Spieth to lose No. 1 ranking to McIlroy

JORDAN Spieth’s first spell atop the world golf rankings proved short as the Masters and US Open champion missed the cut at The Barclays on Friday to hand the top spot back to Rory McIlroy.

Spieth, 22, was playing his first tournament since taking the number one ranking with a runner-up finish to Jason Day at the PGA Championship on August 16.

After a four-over-par first round of 74, Spieth was unable to make up enough ground at Plainfield Country Club to extend his week.

He had five bogeys and a double-bogey in a three-over par 73, his seven-over total of 147 to miss the cut by five shots.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson was the 36-hole leader after a second-round 68 for a seven-under total of 133.

Spieth’s double-bogey seven at the par-five 12th included a penalty for stepping on his ball in a hazard, which turned a bogey into a double-bogey.

Spieth’s early exit means that Northern Ireland’s McIlroy will reclaim the summit even though he opted to skip the first of four events in the US PGA Tour’s season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs. Spieth, who has fashioned one of the great seasons in golf with his first two major victories. He missed a playoff at the British Open by one stroke to finish with a share of fourth before his runner-up finish to Day in the final major of the year.

He has also won two other US PGA Tour titles, and hadn’t missed a cut since the Players Championship in May — one of just two prior missed cuts in 2015.

Spieth and McIlroy are both scheduled to tee it up next week at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston as the playoffs progress toward the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta, where a $10 million playoff bonus will be up for grabs.

Originally published as Spieth to lose No. 1 ranking to McIlroy

Source:: news.com.au

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