Thomas heads race for top award

NEW YORK: Justin Thomas’s breakout campaign has earned him a nomination for the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year award along with Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth, the tour said on Monday.

Thomas, who wrapped up the PGA of America’s pointsbased award for player of the year by winning the FedExCup and a $10 million bonus on Sunday, had five wins this season, including the PGA Championship for his first Major title.

The 24-year-old American joined Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Spieth as the only players since 1960 to earn five wins, including a Major, in a season before the age of 25.

World No 1 Johnson, who won the award last year, had four wins in the 20 events he entered, including the lucrative WGC-Mexico Championship and WGC-Dell Match Play.

Johnson, whose run of three wins was interrupted after being sidelined by a back injury suffered on the eve of the Masters in April, enjoyed eight top-10 finishes in the season and was fourth in the FedExCup play-offs.

Spieth, the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year in 2015, won the British Open, where he earned his third career Major, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Travelers Championship.

The 24-year-old Texan also recorded 12 top-10 finishes, which tied Thomas for most this season. He had top-10 finishes in all four FedExCup play-off events in 2017.

Japan’s Matsuyama won the WGC-HSBC Champions, Phoenix Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and was eighth in the FedExCup.

Voting for the honour, the Jack Nicklaus Award, close on October 2, the winner to be announced that week. - Reuters