NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler won the Hero World Challenge on Sunday with a 9-under 63 to tie the tournament record at Albany Golf Club and win by six shots.
Scheffler, the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to spend an entire calendar year at No. 1 in the world, won for the ninth time in 21 starts, a tally that included a second Masters title, an Olympic gold medal and the FedEx Cup.
He started the final round one shot behind Justin Thomas, took the lead on the par-5 third hole, stayed in front with a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and never looked back. Tom Kim tried to stay close until he missed a 19-inch par putt on the par-5 11th. He birdied the final hole for a 68 and was runner-up when Thomas bogeyed the last hole for a 71.
Scheffler finished at 25-under 263 to tie the tournament record at Albany first set by Bubba Watson in 2015, and his six-shot victory was the largest in the nine years Tiger Woods’ holiday tournament has been held in the Bahamas.
SUN CITY, South Africa (AP) — American Johannes Veerman claimed his second title on the European tour by closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-shot victory over Aldrich Potgieter in the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
Potgieter could have won with a birdie on the 18th hole. But he missed the green to the right, chipped to 10 feet and missed the putt to finish one behind. He closed with a 75 and tied for second with Matthew Jordan (72) and Romain Langasque (71).
Veerman, a 32-year-old Californian who is No. 209 in the world ranking, started the final round five shots behind. His other European tour win was he Czech Masters in 2021.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Joaquin Niemann made birdie on the second playoff hole to beat Cameron Smith and Caleb Surrat in the Saudi International, an Asian Tour event that ended Saturday.
Niemann, who closed with a 4-under 67, finished the year with three wins, two of them early in the LIV Golf League season. It was his second win this year in Saudi Arabia.
Smith rallied with a 62 and got into the playoff when Niemann and Surrat (66) each bogeyed the 18th hole.
Niemann wound up atop the ranking in the International Series on the Asian Tour, ahead of Peter Uihlein and Ben Campbell.
Cory Crawford closes with a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory over Tyler McCumber in the Victoria PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Anthony Quayle, who assessed himself seven shots of penalties for misunderstanding the preferred lies rule in the opening round, shot 69 to finish in third place, two shots behind. ... Peter Baker finished birdie-birdie for a 68 and then beat Simon Griffiths on the third playoff hole to win the MCB Tour Championship on the European Legends Tour.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Scottie Scheffler, of the United States, poses with the championship trophy after the final round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club in New Providence, Bahamas, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Scottie Scheffler, left, of the United States, and Tiger Woods, right, pose with the championship trophy after the final round of the Hero World Challenge PGA Tour at the Albany Golf Club in New Providence, Bahamas, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Dallas (7-8-1) at N.Y. Giants (3-13)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox
BetMGM NFL Odds: Cowboys by 3 1/2
Against the spread: Cowboys 7-9; Giants 7-8-1
Series record: Dallas leads 78-47-2.
Last week: Cowboys beat Commanders 30-23; Giants beat Raiders 34-10.
Last meeting: Dallas beat Washington 40-37 in OT on Sept. 14.
Cowboys offense: overall (1), rush (9), pass (1), scoring (4)
Cowboys defense: overall (30), rush (t20), pass (32), scoring (32)
Giants offense: overall (15), rush (6), pass (21), scoring (21)
Giants defense: overall (29), rush (30), pass (20), scoring (26)
Turnover differential: Cowboys minus-8; Giants minus-3
QB Dak Prescott has a 14-game winning streak against the Giants since two of his losses in a 13-3 rookie season in 2016 came against them. It’s the second-longest winning streak against a single opponent in NFL history behind Bob Griese, who beat Buffalo 17 consecutive times from 1968-79. Prescott will get credit for a Dallas victory because he is expected to start. The question is how long he will play in a finale with no playoff implications. Either way, this will go down as one of Prescott’s best seasons. He enters the final week first in the NFL with 4,482 yards passing.
WR Wan'Dale Robinson gets to put the finishing touches on his case for a new contract, either with the team that drafted him or elsewhere. Robinson last week became the first player 5-foot-8 or shorter to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving since 5-7 Richard Johnson in 1989 and just the third since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. And he's playing against a Dallas secondary without Trevon Diggs, who was released on Tuesday.
Cowboys' offensive line vs. Giants' pass rush. New York's Brian Burns trails only Cleveland record-chasing Myles Garrett in sacks with a career-high 16 1/2, while rookie Abdul Carter has heated up with 3 1/2 over the past four games. Dallas would like to keep Prescott upright, no matter how long he plays.
Cowboys: RBs Javonte Williams (stinger) and Malik Davis (calf/eye) have been ruled out. The backs with a chance to be active have 54 career carries among them: FB Hunter Luepke (32) and rookies Jaydon Blue (22) and Phil Mafah (0). Mafah has been out all season with a shoulder injury, and is listed as questionable ... LB DeMarvion Overshown and rookie CB Shavon Revel have been dealing with concussions and won't play.
Giants: Two starters in the secondary are out: CB Cor'Dale Flott (knee) and S Jevon Holland (knee/concussion).
The Cowboys have won nine in a row against the Giants and 16 of the past 17. It's the longest active series in the league. Dallas' last winning streak this long was against Carolina from 1998-2012. ... Each team has been eliminated from playoff contention. ... The Cowboys are trying to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time since going 5-11 under coach Dave Campo from 2000-02. ... New York can still secure the top draft pick with a loss and Las Vegas victory against Kansas City or could drop as low as No. 7. ... This is expected to be interim coach Mike Kafka's final game with the Giants.
Cowboys WR George Pickens needs 80 yards receiving to reach 1,500 in his Dallas debut after the offseason trade from Pittsburgh. His only 1,000-yard season in three years with the Steelers came in 2023, when he had 1,140. … Ferguson needs one touchdown catch to tie the franchise tight end record of nine, held by Jason Witten and Billy Joe Dupree. … In their Week 2 game, K Brandon Aubrey had a tying 64-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and a winning 46-yarder as time expired in overtime in the 40-37 Dallas victory. ... Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart has accounted for 22 TDs (13 passing and nine rushing) with just five interceptions, in his first 11 professional starts. ... Robinson led the team with 113 yards receiving at Las Vegas. He had 142 in Week 2 at Dallas, which was before top receiver Malik Nabers was knocked out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. ... LB Bobby Okereke intercepted Geno Smith and had seven tackles last week. ... CB Deonte Banks returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD against the Raiders.
Daily fantasy players might be able to cash in if Giants RB Tyrone Tracy has another big game rushing and receiving.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is sacked by Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) during a NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)
FILE - Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) carries the ball after reception during a NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)
