2008 runner-up Spieth ready to try to win Junior PGA Championship

There are many reasons for Jordan Spieth to be excited about playing in this year's Junior PGA Championship. Not the least of which is to avenge a sudden-death playoff loss to fellow Dallas native Anthony Paolucci, a close friend and the 2008 Junior PGA Champion.

"Anthony and I are friends and we play a lot together. We can go out and talk about college and tournaments and how we are playing," said Spieth, the top-ranked junior golfer in the country.

"You can describe it as a friendly rivalry," he added. "Hopefully, I will have a little better success in a playoff if that happens again."

Spieth also wants to secure a spot on the 2010 U.S. Junior Ryder team. The competition will be conducted Sept. 27-28, at Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland.

It [the 2008 Junior Ryder Cup] was the best experience I have ever had while I was golfing," said the 15-year-old Spieth, who won the 2008 Ping Invitational. "To represent your country, there is no greater honor, I feel.

"Being able to do it again would mean so much to me. I know everyone playing in this event has that in the back of their minds, as they did last year. Everyone wants that first spot to get a chance to play Europe."

Spieth also said he is excited about the elite field that has been assembled for the 34th edition of the Junior PGA Championship, which will be contested July 28-31 at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio.

"After last year's event and with the competition and the field this year being even better, it's going to force anybody to want to play," said Spieth. "If you look at the players in the event and where they rank, it's amazing all the great players that are playing."

Spieth knows, however, it will take a strong effort to win his first Junior PGA Championship.

"I have to get my mental game down and not think about what is at stake," said Spieth. "I need take it into Ohio and beat the best players in the country."

About the Junior PGA Championship
The Junior PGA Championship roster of past participants features many of today's PGA and LPGA Tour professionals, including: 2008 Masters Champion Trevor Immelman, winner of the 1996 Junior PGA Championship; 2008 Women's Open Champion In-Bee Park, winner of the 2001 and 2002 Junior PGA Championship; 2001 PGA Champion David Toms, winner of the 1984 Junior PGA Championship; Cristie Kerr, winner of the 1995 Junior PGA Championship and the 2007 U.S. Women's Open; and Grace Park, winner of the 1996 Junior PGA Championship and the 2004 Kraft Nabisco.