B10 0 N THE NEW YORK TIMES SPORTSTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
SCOREBOARD
A.L. STANDINGS
East W L Pct GB
Yankees 95 51 .651 —
Tampa Bay 87 59 .596 8
Boston 76 70 .521 19
Toronto 57 89 .390 38
Baltimore 47 98 .324 47{
Central W L Pct GB
Minnesota 89 56 .614 —
Cleveland 86 61 .585 4
Chicago 64 81 .441 25
Kansas City 54 92 .370 35{
Detroit 43 100 .301 45
West W L Pct GB
Houston 95 52 .646 —
Oakland 86 60 .589 8{
Texas 72 74 .493 22{
Los Angeles 67 80 .456 28
Seattle 59 86 .407 35
WEDNESDAY
Yankees at Detroit, ppd.
Baltimore 7, L.A. Dodgers 3
Toronto 8, Boston 0
Washington 6, Minnesota 2
Oakland 5, Houston 3
Cleveland 4, L.A. Angels 3
Kansas City 8, Chicago White Sox 6
Tampa Bay at Texas
Cincinnati at Seattle
THURSDAY
Yankees (Happ 12-8) at Detroit
(Boyd 8-10), 1st game, 1:10
Yankees (Sabathia 5-8) at Detroit
(Turnbull 3-14), 2d game, 30 min-
utes after first game ends
Kansas City (Lopez 3-7) at Chicago
White Sox (Giolito 14-8), 2:10
L.A. Dodgers (Hill 4-1) at Baltimore
(Bundy 6-13), 7:05
Boston (Chacin 3-10) at Toronto
(Buchholz 1-4), 7:07
Washington (Corbin 11-7) at Min-
nesota (Gibson 13-6), 7:40
Tampa Bay (McKay 2-3) at Texas
(Allard 4-0), 8:05
Oakland (Bailey 12-8) at Houston
(Verlander 18-5), 8:10
Cincinnati (Mahle 2-11) at Seattle
(Milone 3-9), 10:10
N.L. STANDINGS
East W L Pct GB
Atlanta 91 56 .619 —
Washington 80 64 .556 9{
Mets 75 70 .517 15
Philadelphia 75 70 .517 15
Miami 51 94 .352 39
Central W L Pct GB
St. Louis 81 63 .563 —
Chicago 77 67 .535 4
Milwaukee 77 68 .531 4{
Cincinnati 67 78 .462 14{
Pittsburgh 63 82 .434 18{
West W L Pct GB
x-Los Angeles 94 53 .639 —
Arizona 75 71 .514 18{
San Francisco 70 75 .483 23
San Diego 67 77 .465 25{
Colorado 61 84 .421 32
WEDNESDAY
Mets 9, Arizona 0
Baltimore 7, L.A. Dodgers 3
Milwaukee 7, Miami 5
Atlanta 3, Philadelphia 1
Washington 6, Minnesota 2
St. Louis at Colorado
Pittsburgh at San Francisco
Chicago Cubs at San Diego
Cincinnati at Seattle
THURSDAY
Arizona (Young 7-3) at Mets (Stro-
man 7-13), 1:10
Milwaukee (Gonzalez 2-2) at Miami
(Smith 8-9), 1:10
St. Louis (Mikolas 8-13) at Colorado
(Melville 2-1), 3:10
Chicago Cubs (Darvish 5-6) at San
Diego (Lamet 2-4), 3:40
Pittsburgh (Musgrove 9-12) at San
Francisco (Samardzija 10-11), 3:45
L.A. Dodgers (Hill 4-1) at Baltimore
(Bundy 6-13), 7:05
Atlanta (Teheran 10-8) at Philadel-
phia (Smyly 4-6), 7:15
Washington (Corbin 11-7) at Min-
nesota (Gibson 13-6), 7:40
Cincinnati (Mahle 2-11) at Seattle
(Milone 3-9), 10:10
BASEBALL FOOTBALL
N.F.L. STANDINGS
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East W L T Pct PF PA
Buffalo 1 0 0 1.000 17 16
N. England 1 0 0 1.000 33 3
Jets 0 1 0 .000 16 17
Miami 0 1 0 .000 10 59
South W L T Pct PF PA
Tennessee 1 0 0 1.000 43 13
Houston 0 1 0 .000 28 30
Indianapolis 0 1 0 .000 24 30
Jacksonville 0 1 0 .000 26 40
North W L T Pct PF PA
Baltimore 1 0 0 1.000 59 10
Cincinnati 0 1 0 .000 20 21
Cleveland 0 1 0 .000 13 43
Pittsburgh 0 1 0 .000 3 33
West W L T Pct PF PA
Oakland 1 0 0 1.000 24 16
Kansas City 1 0 0 1.000 40 26
L.A. Chargers 1 0 0 1.000 30 24
Denver 0 1 0 .000 16 24
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 1 0 0 1.000 35 17
Phila. 1 0 0 1.000 32 27
Washington 0 1 0 .000 27 32
Giants 0 1 0 .000 17 35
South W L T Pct PF PA
New Orleans 1 0 0 1.000 30 28
Carolina 0 1 0 .000 27 30
Atlanta 0 1 0 .000 12 28
Tampa Bay 0 1 0 .000 17 31
North W L T Pct PF PA
Green Bay 1 0 0 1.000 10 3
Minnesota 1 0 0 1.000 28 12
Detroit 0 0 1 .500 27 27
Chicago 0 1 0 .000 3 10
West W L T Pct PF PA
San Fran. 1 0 0 1.000 31 17
L.A. Rams 1 0 0 1.000 30 27
Seattle 1 0 0 1.000 21 20
Arizona 0 0 1 .500 27 27
SUNDAY
Buffalo 17, Jets 16
Dallas 35, Giants 17
Baltimore 59, Miami 10
Kansas City 40, Jacksonville 26
Minnesota 28, Atlanta 12
Tennessee 43, Cleveland 13
L.A. Rams 30, Carolina 27
Philadelphia 32, Washington 27
L.A. Chargers 30, Indianapolis 24, OT
Seattle 21, Cincinnati 20
San Francisco 31, Tampa Bay 17
Arizona 27, Detroit 27, OT
New England 33, Pittsburgh 3
MONDAY
New Orleans 30, Houston 28
Oakland 24, Denver 16
THURSDAY
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 8:20
SUNDAY, SEPT. 15
Buffalo at Giants, 1
Seattle at Pittsburgh, 1
Indianapolis at Tennessee, 1
Arizona at Baltimore, 1
New England at Miami, 1
L.A. Chargers at Detroit, 1
Dallas at Washington, 1
Jacksonville at Houston, 1
San Francisco at Cincinnati, 1
Minnesota at Green Bay, 1
Kansas City at Oakland, 4:05
Chicago at Denver, 4:25
New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 4:25
Philadelphia at Atlanta, 8:20
MONDAY, SEPT. 16
Cleveland at Jets, 8:15
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Team GP W D L GF GA Pts
Liverpool ......4 4 0 0 12 3 12
Man City ......4 3 1 0 14 3 10
Leicester ......4 2 2 0 6 3 8
Crystal Palace.. 4 2 1 1 3 2 7
Arsenal .......4 2 1 1 6 6 7
Everton .......4 2 1 1 4 4 7
West Ham .....4 2 1 1 6 7 7
Man United ....4 1 2 1 7 4 5
Tottenham .....4 1 2 1 7 6 5
Sheffield United. 4 1 2 1 5 5 5
Chelsea ......4 1 2 1 6 9 5
Burnley .......4 1 1 2 5 6 4
Southampton... 4 1 1 2 4 6 4
Newcastle .....4 1 1 2 3 5 4
Bournemouth... 4 1 1 2 5 8 4
Brighton ......4 1 1 2 4 7 4
Wolverhampton. 4 0 3 1 4 5 3
Aston Villa .....4 1 0 3 4 6 3
Norwich ......4 1 0 3 6 10 3
Watford ......4 0 1 3 2 8 1
Saturday, Sept. 14
Liverpool vs. Newcastle
Brighton vs. Burnley
Man United vs. Leicester
Sheffield United vs. Southampton
Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace
Wolverhampton vs. Chelsea
Norwich vs. Man City
Sunday, Sept. 15
Bournemouth vs. Everton
Watford vs. Arsenal
Monday, Sept. 16
Aston Villa vs. West Ham
U.S. MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE
All Times E.D.T.
(Won 8, Lost 4, Tied 2)
Sunday, Jan. 27 — United States 3,
Panama 0
Saturday, Feb. 2 — United States 2, Costa
Rica 0
Thursday, March 21 — United States 1,
Ecuador 0
Tuesday, March 26 — United States 1,
Chile 1
Wednesday, June 5 — Jamaica 1, United
States 0
Sunday, June 9 — Venezuela 3, United
States 0
a-Tuesday, June 18 — United States 4,
Guyana 0
a-Saturday, June 22 — United States 6,
Trinidad and Tobago 0
a-Wednesday, June 26 — United States
1, Panama 0
a-Sunday, June 30 — United States 1,
Curacao 0
a-Wednesday, July 3 — United States 3,
Jamaica 1
a-Sunday, July 7 — Mexico 1, United
States 0
Friday, Sept. 6 — Mexico 3, United States
0
Tuesday. Sept. 10 — United States 1,
Uruguay 1
b-Friday, Oct. 11 — vs. Cuba at
Washington, D.C., 7:06 p.m.
b-Tuesday, Oct. 15 — vs. Canada at
Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
b-Friday, Nov. 15 — vs. Canada at U.S.
site TBA, 7:15 p.m.
b-Tuesday, Nov. 19 — vs. Cuba at George
Town, Cayman Islands, 7:30 p.m.
a-CONCACAF Gold Cup
b-CONCACAF Nations League
SOCCER
M.L.S. STANDINGS
EAST W L T Pts GF GA
N.Y.C.F.C. ....15 5 9 54 54 36
Philadelphia... 15 8 6 51 54 42
Atlanta ......15 10 3 48 47 33
Toronto FC... 11 10 9 42 50 47
D.C. United... 11 10 9 42 39 38
Red Bulls ....12 12 5 41 47 44
New England.. 10 10 9 39 42 49
Montreal .....11 15 4 37 42 56
Orlando City... 9 13 8 35 37 41
Chicago ......8 12 10 34 44 43
Columbus .....8 15 7 31 33 44
Cincinnati .....5 21 3 18 29 72
WEST W L T Pts GF GA
Los Angeles FC 19 4 6 63 76 32
Seattle ......13 9 7 46 46 45
Minnesota ....13 10 6 45 46 39
San Jose ....13 10 5 44 48 43
Real Salt Lake. 13 11 4 43 40 35
Portland .....13 11 4 43 45 41
FC Dallas ....12 10 7 43 47 38
LA Galaxy ....13 13 3 42 42 47
Kansas City... 10 12 7 37 42 47
Colorado .....10 14 6 36 49 55
Houston .....10 15 4 34 40 49
Vancouver .....6 15 9 27 30 53
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
Wednesday's Games
N.Y.C.F.C. 1, Toronto FC 1
Houston 2, Minnesota 0
Colorado 2, LA Galaxy 1
San Jose at Real Salt Lake
Saturday, Sept. 14
San Jose at N.Y.C.F.C., 12:30 p.m.
FC Dallas at Chicago, 3:30 p.m.
Columbus at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Cincinnati at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
New England at Orlando City, 7:30 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 15
Red Bulls at Seattle, 6 p.m.
D.C. United at Portland, 3:30 p.m.
Colorado at Toronto FC, 5 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Minnesota, 5:30 p.m.
Kansas City at LA Galaxy, 10 p.m.
N.W.S.L. STANDINGS
W L T Pts GF GA
Portland .....10 4 6 36 39 23
Chicago .....11 8 2 35 33 26
North Carolina. 10 4 4 34 34 18
Utah ........9 6 4 31 20 15
Reign FC .....8 5 6 30 19 21
Washington.... 7 7 4 25 22 19
Houston ......6 9 4 22 18 31
Sky Blue FC... 4 12 4 16 16 27
Orlando ......4 14 2 14 20 41
NOTE: Three points for victory, one point
for tie.
Sunday's Game
Chicago 3, Houston 0
Wednesday's Games
Chicago 1, Orlando 0
North Carolina at Portland
Friday's Game
Utah at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14
Orlando at North Carolina, 7 p.m.
Reign FC at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 15
Chicago at Sky Blue FC, 5 p.m.
BASKETBALL
W.N.B.A. PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
All Times E.D.T.
(x-if necessary)
First Round
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Chicago 105, Phoenix 76
No. 7 Minnesota at No. 6 Seattle
Second Round
Sunday, Sept 15
TBD at No. 3 Los Angeles, 3 p.m.
Chicago at Las Vegas, 5 p.m.
Semifinals
(Best-of-5)
No. 1 Washington vs. TBD
Tuesday, Sept. 17: TBD at Washington,
8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 19: TBD at Washington,
8:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22: Washington at TBD, TBA
x-Tuesday, Sept. 24: Washington at TBD,
TBA
x-Thursday, Sept. 26: TBD at Washington,
TBA
No. 2 Connecticut vs. TBD
Tuesday, Sept. 17: TBD at Connecticut,
6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 19: TBD at Connecticut,
6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22: Connecticut at TBD, TBA
x-Tuesday, Sept. 24: Connecticut at TBD,
TBA
x-Thursday, Sept. 26: TBD at Connecticut,
TBA
Finals
(Best-of-5)
Sunday, Sept. 29: TBD
Tuesday, Oct. 1: TBD
Sunday, Oct. 6: TBD
x-Tuesday, Oct 8: TBD
x-Thursday, Oct. 10: TBD
TENNIS
ZHENGZHOU OPEN
Central Plains Tennis Center
ZHENGZHOU, CHINA
Singles
Second Round
Petra Martic (7), Croatia, d. Fiona Ferro,
France, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Sofia Kenin (6),
United States, d. Aliz Kristina Mladenovic,
France, d. Caroline Garcia (8), France,
7-5, 6-2. Karolina Pliskova (1), Czech
Republic, leads Polona Hercog, Slovenia,
6-3, 2-5, susp., rain.
Doubles
First Round
Alicja Rosolska, Poland, and Ajla
Tomljanovic, Australia, d. Kaitlyn
Christian, United States, and Sharon
Fichman, Canada, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Lesley
Pattinama Kerkhove and Bibiane
Schoofs, Netherlands, d. Duan Yingying
and Zheng Saisai (2), China, 6-4, 2-6,
10-8. Darija Jurak, Croatia, and Alison
Riske (3), United States, d. Fiona Ferro
and Chloe Paquet, France, 6-1, 6-1.
Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, and Tamara
Zidansek, Slovenia, d. Shuko Aoyama,
Japan, and Yang Zhaoxuan (4), China,
6-1, 6-0.
JIANGXI OPEN
Nanchang International Tennis Center
NANCHANG, CHINA
Singles
Second Round
Magda Linette (3), Poland, d. Liu
Fangzhou, China, 6-2, 6-3. Viktorija Golubic
(6), Switzerland, d. Lara Arruabarrena,
Spain, 1-6, 6-0, 6-3. Rebecca Peterson (5),
Sweden, d. Jana Fett, Croatia, 7-6 (1), 6-4.
Kateryna Kozlova (7), Ukraine, d. Dalila
Jakupovic, Slovenia, 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles
First Round
Ankita Raina, India, and Eden Silva,
Britain, d. Peangtam Plipuech, Thailand,
and Xun Fang Ying, China, 6-3, 6-3.
Anna Danilina, Kazakhstan, and Elixane
Lechemia, France, d. Alexa Guarachi,
Chile, and Giuliana Olmos (4), Mexico,
6-3, 4-6, 10-7. Arina Rodionova, Australia,
and Sabrina Santamaria, United States,
d. Natela Dzalamidze, Russia, and Elena
Rybakina, Kazakhstan, 4-6, 6-0, 10-2. Peng
Shuai and Zhang Shuai (2), China, d.
Beatrice Gumulya, Indonesia, and Rosalie
Van der Hoek, Netherlands, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
N.F.L. TOP PERFORMERS
PASSING
418 Yards, Andy Dalton, CIN at SEA 9/8
(35-51, 2 TD)
405, Dak Prescott, DAL vs. NYG 9/8 (25-
32, 4 TD)
385, Matthew Stafford, DET at ARI 9/8 (OT)
(27-45, 3 TD)
380, Case Keenum, WAS at PHL 9/8 (30-
44, 3 TD)
378, Patrick Mahomes II, KAN at JAX 9/8
(25-33, 3 TD)
370, Drew Brees, NOR vs. HOU 9/9 (32-
43, 2 TD)
RECEIVING
198, Sammy Watkins, KAN at JAX 9/8 (9
rec., 3 TD)
158, John Ross, CIN at SEA 9/8 (7 rec.,
2 TD)
158, Michael Gallup, DAL vs. NYG 9/8 (7
rec., 0 TD)
154, DeSean Jackson, PHL vs. WAS 9/8
(8 rec., 2 TD)
147, Marquise Brown, BAL at MIA 9/8 (4
rec., 2 TD)
146, D.J. Chark, JAX vs. KAN 9/8 (4 rec.,
1 TD)
RUSHING
174, Marlon Mack, IND at LAC 9/8 (OT)
(25 att., 1 TD)
128, Christian McCaffrey, CAR vs. LA 9/8
(19 att., 2 TD)
120, Saquon Barkley, NYG at DAL 9/8 (11
att., 0 TD)
111, Dalvin Cook, MIN vs. ATL 9/8 (21 att.,
2 TD)
107, Mark Ingram II, BAL at MIA 9/8 (14
att., 2 TD)
97, Alvin Kamara, NOR vs. HOU 9/9 (13
att., 0 TD)
TRANSACTIONS
M.L.B.
American League
YANKEES — Reinstated LHP CC Sabathia
from the 10-day IL.
SEATTLE MARINERS — Announced INF-OF
Ryan Court was assigned outright to Tacoma
(PCL).
National League
CHICAGO CUBS — Announced senior vice
president of amateur scouting and player
development Jason McLeod will become
senior vice president of player personnel.
N.Y.C.F.C. 1, TORONTO FC 1
Toronto FC .............. 1 0—1
N.Y.C.F.C. ............... 1 0—1
First half—1, New York City FC, Mitrita,
8, 6th minute; 2, Toronto FC, Pozuelo,
10 (penalty kick), 40th. Second half—
None. Goalies—Toronto FC, Quentin
Westberg, Alex Bono; New York City FC,
Sean Johnson, Luis Barraza, Brad Stuver.
Yellow Cards—Ring, New York City FC,
23rd; Tinnerholm, New York City FC,
40th; Johnson, New York City FC, 77th;
Castellanos, New York City FC, 84th;
Benezet, Toronto FC, 85th; Mavinga,
Toronto FC, 90th+7. Referee—Christopher
Penso. Assistant Referees—C.J. Morgante,
Logan Brown, Jose Carlos Rivero. 4th
Official—Lorant Varga. A—19,267.
Toronto FC—Quentin Westberg; Auro,
Omar Gonzalez, Chris Mavinga; Nicolas
Benezet, Michael Bradley, Nick DeLeon
(Ashtone Morgan, 54th), Marky Delgado,
Alejandro Pozuelo; Jozy Altidore, Erickson
Gallardo (Tsubasa Endoh, 41st). New
York City FC—Sean Johnson; Sebastien
Ibeagha, Ronald Matarrita, Ben Sweat,
Anton Tinnerholm; Valentin Castellanos,
Jesus Medina (Gary Mackay Steven, 79th),
Alexandru Mitrita, Keaton Parks, Alexander
Ring, Tony Rocha (Ismael Tajouri, 62nd);.
METS 9, ARIZONA 0
Arizona ab r h bi bb so avg.
Locastro lf 3 0 1 0 0 1 .250
Duplantier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Dyson ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .237
Marte cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 .329
Vargas ph-ss 2 0 1 0 0 0 .263
Escobar 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 .272
Almonte ph-cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Walker 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 .258
Leyba 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 .300
Flores 2b 3 0 1 0 1 1 .313
Jones rf 3 0 0 0 1 3 .266
Ahmed ss 2 0 0 0 1 0 .262
Rojas lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250
C.Kelly c 3 0 0 0 0 2 .250
Joseph c 1 0 1 0 0 0 .194
Ray p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083
Andriese p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Cron ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .210
Clarke p 1 0 0 0 0 1 .261
Hirano p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Lamb ph-1b 1 0 1 0 1 0 .206
Totals 33 0 7 0 4 9
New York ab r h bi bb so avg.
Rosario ss 3 1 1 0 1 1 .288
Familia p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Sewald p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Haggerty ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Bashlor p 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---
Alonso 1b 3 1 0 0 1 1 .266
Panik 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 .280
McNeil 2b-3b 4 3 3 3 0 0 .325
Ramos c 4 0 0 1 0 1 .295
Rivera c 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
J.Davis lf 4 1 2 1 0 1 .305
R.Davis lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 .176
Frazier 3b-1b 4 2 2 3 0 0 .239
Nimmo rf 3 1 2 1 1 0 .208
Lagares cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 .210
Matz p 2 0 0 0 0 0 .255
Lowrie ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Guillorme ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 .216
Totals 34 9 11 9 4 5
Arizona 000 000 000—0 7 0
New York 511 002 00x—9 11 0
LOB—Arizona 11, New York 6. 2B—Marte
(33), Locastro (10), Rosario (27), Lagares
(12), McNeil (35), J.Davis (19). HR—Frazier
(20), off Ray; Nimmo (5), off Ray; McNeil
(20), off Clarke; Frazier (20), off Clarke;
McNeil (20), off Hirano. RBIs—Ramos (72),
J.Davis (50), Frazier 3 (65), Nimmo (19),
McNeil 3 (68). SB—McNeil (5), Rosario (17).
DP—Arizona 1; New York 1
Arizona ip h r er bb so np era
RayL12-8 Î/ ̄ 5 5 5 0 1 28 4.30
Andriese Í/ ̄ 0 0 0 0 0 5 4.87
Clarke 4 3 2 2 2 3 60 5.40
Hirano 1 1 2 2 1 0 12 5.17
Duplantier 2 2 0 0 1 1 36 4.85
New York ip h r er bb so np era
MatzW10-8 6 4 0 0 3 7 109 3.84
Familia 1 2 0 0 0 1 19 6.06
Sewald 1 0 0 0 0 1 16 5.06
Bashlor 1 1 0 0 1 0 19 7.65
T—3:06. A—21,841 (41,922).
Brooks Koepka won the PGA Cham-
pionship and is the top-ranked player
in the world. But it was Rory McIlroy
who was named the PGA Tour Player
of the Year for the third time on
Wednesday after a season of sustained
greatness, even if it didn’t include a
major title.
Matt Kuchar and Xander Schauffele
also were among the contenders for
the award, which was open to players
who competed in at least 15 official
FedEx Cup events during the 2018-19
season. The Tour does not release vote
totals.
But it was long considered a two-
man race between McIlroy and
Koepka.
“Look, Brooks has had an incredible
year, an incredible two, three years,
whatever it is,” McIlroy said. “He’s the
No. 1 player in the world in the world
golf rankings, and I don’t know, I think
this speaks volumes of what PGA Tour
players feel is important, and you
know, because I think that — and I’ve
harped on about this a little bit over the
course of the year.”
“Yeah, I’m at a loss for words,” McIl-
roy said. “So thinking that I’ve won my
third Jack Nicklaus trophy, to be
presented with the Jack Nicklaus tro-
phy by the man himself today was
very surprising.”
McIlroy won The Players Champi-
onship, the RBC Canadian Open and
the Tour Championship this year while
leading the Tour in adjusted scoring
average (69.057), top-10s (14) and total
strokes gained (2.551). He had 14
top-10 finishes in 19 starts.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what
I’ve achieved this year,” McIlroy said.
“You know, I wanted to try and bring
my best every single week that I
played and I feel like I did that to the
best of my ability, and I feel like the
top-10s, the consistency, the work that
I’ve put in, I think that the greatest
compliment you receive is that your
peers feel like you’ve done something
pretty special and for this award to be
voted on by my fellow players, I’m
very humbled and very honored.
“And I think it says a lot about what
I’ve put into this year and it validates
some of the decisions that I’ve made
starting off the year, and you know, I
couldn’t be more proud to win this
award for the — for the third time,”
McIlroy added.
McIlroy, 30, also won the Jack Nick-
laus Award as Player of the Year in
2012 and 2014. He is only the third play-
er to win the Players, a major, the
FedEx Cup and a World Golf Champi-
onship event in a career, joining Tiger
Woods and Henrik Stenson.
Woods (2007 and 2009) is the only
other player to win multiple FedEx
Cup championships.
South Korea’s Sungjae Im, the only
rookie to qualify for the Tour Champi-
onship, will receive the newly re-
named Arnold Palmer Award.
The 21-year-old tied for 19th in the
FedEx Cup standings, and joins Stew-
art Cink as the only players to be
named the Korn Ferry Tour Player of
the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the
Year in consecutive seasons. Im made
26 of 35 cuts during his rookie season,
recording seven top-10s, with his best
finish a tie for third at the Arnold Palm-
er Invitational in March.
Rory McIlroy, last week in Switzerland, earned his third PGA Tour Player of the Year award on Wednesday.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES
McIlroy Nabs Player of the Year Honors
By The Associated Press
Out of front-line soccer since ending
a two-decade coaching career at Ar-
senal that many credit with revolution-
izing English soccer, Arsène Wenger
has agreed to join FIFA to spread his
gospel to a wider audience.
Wenger, a 69-year-old Frenchman,
has agreed to become FIFA’s technical
head, though his official title with the
organization has not been finalized. In
the role, he will have a broad portfolio
to suggest improvements to coaching
standards across the world, while also
providing advice on other areas that
directly influence how the game is
played. An official announcement of
his hiring could be made in the next
few days.
There has been much speculation
about what Wenger — who left Ar-
senal in May 2018 after 22 seasons at
the London club — would do next; he
had suggested in interviews since his
departure that he would be open to
coaching again.
FIFA has been looking to add a rec-
ognized figure to its senior ranks since
the departures of the two most high-
profile former players recruited by its
president, Gianni Infantino. Both of
those ex-players — the former techni-
cal director Marco van Basten, who
left last October, and Zvonimir Boban,
who quit as FIFA’s deputy secretary
general in June to take up a senior
management position at A.C. Milan —
returned to club soccer.
A FIFA spokesman declined to com-
ment about Wenger.
Infantino, elected to the FIFA presi-
dency in February 2016, has made it
his mission to recruit well-known fig-
ures from the game to FIFA, in part at
least to help it improve its global im-
age. In his new role, Wenger will be-
come the public face of FIFA when it
comes to coaching education, accord-
ing to a person familiar with his com-
ing role.
Since leaving Arsenal, Wenger, as he
was during his coaching days, has
been a regular analyst for television
broadcasters, particularly in his native
France. He has also been linked to a
number of coaching vacancies and
management positions, including the
post of director of soccer operations at
Paris St.-Germain. That job ultimately
went to the Brazilian World Cup win-
ner Leonardo.
Wenger arrived in London in 1996 as
a relative unknown, having joined Ar-
senal from a team in the Japanese
league. He swiftly changed the culture
at Arsenal, incorporating changes not
only in training methods but also in
players’ recovery and social habits
away from the field.
Success followed swiftly, with the
Gunners winning England’s league
and domestic cup double in 1998. An-
other followed in 2002. It presaged a
remarkable season two years later in
which Arsenal went unbeaten in the
league. Still, by the time he eventually
left, a year before the end of his most
recent contract, Wenger had lost sup-
port of a large section of Arsenal’s fan
base.
His move to FIFA is unlikely to sur-
prise some of his former colleagues,
who had speculated he might move
into an advisory position. But it is un-
clear how long his relationship with
FIFA will last, given his recent com-
ments about his desire to coach again.
As recently as last week, Wenger
told the Qatari-owned beIN Sports
television network that he could see
himself taking charge of a national
team ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
“I still cannot live today with the fact
that I will never be on the bench
again,” Wenger said. “I would like to
experience one more time the intensi-
ty of the competition.”
But he also hinted at what his next
role would be when he suggested he
was considering taking up an “inter-
mediate position.”
“What I want for sure is to share
what I know, and what I have learned
as much as I can in the game,” he said.
Arsène Wenger, center, with Zinedine Zidane. Gianni Infantino, below, has recruited well-known figures to FIFA.
NICOLAS TUCAT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES
Ex-Arsenal Manager Takes Job With FIFA
SERGEI FADEICHEV/TASS, VIA SHUTTERSTOCK
By TARIQ PANJA
GOLF
SOCCER