PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Justin Thomas has come a long way in 18 months.

All the way to No. 1 in the world.

He had one PGA Tour victory and was No. 35 in the world in October 2016 when he began a steady rise through a deep field of stars. Thomas won seven times in a span of 32 tournaments around the world, including his first major. The final step to the top of the ranking was an illustration of how he got there. He made the cut on the number at The Players Championship, had a 68-66 weekend and tied for 11th.

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That was enough to end Dustin Johnson’s 64-week atop the world ranking.

”I’m very proud to have gotten there, but it means more to me how long I can hold it,” Thomas said in a text message while flying home to south Florida for a two-week break. ”Have to continue to work hard with how well so many guys are playing.”

Thomas became the 21st player and seventh American to reach No. 1 since the world ranking began in 1986. He was helped by five vi..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Standing in the middle of the 14th fairway with a sand wedge in his hands, Tiger Woods had a chance.

At making a birdie. At cutting into Webb Simpson’s lead. Maybe even at winning for the first time since returning from a fourth back surgery.

Woods was 110 yards out and four shots back in the final round. He struck the ball cleanly, stared at intently and then watched it spin off the green .

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The 14-time major winner fell a few feet short of providing the first real drama Sunday on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

He missed an 8-foot par putt that caused him to flip his club, ended up with a disappointing bogey and limped home with a double at the famed 17th . Woods, however, left the course feeling better than ever about his comeback.

”This weekend was more like it,” Woods said.

Woods shot a 3-under 69 in the final round and tied for 11th at 11-under 277. His round could have been much closer to the 65 he shot Saturday…

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Webb Simpson navigated his way through a few mistakes but not too much stress to win The Players Championship on Sunday.

Staked to a seven-shot lead, no one got closer than four shots of Simpson, even after a double bogey on the 18th hole when his only concern was finishing the hole at the TPC Sawgrass. He closed with a 1-over 73 for a four-shot victory, his biggest title since the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club.

Tiger Woods made another big run that revved up the crowd and revived hopes that he was close to winning. So did Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker and Danny Lee. None could do enough to catch Simpson during record scoring at the final Players Championship in May.

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His only big mistake didn’t even matter. Simpson’s approach to the 18th bounded across the green and into the water. He closed with a double bogey, but that only made the final margin closer.

Justin Thomas left the TPC Sawgrass as the No. 1 player in the world. He..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Webb Simpson navigated his way through a few mistakes but not too much stress to win The Players Championship on Sunday.

Staked to a seven-shot lead, no one got closer than four shots of Simpson, even after a double bogey on the 18th hole when his only concern was finishing the hole. He closed with a 1-over 73 for a four-shot victory and his biggest win since the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club.

Tiger Woods made another big run. So did Jason Dufner, Jimmy Walker and Danny Lee. None could do enough to catch Simpson during record scoring in the final Players Championship in May.

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Justin Thomas shot a 66 and tied for 11th, which was more than enough to move to No. 1 in the world.

SCIACCA, Sicily (AP) Joakim Lagergren of Sweden won his first European Tour title with a dramatic playoff victory over Mike Lorenzo-Vera at the Sicilian Open on Sunday.

Lagergren birdied the first extra hole at Verdura Golf Club after he and overnight leader Lorenzo-Vera had finished tied on 16 under par.

”I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole career,” said the 26-year-old Lagergren. ”I’m so relieved and I’m so happy at the moment, I can’t describe it in words. I’ve just been fighting so hard to get to here, it’s just awesome.

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”When you’re just missing out a few times you really want to get that first win … This is a big step for me.”

Lorenzo-Vera began the day with a two-shot lead but he could only card a final round 70 and recorded his second consecutive runners-up finish after losing out in the final of GolfSixes alongside Romain Wattel last week.

Lagergren made four birdies in his first nine holes to shoot 68 and finish level with the Frenchma..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka began The Players Championship wondering if his wrist would allow him to play. He finished it Sunday with an albatross on the par-5 16th hole and a 9-under 63 to tie the course record.

Koepka had 208 yards on the 16th hole when he opted for a three-quarter shot with his 6-iron. It started a little more right than he wanted, right on line. The ball took one hop and disappeared into the cup for a 2.

It was the second albatross in two years on the 16th hole at the TPC Sawgrass.

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”I couldn’t tell where it hopped,” Koepka said. ”Everyone started screaming. The roars kept going, so we figured it went in. It was a hell of a shot.”

That wasn’t all.

He followed with a wedge into 4 feet on the island-green 17th for birdie – Koepka hit two in the water on the par-3 17th on Friday to make quadruple-bogey 7. And then he narrowly missed a 12-foot birdie chance on the final hole for the record.

As for his ..

Victor DecolongonKobe Bryant's career resume, and penchant for hitting the clutch shot, makes him one of the greatest to ever play basketball. He's a five-time NBA champion, a two-time Finals MVP, an 18-time All-Star and ranks third on the all-time scoring list. No one would have an issue with putting him among the top 15, or 10 NBA players of all time, it's when you get into top-five territory that it becomes an actual debate.
Kobe diehards, and Bryant himself, would lead you to believe that he's the greatest player ever. Most with a functioning brain know this is not the case, especially considering Michael Jordan and LeBron James both play(ed) the sport. Bryant is one of the greatest pure scorers ever, no matter how many shots it took him to get there. If you were starting a team though, nine out of 10 people are taking LeBron, and the 10th person's opinion immediately holds no value going forward.
Don't tell that to the always confident Kobe, who rando..

Webb Simpson spends the last days with his dying father, Sam, remembering their bonds through golf and life

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Jordan Spieth finished with a flurry, leading to his best score at The Players Championship in 13 rounds.

Hardly anyone noticed.

Fan favorite Tiger Woods garnered most , if not all, the attention while Spieth was shooting a 7-under 65 in the third round Saturday. Woods and Spieth, playing a few groups apart, tied for the lowest score of the day.

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Both made huge leaps up the leaderboard, although more people witnessed Woods’ run.

Woods did most of his damage on the front nine. Spieth made his move on the back with six birdies, including at each of the final three holes. Spieth needed just 24 putts to get around the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

”If you don’t miss a putt inside of 15 feet, golf is pretty easy,” Spieth quipped. ”But when you are making half of them, like I was the first round, then it’s a harder game. So I felt like I had the freedom in the stroke. I didn’t feel like I had to force anything. You ask, `Why don..

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Webb Simpson isn’t aware of the records he has tied or broken at The Players Championship. He saw that Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth each made a big charge before he teed off Saturday, and it didn’t rattle him at all.

”I think it helped me a little bit continue to think about making birdies,” he said.

Simpson had a plan and didn’t back off until he holed an 18-foot par on the final hole for a 4-under 68. He stretched his lead to a record seven shots, tied Greg Norman’s 54-hole score at The Players that had not been touched in 24 years and left himself one more round to capture the richest prize in golf.

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Simpson started with an 8-foot birdie. He holed a 100-foot bunker shot for eagle.

And that island green on the par-3 17th that ruined his bid for the record score at the TPC Sawgrass the previous day? With a front pin in the bowl, he hit sand wedge and listened to thousands of fans surrounding the green cheer as the ball tric..