Spieth, McIlroy Approach Masters From Different Angles

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | For all the Masters is about – and the enchanting elements are in place for a proper April in Augusta – it’s ultimately about the men playing.

While Bryson DeChambeau is bedazzling the brute force of power golf and Dustin Johnson saunters his way toward a possible second green jacket in five months, the two most intriguing figures in the 88-player field are Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy in their respective orbits.

Though they both drive down Magnolia Lane, they are arriving from vastly different places.

Spieth is in the midst of authoring a great golf resurrection, doggedly digging his way out of a dark spell that could have swallowed him. If his faith wavered in the quest to regain his lost artistry, Spieth never voiced it.

It was there in his face and the sagging shoulders, the residue of the weeks and months when Spieth faced the quiet desperation of chasing something with no promise of catching it.

Three months ago, Spieth was a cautionary tale. Now he’s the emotional and practical favorite to wi...