Choice of a champion: Jordan Spieth prizes Ryder Cup glory over Tour Championship win

As much as Jordan Spieth would love to complete a successful title defence at the Tour Championship this week, team victory at the Ryder Cup next week is an even bigger goal for the American.

If forced to choose between the two, Spieth said at East Lake in Atlanta on Tuesday that he would opt for Cup glory.

“That’s kind of rude,” the twice major champion said in response to the question, before answering it directly when he could have diplomatically brushed it off as a hypothetical.

“I don’t have a Ryder Cup [win]. I think I will have a Ryder Cup at some point. You want what you don’t have. I’ve watched the other side of that [Ryder Cup defeat in 2014] and it hurt.

“It was tough in that closing ceremony. When we boarded the plane back home, it was an empty feeling and we don’t want that again,” said Spieth, 23, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2014. “We remember that. We want that celebration.

“I’m pretty confident how we’re going to go about our business. I think we’ve got a fantastic team this year.”

Spieth spent Sunday and Monday at Hazeltine National in Minnesota, site of next week’s biennial showdown between the United States and Europe, seeking to squirrel away course knowledge.