Jordan Spieth capped an epic season with a Tour Championship victory that boosted him back to No 1 in the world and took his 2015 winnings to more than $22 million (Dh80.8m).
Spieth, 22, whose five wins this season included the Masters and US Open, fired a final round 69 for 271 and a four-shot win over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, New Zealand’s Danny Lee and England’s Justin Rose.
With the win — and Jason Day’s 10th-place finish — Spieth will recapture the No 1 ranking Australia’s Day had held for a week.
He also set a US PGA Tour record for earnings, the Tour Championship first prize of $1.485m taking his total for the year to $12,030,465 — not including the $10m bonus that came with his FedEx Cup playoff title.
“This year is unreal,” said Spieth, who in addition to his two major victories finished tied for fourth at the Open Championship and runner-up to Day at the PGA Championship.
“I don’t know how we sit down and figure out how to improve on it, but we’re going to try to do that.”
Spieth also won the US Tour’s Valspar Championship and John Deere Classic — but said he was stung by back-to-back missed cuts in the first two events of the US Tour’s elite four tournament playoff series.
“I got mad,” Spieth said. “I didn’t have a great playoffs, but I put a lot into this week. Mentally I stayed in it, and boy, that putter sure paid off.”
Day had come on strong at the end of the season, but with this win Spieth dampened any debate about who would deserve Player of the Year honours.
Spieth started the day with a one-stroke lead over Stenson, and the Swede — who could also have seized the playoff bonus with a victory — tried to keep the pressure on.
Back to back bogeys from Spieth at the fifth and sixth saw Stenson pull level, but Spieth was just too good on the greens.
He drained an 18-footer at the ninth — to maintain his advantage despite Stenson’s birdie, and bounced back from a bogey at 10 with a 47-foot birdie putt at the 11th.
The rest of the way Spieth found the clutch par putts when he needed them. That included a nine-footer at the 15th and a putt of about the same distance at 16.
Stenson, meanwhile, found his race for the title turning into a battle to hang on to at least a share of second, which he relinquished with a double-bogey at 17.
But Stenson rolled in a long birdie putt at the par-three 18th to cap a two-over 72 that was good enough to join Lee and Rose on five-under, Lee climbing up the leaderboard with a five-under 65 and Rose signing for a 66.
As at the Masters in April, Stenson said he could only admire Spieth’s display.
“It’s been a phenomenal year for him,” Stenson said. “I watched it first hand at the first two rounds at Augusta and he played phenomenal and putted phenomenal.
“It was the same putting display today — just an exhibition on the greens to be honest.”
Day closed his tournament with a 68 for a share of 10th. His five wins this season included not only his breakthrough major at the PGA but also two playoff tournaments, but he finished third in the FedEx Cup final standings behind Spieth and Stenson.
“I could have played better this week,” Day said as Spieth was powering toward the finish line. “But it just seems like Jordan is kind of zoned in and grinding for that win.”
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The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
OPENING FIXTURES
Saturday September 12
Crystal Palace v Southampton
Fulham v Arsenal
Liverpool v Leeds United
Tottenham v Everton
West Brom v Leicester
West Ham v Newcastle
Monday September 14
Brighton v Chelsea
Sheffield United v Wolves
To be rescheduled
Burnley v Manchester United
Manchester City v Aston Villa
UAE's final round of matches
- Sep 1, 2016 Beat Japan 2-1 (away)
- Sep 6, 2016 Lost to Australia 1-0 (home)
- Oct 6, 2016 Beat Thailand 3-1 (home)
- Oct 11, 2016 Lost to Saudi Arabia 3-0 (away)
- Nov 15, 2016 Beat Iraq 2-0 (home)
- Mar 23, 2017 Lost to Japan 2-0 (home)
- Mar 28, 2017 Lost to Australia 2-0 (away)
- June 13, 2017 Drew 1-1 with Thailand (away)
- Aug 29, 2017 v Saudi Arabia (home)
- Sep 5, 2017 v Iraq (away)
Company%20Profile
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