Tuesday 11 September 2018 06:44, UK
Jordan Spieth insisted he will accept his punishment from the PGA Tour if they decide he has breached regulations by failing to play in the required number of tournaments this season.
Spieth failed to qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship next week after finishing tied for 55th at the BMW Championship and slipping from 27th to 31st in the FedExCup standings.
The three-time major champion arrived at Aronimink needing to finish no lower than 28th to cement his place in the 30-man field in Atlanta, which he will now miss for the first time since first earning his card in 2013.
That will leave him one short of the minimum number of events he was required to compete in over the course of the season under regulations imposed by the PGA Tour two years ago.
Tour members were encouraged to add a tournament to their schedule that they had not featured in for the last four years, although they would be exempt if they made 25 starts.
The Ryder Cup at the end of the month would have counted as Spieth's 25th official start, but the showdown in Paris will now be his 24th and leaves him facing the prospect of a large fine or even a suspension.
Spieth was keen to play down the severity of the situation after his disappointing final-round 73 in Philadelphia, but hinted he was expecting to be hit by a fine rather than a ban.
"I assume it will either be a fine or I'm adding some tournaments in the fall," he said. "I don't know if that counts, I'm not sure. I talked to the Tour a little while back and I didn't really think much of it.
"If it becomes a situation then, you know, I'll obviously accept whatever fine it is, move on and try and add one new event every year, but it's kind of tough.
Spieth, who was elected as chairman of the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council in February, admitted his second-round 71 at Aronimink proved his undoing on a day when the majority of the field were under par.
"I was in control of my own destiny and didn't have it this week," he added. "I was riding some momentum but, all in all, my game just kind of got a little off.
"That second round, you just can't shoot over par here and that threw me."
