Sports

Déjà vu! Spieth loses lead … again

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Jordan Spieth entered Sunday’s Players Championship final round tied for the lead and armed with valuable experience he thought would help push him across the finish line first this time.

Last month, Spieth had a piece of the 54-hole Masters lead in his first time at Augusta and held the lead alone on the front nine before faltering, shooting 72 and losing to Bubba Watson by three shots.

On Sunday, Spieth entered the final round with a share of the 54-hole lead and held the lead alone on the fourth hole before faltering to a 74 to lose to Martin Kaymer by three shots.

It was a painful déjà vu for the 20-year-old star in the making, but Spieth spoke with uncanny maturity about his difficult day when it was over.

“Shoot, I’m stinging right now,’’ Spieth said. “It’s not fun being that close and having opportunities and being in the lead on Sunday and not pulling it off. It’s something that I don’t feel like I’ve struggled with throughout my whole career, going back to junior days.

“So I don’t think much of it, other than I didn’t have any best stuff. I’m disappointed right now in how I performed, but I think I’m on the path to good things. It’s been a great year of putting myself in a lot of positions and having new experiences instead of having to come from behind trying to hold leads. I think that is something that it takes a little time to adapt to and hopefully I’m done trying now.’’

Spieth conceded that “obviously nerves were there,’’ but he said he “felt a little more comfortable’’ than he had at Augusta.

“I got a couple birdies early [and] when you’re at whatever I was, 14 ‑under, and then the winning score is 13 ‑under … that’s tough to swallow,’’ he said. “I just left myself in tough positions on approach shots and just got a little quick. Going forward, I still think that I’m playing extremely good golf. So I’m extremely excited for the Texas swing coming up and carrying the way that
I played this week, which I think was solid golf into there.’’ **

Justin Rose went to bed on Saturday night thinking he had an unrealistic chance to make a run at winning The Players Championship. He was 5-under par, seven shots out of the lead — thanks to a two-shot penalty he was assessed for having his ball supposedly move slightly after he had addressed it.

When Rose arrived to the TPC Sawgrass Sunday morning to play his final round, though, PGA Tour officials called him into a meeting and told him they were rescinding the two-shot penalty, which returned him to 7-under par, five off the lead.

At one point in his final round, it looked like Rose was going to make a run at the leaders, when he got within two shots of the lead. He finished tied for third at 10-under par after shooting 69.

The penalty was lifted under Rule 18-4, which limits how players can be penalized based on video evidence from HD cameras. Rose was informed of the decision about an hour before his 12:35 p.m. tee time.

“I was good with the way everything played out; I want to play by the rules,” Rose said. “But I was reading an article in the evening [Saturday] and the rule states … if a player can’t discern whether the ball moved or not, it’s deemed not to have moved. I sort of scratched my head and said that’s exactly what happened to me and yet I was docked two [shots].

“But obviously all the governing bodies — the USGA, R&A and PGA Tour — all got together overnight to talk about it.”

Rose continued: “Teeing off an hour-and-a-half ahead of the guys that I should have been playing with was strange.’’

“And then I get off to a good start too and I’m 10 ‑under through the turn and beginning to put a run together. At that point it was all very interesting, some interesting emotions. But I quickly put myself back in the pack with three bogeys on the back nine, which is disappointing.’’


None of the four players who had a chance to take over the No. 1 world ranking — Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar — did so. Scott, who needed a tie for 16th or better, finished tied for 38th. For Scott, it was the third tournament he’s played with a chance to overtake Tiger Woods’ No. 1 ranking and the third time he failed to do it.

Stenson, who needed to finish in a two-way tie for sixth or better, finished tied for 34th. Watson, who needed a solo second or better, finished tied for 48th. And Kuchar, who needed to win, finished tied for 17th. So Woods, who’s recuperating from back surgery, remains No. 1 until further notice.


Rory McIlroy’s roller-coaster week ended in a tie for fifth at 9-under par after he shot a final-round 66 Sunday. He made the cut on the number with a late rally and ended up with 25 birdies, 12 bogeys and two doubles for the week. Incredibly, he was 17-under par on the back nine for the week and 8-over on the front.

For McIlroy, who does not have a win this year, this was his fourth consecutive top-10 finish and sixth this season.

“Another solid week, another back-door top-‑10, but it’s getting close,’’ McIlroy said. “I’m playing really well, I’m playing solid. I equaled my lowest round ever here at Sawgrass with a 66, so things are heading in the right direction.’’