Spieth denied Singapore Open title as Song wins on Monday by a shot
Jordan Spieth only needed one stroke to finish the Asian Tour’s Singapore Open on Monday. However, the 72nd-hole birdie he sank wasn’t good enough to pick up his second worldwide win of 2016.
Young-han Song of South Korea sank a 12-foot par putt as his first stroke of the Monday finish, then closed out with a pair of pars at Sentosa Golf Club to pick up his first professional win. The 12-under-par total was good enough for a one-shot win over the world No. 1 and two-time 2015 major winner.
Heavy rain and winds forced yet another day of delays on Sunday, leading to the call of play due to darkness. Spieth had to come back on Monday, make his 5-foot birdie on the par-5 18th and hope that Song showed some nerves. Song, just 24 himself, held up and won.
Liang Wen-chong of China finished solo third at 10-under 274.
This was the inaugural edition of the event, boasting a mere $1 million purse – paltry by PGA Tour standards. What attracted the world No. 1 player then? A reported $1.2 million appearance fee for just stepping off the plane. Had he managed to win the event and earn the $180,000 first-place check, Spieth would have merely padded his fee by 15 percent.
Now the question for Spieth is if his globetrotting ways since November have been worth it. He’s played in six countries from then until now, going from China to Australia to the Bahamas to Hawaii to Abu Dhabi to Singapore. He won once. He’s cashed in a few times with appearance fees. He admitted in the United Arab Emirates that he’s gassed and that tiredness has manifested itself in his play.
Spieth now turns to the PGA Tour full-bore, but he gets just a one-week break before the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, a draining week in and of itself, then the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles the next week. By then, it will be time for the Florida Swing, including a title defense in Tampa, as a gear up to the Masters.
If Spieth thinks he’s tired now – and he has reason to be – when will he get the rest he needs?
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
LISTEN TO OUR WEEKLY GOLF PODCAST! This week: Is pros wearing shorts a big deal?
