NEW YORK-- World number one Jordan Spieth capped a sensational season on Friday when, as had been widely expected, he was voted the PGA Tour's Player of the Year after a 2014-15 campaign highlighted by two major victories among his five wins.
  Spieth landed the coveted honour after clinching the first two majors of the season -- the Masters and U.S. Open -- before finishing one shot out of a British Open playoff in July and being runner-up at the PGA Championship in August.
  The 22-year-old American ended his campaign in triumphant style with victory at the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta last week where he also clinched overall FedExCup playoff honours and the $10 million jackpot.
  Spieth made 21 of 25 cuts on the PGA Tour, including four runner-up spots, as his earnings for the season ballooned to $22 million because of the FedExCup bonus.
  He set a record for official earnings on the U.S. circuit, his tally of $12,030,465 eclipsing the previous mark of $10,905,166 established by Vijay Singh in 2004.
  Spieth claimed Player of the Year honours over rivals Jason Day of Australia, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and fellow American Rickie Fowler in a vote of his peers.
  Of that trio, Day pushed Spieth hardest in the battle for the prized accolade as he also triumphed five times on the 2014-15 PGA Tour while claiming his first major title at the PGA Championship.
  "It was a season to remember," Spieth told reporters on a conference call. "You don't recognise it, I guess, as the year goes on. When you look at it in review, you can see exactly what we have done.
  "It's an honour to win Player of the Year because it is the MVP (most valuable player) of our league and it's voted upon by the players. For them to recognise the hard work that we put in and what we've been able to do with it is truly special."
  Spieth, the youngest Player of the Year since a 21-year-old Tiger Woods won the award 1997, also earned the Arnold Palmer Award as the Tour's leading money winner and claimed the Byron Nelson Award for adjusted scoring average (68.938).  Known for his brilliant putting and mental strength, Spieth displayed remarkable consistency as he dominated golf for most of the year. He came close to recording the first ever calendar grand slam of the four professional majors, his worst finish a tie for fourth at the British Open.
  A surprising dip in form over the past month coincided with a red-hot run by Australian Day, who won four of six events, including the PGA Championship and two of the FedExCup playoff tournaments.
  That stung the highly-competitive Spieth, who made a mental adjustment as he turned things around after missing the cut in the first two FedExCup playoff events.
  "As far as the majors go, it certainly very much exceeded expectations," Spieth said of his season. "I obviously am most proud of the two wins, but I am also extremely proud of taking those two wins into the last two and not giving up, continuing to play our best golf.
  "Really in my mind I should have won the (British) Open championship had I played the last two holes like we had battled that week, but unfortunately I missed a putt on 17 and didn't play 18 the right way.
  "And then I ran into a buzz-saw in Jason Day at the PGA (Championship). Our best stuff was there. It certainly exceeded my expectations in the major championships."
  American Daniel Berger, 22, the only rookie to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship after recording two runner-up spots along the way, was selected Rookie of the Year.

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Michael Campanaro (15) leaps into the end zone to score a touchdown against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake (L) during the first quarter at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Ravens won 23-20. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.)

DHARAMSALA, India-- JP Duminy's batting heroics secured South Africa a thrilling seven-wicket victory in the first Twenty20 International despite Indian opener Rohit Sharma burnishing his limited overs reputation with a blistering century on Friday.
  Needing 10 runs off the last over chasing a 200-run victory target, Duminy's seventh six tied the contest before he took a single to seal victory with two balls to spare and put his team 1-0 up in the three-match series.
  Duminy remained unbeaten on 68 off 34 balls, frustrating India who rode Sharma's century to post a commanding 199-5 at one of the most picturesque cricket stadiums in the world.
  As the only batsman with two ODI double centuries to his name, Sharma blasted 106 off 66 balls, highest score by an Indian in a Twenty20 International, as the hosts threatened to go beyond the 200-mark at one stage.
  After opening partner Shikhar Dhawan perished in his half-hearted pursuit of a non-existent second run, Sharma teamed up with Virat Kohli (43) to lay the foundation for a big total.
  The duo added 138 runs, an India record, in 12.2 overs and the elegant Sharma belted five sixes and 12 boundaries in his scintillating knock.
  The Mumbai batsman brought up his century clobbering Marchant de Lange for a six to become the second Indian, after team mate Suresh Raina, to register a century in all three formats of the game.
  AB de Villiers (51) and Hashim Amla (36) led South Africa's robust reply with a breezy 77-run opening stand before falling in quick succession.
  At 95-3, South Africa looked in trouble but Duminy and Farhaan Behardien (32 not out) refused to throw in the towel.
  Duminy hit spinner Axar Patel for three successive sixes in the 16th over to turn the match on its head and stayed put till the end to see the visitors home in a man-of-the-match winning performance.
  Cuttack hosts the second Twenty20 International on Monday.

LONDON-- Stephan El Shaarawy took a small step towards refuelling his career at Monaco when the AC Milan loanee came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League's second round of group matches on Thursday.
  Italian El Shaarawy, who was rated as one of the most promising young players in world football before his career plateaued at the San Siro, came on in the 60th minute and headed home to prevent Tottenham claiming a second straight victory.
  It was another largely disappointing evening for English clubs in Europe, after Chelsea and Arsenal were beaten in the Champions League this week, as Liverpool's woefully inconsistent start to the season continued with a 1-1 home draw against Swiss side Sion.
  Yet while Brendan Rodgers's team again struggled to put the ball in the net, there was no shortage of goals elsewhere as Schalke 04 and Fiorentina both scored four times to record heavy wins against Asteras Tripolis and Belenenses respectively.
  The biggest game of the night on paper pitched Monaco against Tottenham, two teams who have shared a number of famous players over the years including Dimitar Berbatov, Juergen Klinsmann, Emmanuel Adebayor and Glenn Hoddle.
  The Group J encounter had looked to be heading Tottenham's way when they took the lead with a goal from a resurgent Erik Lamela in the first half.
  Argentine Lamela bagged his third goal in his last four games, following up to tap home after new England call-up Dele Alli's shot was parried by Monaco keeper Danijel Subasic.
  Yet the introduction of El Shaarawy seemed to turn the tide in the hosts' favour and his headed leveller nine minutes from time ensured the spoils were shared.
  Despite being pegged back, Spurs will be satisfied with their night's work and top their group with four points, two ahead of third place Monaco who have now drawn both their opening matches.
  There was less satisfaction for Liverpool boss Rodgers, who made a number of changes for their clash with Sion at Anfield but was again faced with some familiar problems as his side's goalscoring issues were once more in evidence.
  Liverpool took the lead through Adam Lallana after four minutes but after Ebenezer Assifuah levelled 14 minutes later, the hosts failed convert a number Group B encounters.
  Schalke's Franco Di Santo bagged a hat-trick in a 4-0 home victory over Asteras in Group K while Fiorentina crushed Portuguese side Belenenses 4-0 away in Group I with the injury-plagued Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi scoring his first goal since May 2014.
  Di Santo's treble for Schalke came within 17 first-half minutes, with the Argentine rounding off his hat-trick with a penalty a minute before halftime.
  Klaas-Jan Huntelaar grabbed his 49th European goal to make it 4-0 six minutes before the final whistle to leave Schalke top of Group K with two wins from their opening two games.
  Fiorentina's Rossi made a welcome return to the scoresheet after recently coming back following 15 months out through injury.
  The 28-year-old, who is still working his way back to form after a series of knee injuries, struck in the 90th minute to complete a resounding victory with a low shot beneath the keeper.
  One of Rossi's former clubs Villarreal continued their good start to the campaign as the surprise La Liga leaders secured a 1-0 victory in Group E against Viktoria Plzen with Leo Baptistao netting in the 54th minute.
  Borussia Dortmund grabbed a late equaliser through Gonzalo Castro to draw 1-1 at PAOK Salonika in Group C, while Lazio withstood a late fightback to win 3-2 in Group G against St Etienne, who had two players sent off.
  Fenerbahce fought back from two goals down in Group A to draw 2-2 at former European champions Celtic, with Brazilian Fernandao scoring twice in five minutes either side of halftime for the Turkish outfit.
  Ajax Amsterdam, another former European champion, could only draw 1-1 at Norwegian side Molde.