to wake up.
"I got up at 7:30 this morning, which felt like 4:30 or something to me by this point, but it wasn't too bad. I'm sleeping just fine, adjusting to jet-lag and by tomorrow morning I'll be 100 percent."
The U.S. Masters and U.S. Open champion has been criticised in some quarters for choosing to compete at last week's John Deere Classic in Illinois rather than arriving early at St Andrews to prepare.
Spieth, however, said it was difficult to argue with a preparatory week that led to him securing a fourth victory of the year.
"I don't think anybody is going to argue with a win," he added. "That was what we set out to do last week, to feel the pressure over the weekend...see what tendencies I got into that we could adjust for major championship pressure.
"That's exactly what we did. We came out with a win, which is even better. I just liked the fact I could go somewhere I could play hard and possibly win a PGA Tour event in preparation."
Spieth will partner fellow American Dustin Johnson, the player he pipped for the title at last month's U.S. Open, and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama in Thursday's opening round. (Editing by Justin Palmer)