Jordan Spieth misses out on advancing in PGA Tour postseason by one shot

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Spieth set a target of 67 for the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, certain that would be enough for him to crack the top 50 in the FedEx Cup and advance to next week. Turns out he would have only needed a 69, and even that was out of his reach.

Spieth and Keith Mitchell, who was up to his knees in water on the 18th trying to salvage his postseason, narrowly missed out advancing in the PGA Tour postseason Sunday, losing a chance to be guaranteed to play in all the $20 million signature events in 2027.

One birdie over his last three holes would have done it for Spieth. Mitchell would have needed to shave two shots from his score. He made bogey from the water on the 18th.

“I just feel like I’m kind of getting back to playing really good golf, like it’s close to kicking off, and I’m not going to play a tournament for a long time,” Spieth said after closing with three straight pars for an even-par 70.

Spieth came into the first playoff event at No. 54 and was projected to need something around the top 15 — depending on others around him — to make it to the BMW Championship for the first time since 2023.

He made it through the worrisome stretch of holes — Nos. 11 through 14 at the TPC Southwind — with a pair of bogeys and a 30-foot birdie putt.

“If you can get through there unscathed, you know you're looking at some opportunities on the other side,” Spieth said.

But he tugged his tee shot on the 15th far enough to the left that it found the water, leading to bogey. His chip from behind the green on the par-5 16th was too strong and rolled off the green, and he missed a 15-foot birdie putt. He missed a birdie from about that distance on the 17th.

Needing a birdie on the 18th, he went from a patch of dirt right of the fairway just over the green, still a putter in hand from 35 feet. He started walking before the long birdie putt finished short of the cup, giving him a par.

“I just didn’t execute enough shots and ... a couple bounces could have gone one way or the other,” he said. “I needed to be almost flawless today.”

Mitchell, who has never been among the top 30 to reach the Tour Championship in his nine years on the PGA Tour, started at No. 49 this week and was on the bubble seemingly all week. He said he never looked at a leaderboard until walking off the 17th green.

If he was safe, he could have played out to the right, away from the water, knowing a bogey wouldn't hurt him. But he was right on the projected bubble of top 50. He took on the shot. He thought it was ideal, but it barely cleared the water, and hopped below the hazard line on the bank of grass.

For Mitchell, there was no option. He removed his shoes and rolled up his pants, took his stance in the water up to his calves and gave it a shot. It bounced short and took a hop to the left, riding the bank down into the water. He did well to make bogey for a 72. In the end, even a par would have left him less than a point short of Matt McCarty at No. 50.

“I thought it was perfect when I hit it. Caught a little bit of a gust, and it came up that short,” Mitchell said. “The second shot was obviously interesting, and I just didn’t play it far enough right.”

The new points system that puts an emphasis on season performance means the postseason is not nearly as volatile. Sungjae Im, who started at No. 53 and started the final round tied for second, comfortably advanced.

Mitchell was the only one from the top 50 to fall out.

Maverick McNealy came in at No. 50 and was on the bubble all afternoon, played bogey-free on the back nine with two birdies for a 69 to tie for 19th — same position as Spieth — to secure his spot among the top 50. McCarty figured he was out when he tied for 63rd in the 69-man field. He made it on the number when Mitchell and Spieth couldn't catch him.

“I think the top 50 number is probably the most important number on the PGA Tour right now,” McNealy said. “I’m excited to get to St. Louis and just take a Hail Mary swing to see if I can get into the Tour Championship, which is the goal every year.”

See AP’s full golf coverage here

Maverick McNealy chips onto the fourth green during the second round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Sungjae Im, of South Korea, reacts to his putt on the fourth green during the final round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Matt McCarty hits from the fifth tee during the first round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Keith Mitchell hits on the first hole during the third round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Jordan Spieth watches his tee shot on the seventh hole during the third round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

PHOENIX (AP) — There's certainly a good case to be made that Diana Taurasi is the best player in WNBA history.

For Phoenix Mercury fans, that case is already closed: She's undeniably the G.O.A.T.

Taurasi was inducted into the Mercury Ring of Honor on Sunday at halftime of a game between the Mercury and Portland Fire, with the franchise retiring her No. 3 jersey and celebrating a superstar who has become synonymous with basketball in Arizona for more than two decades.

“This place has made me who I am,” Taurasi said just before her banner was unveiled in the arena's rafters. “You guys let me grow, you let me fall, you let me get back up and gave me the space to become who I am today. Through the championships, all the good times and all the bad times, the loyalty you have given me is something I will take with me forever.”

Taurasi, 44, played for the Mercury from 2004 to 2024 and won just about every championship and award that is possible for a player.

She's the WNBA's career scoring leader (by more than 2,000 points), an 11-time All-Star, a six-time Olympic gold medalist, a five-time scoring champion, a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time WNBA Finals MVP, the 2009 regular-season MVP and the 2004 Rookie of the Year.

She said Sunday's honor ranks up there with her biggest accomplishments.

“Today's a big one,” Taurasi said before the game. “Today feels different. When your number goes up there, you can't use it anymore, it's done. So if there was any little competitiveness still in me, I think today it goes up in the rafters with the number and it feels really good.”

More than the sheer numbers, she's remembered for her fierce personality that resonated in Arizona, helping turn the Mercury into one of the WNBA's premier franchises. Taurasi was surrounded on Sunday by friends and family, including her wife, Penny Taylor, and their two children.

She said she's lucky to have 20 years of friendships to celebrate — including her long relationship with the “X-Factor," which is the nickname for the team's loyal fan base.

“When I walk into (the arena), I don't see strangers, I don't see employees,” Taurasi said. “I see friends, I see people I go to dinner with, I see people I text regularly with. This isn't just something where I showed up and said, 'Well, let's see what we can do here and then leave.'"

“I treated this like my extended family. I think that's why walking in today — I'm really emotional.”

Hundreds of fans had gathered in downtown Phoenix more than two hours before the game — many wearing the No. 3 jersey Taurasi donned for two decades — even on an August afternoon with temperatures topping 105 degrees. Some took pictures in front of a mural featuring Taurasi on the side of the arena.

The announced attendance was 16,513, a sellout and a testament to how much the WNBA has grown since she debuted with the Mercury in 2004 after a stellar college career at UConn.

A string of tributes flowed throughout the evening, including from Suns star Devin Booker, former teammate Brittney Griner and recent football Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Larry Fitzgerald. Three-time WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes and 23-time gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps were also in attendance.

Taurasi’s name was in lights several feet off one of the baselines, with some real, live goats grazing on hay. There was also a “Goat Plush Toss” where game staff threw toy goats into the stands.

The celebration continued during a postgame ceremony that featured video tributes from Lisa Leslie, Paige Bueckers, Magic Johnson and LeBron James and in-person praise from several others, including a poem from her wife, Penny.

At the end of the evening, Taurasi stepped to the microphone one more time. It took her a little while to start speaking — the crowd gave her a 45-second standing ovation.

Her roughly 30-minute speech was half serious and half comedy routine, drawing multiple laughs from the thousands who stayed.

“Tonight feels like the end and the beginning of so many things in my life,” Taurasi said. "Driving to the game today, I didn't know if I was going to suit up and play, whether it was my funeral or a celebration.

“I've come to realize — it's all of it. And it's amazing.”

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Retired WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball player Diana Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired Phoenix Mercury WNBA basketball player Diana Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball player Diana Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired Phoenix Mercury WNBA basketball player Diana Taurasi, left, hugs Phoenix Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia as Taurasi is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Retired WNBA Phoenix Mercury basketball player Diana Taurasi acknowledges the cheering crowd as she is honored during a halftime Ring of Honor ceremony Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)