NASSAU, Bahamas – Jordan Spieth and his caddie shared the kind of hug on the 18th green normally seen only by winners.

They were six shots behind when they finished the Hero World Challenge, and it was clear this moment wasn’t about Sunday at Albany Golf Club. This was about the realization that the year was finally over, the kind of year a player never wants to end.

The Masters made it special. The U.S. Open made it incredible. The FedEx Cup made it lucrative. The No. 1 ranking made it satisfying.

When the 22-year-old Texan made his final full swing of the year and was walking toward the green, caddie Michael Greller walked alongside him.

“Michael said, ‘Hey, man, it’s been an honor to be in the passenger seat, sitting shotgun for this ride this year. Thanks for everything,'” Spieth said. “Obviously, I thanked him. It’s been a team effort this year, just as we always stress. But yeah, there was certainly a sigh of relief.”

It’s time to take a break, even if it’s a short one.

He leaves in just over three weeks for Maui, where the new year starts at Kapalua and Spieth will have to figure out an encore from winning two majors to get halfway to the Grand Slam, five tournaments overall, a record $12 million in PGA Tour earnings and a sweep of all the major awards.

Except that he’s not looking at it as a new year. It’s simply a break.

He had a chance to win the Australian Open last week in Sydney until Matt Jones recovered on the back nine. Spieth was in range at the Hero World Challenge until Bubba Watson didn’t give anyone much of a chance and won by three shots.

Spieth was on a victory lap these last two weeks, and he said he spent more time on the beach than on the putting green, with no regrets. He played 28 times this year, including the Presidents Cup. He won or finished second 10 times. He was a combined 54-under par in the four majors. He was due a working vacation.

Even so, he’s always looking ahead.

“I think these last two weeks, the fact that I didn’t win when I had a chance, may actually be a good thing for me,” he said. “I’m going to look at it positively that you can’t settle down, you’ve got to work a little bit harder. Everyone is playing a high level of golf right now, and they’re going to carry that into next season. So if I want to stay at the top, I’m going to have to outwork them. And that’s going to be challenging.”

He was headed home to Dallas on Monday for his three-week break. His first order of business was to play golf.

Spieth is taking his father, Shawn, and agent Jay Danzi to Augusta National to enjoy the privileges of being the Masters champion. He also plans to play with Augusta member and AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson.

And that’s a fitting way to end the year.

Spieth joined Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players since 1960 to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam, and he came closer than all of them to getting the third leg. He was tied for the lead at the British Open with two holes to play until finishing one shot out of a playoff. He was in the final group of the PGA Championship and was runner-up by three shots to Jason Day.

Even so, the Masters is what made his year.

He opened with a 64 to build a three-shot lead, set the 36-hole record with a 66 on Friday and never gave anyone much hope after that. When it was, he tied the 72-hole record set by Tiger Woods in 1997.

“Before the tournament, we were one of the favorites,” he said. “And then after the first round, it’s on us. Every question is, ‘You’re supposed to win.’ Without saying it, ‘It’s on you. What are you thinking now?’ It’s tough to sleep on that. And we did it so well.”

With a green jacket on the line, it’s not easy protecting such a big lead.

As he told the story, it brought him back to his first big tournament where he lost the lead.

He was 11.

The winner was a kid named Eddie DeVane.

“I had a two-shot lead with one hole to play,” Spieth said. “I played it smart – I laid up. The kid made par and I made triple. He cruised to a two-shot victory.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Quebec’s Maude-Aimée LeBlanc finished with panache, earning her LPGA Tour card for 2016 at the end of the five qualifying rounds in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The Sherbrooke, Que., native recorded a 1-under 71 in the final round Sunday. Her cumulative record of 350 (-10) saw her finish tied for fourth, a single-stroke behind second. She will head into her second year with full status on the LPGA Tour, having previously qualified in 2011.

LeBlanc wasn’t the only Canadian to earn LPGA status for 2016. Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec finished tied for 36th at even-par 360, while Samantha Richdale finished a shot back at 361 (T41) to earn conditional status.

Jessica Wallace earned Symetra Tour status for 2016 by virtue of tying for 64th at 6-over 366.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Bubba Watson wasn’t even planning to play in the Hero Challenge. He left no doubt Sunday who was going to win.

Watson quickly stretched his two-shot lead by making four birdies in seven holes. He was never seriously challenged, sailing home to a 6-under 66 for a three-shot victory over Patrick Reed at Albany Golf Club and a trophy from tournament host Tiger Woods.

Watson turned down his invitation a few months ago because he didn’t have a passport for his newly adopted daughter, Dakota. But when PGA champion Jason Day backed out to stay home with his newborn daughter, Watson’s wife was able to expedite all the right documents for the family to come over to the Bahamas.

He left with a $1 million payoff and a firm grasp on No. 4 in the world the rest of the year.

“I guess I’ve got to thank Jason Day for backing out. I have to thank the U.S. government and passport office for getting Dakota a passport so we could be here,” Watson said. “For us, it’s a good ride, a fun ride.”

Even if it didn’t feel easy to him, it sure looked that way.

Watson didn’t make a bogey all weekend until the final hole, when he jokingly asked NBC field reporter Notah Begay how many shots he needed to win. He played it safe and made bogey, and all that cost him was the tournament record. Watson finished at 25-under 263, one shot from Jordan Spieth’s record last year at Isleworth.

Reed also had a 66 to finish alone in second, moving him to No. 10 in the world for the first time. Rickie Fowler had a 64 to finish third.

Spieth tried to stay in range and was three shots behind until he missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole and never converted many chances after that. He ended his year with a 67, and walking up the 18th, he and caddie Michael Greller allowed for a quick reflection.

“Michael said, ‘Hey, man, it’s been an honor to be in the passenger seat, sitting shotgun for this ride. Thanks for everything,'” Spieth said. “I obviously thanked him. It’s been a team effort this year, just as we always stress. But yeah, there was certainly a sigh of relief.”

The Masters and U.S. Open champion strengthened his grip on No. 1 in the world, and headed off to a three-week vacation before going out to Maui for the first tournament of what figures to be a tough encore. First up: A trip to Augusta National this weekend to play with his father.

Watson’s year is not finished. He was headed to New York on Sunday night to catch a flight to Asia for the Thailand Open.

The two-time Masters champion already had a two-week trip away from his family, and he didn’t want to do that again. So when there was uncertainty about getting his daughter a passport for the Bahamas, he decided he would stay home this week and asked the tournament to let him know if anyone pulled out.

Day withdrew, Watson’s wife spent eight hours in an Arizona office trying to get all the paperwork and they were on their way.

Watson seized control with seven birdies and an eagle on Saturday in ideal weather for a two-shot lead over Paul Casey, and he started fast with birdies on the second and third holes to keep his distance. No one got closer than two shots all day, and as Fowler made a move with a 30 on the front nine, Watson answered with two straight birdies to start the back nine, and then it was a matter of finishing.

Justin Rose, who lives at Albany and has lingered at the bottom of the leaderboard all week, set the course record with a 62.

For Watson, the next step is to be a more consistent winner. This was the ninth victory worldwide in his career, and the second straight year he has won multiple times.

“I want my name to be close to that leaderboard every tournament, every year, so people are always talking about Bubba Watson, about how consistent he is and good he is,” Watson said. “That’s my whole focus right now, every year getting better and better.”

DONGGUAN, China — Vancouver’s Eugene Wong finished fifth on the 2015 Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series’ Order of Merit, a position that earned him  membership on the 2016 Web.com Tour. Besides Wong other players moving to the Web.com Tour are Australia’s Bryden Macpherson, New Zealand’s Josh Geary and China’s Xinjun Zhang and Zecheng Dou. The players received their membership cards during a ceremony following the final event of the season, the Capital Airlines – HNA Real Estate Championship.

After a disappointing second-place finish to fellow Canadian Justin Shin at the United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open in May, Wong finally broke through and won in Beijing, at the Ping An Bank Open two months later. Wong earned his PGA TOUR China playing privileges by virtue of his play on the 2014 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. Wong locked up the fifth position on the Order of Merit with a tie for 27th at the season-ending Capital Airlines – HNA Real Estate Championship. Shin would end up finishing a single spot back of Wong in 6th on the ORder of Merit.

“It’s been a great season. This was a nervous week here in Dongguan, but I got it done. I’m very happy with the way my season has gone,” Wong said.

“Eugene committed himself to this Tour, and he immediately made an impact, showing what kind of game he has. It was fun to see him win, and it is great to have our first Canadian move on to the Web.com Tour,” said PGA TOUR China Series’ Executive Director Greg Carlson. “Eugene joins a strong group of players who will go to the Web.com Tour next year. I’m confident his career will continue to ascend as he moves to this next level of professional golf.”

The 2016 Web.com Tour season, the 26th in its history, begins in late-January at the Panama Claro Championship in Panama City, Panama (January 29-February 1).

SUN CITY, South Africa – Marc Leishman picked up his maiden European Tour title on Sunday with a six-stroke victory at the Nedbank Challenge.

The Australian, who started the final round ahead of Henrik Stenson by one shot, carded a 5-under 67 to finish on 19-under 269. He won $1.25 million.

The 32-year-old Leishman’s previous best finish on the tour was at this year’s British Open, when he lost a playoff to Zach Johnson.

Three straight birdies either side of the turn meant that Stenson trailed by two shots with eight holes to play, but the Swede finished poorly to shoot a par 72 on the day.

“I knew it was going to be a really tough day, I knew I had to play well,” Leishman said. “I’m really pleased that I could play as well as I did and have a little bit of a buffer there at the end.”

The turning point in the final round came at the par 3 seventh hole, when Stenson found a bunker and dropped a shot while Leishman holed a tricky 10-foot putt for birdie.

That opened up a three-shot gap between the duo, and although Stenson pulled one back at the eighth he was still forced into an aggressive game on the back nine.

While Leishman was faultless from that point on, finishing the tournament with just three bogeys in total, Stenson bogeyed Nos. 15 and 18.

“Golf’s a lot easier when you don’t have to make up lost ground, especially on this golf course where there’s trouble everywhere,” Leishman said.

The third member of the final group, Jaco van Zyl, fell away badly after starting the day on 10 under.

The South African opened with a bogey before recovering with an excellent approach shot at the second that brought his second eagle of the week. However, he double-bogeyed the sixth to drop out of contention.

Five further bogeys saw Van Zyl card a 6-over 78 to finish tied for 13th.

Van Zyl’s profligacy opened the door for England’s Chris Wood (68) to finish third on 9 under.

Danny Willett of England and Frenchman Victor Dubuisson also shot 68 to share fourth place with South Africa’s Branden Grace (71) and American Robert Streb (73) on 8 under.

Byeong Hun An of South Koreea (68) was eighth, while South African Charl Schwartzel (70) and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee (71) tied for ninth.

GOLD COAST, Australia – Australian Nathan Holman parred the first hole of a three-way playoff with American Harold Varner III and South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli to win the Australian PGA championship on Sunday.

Holman, who shot a final-round 1-over 73, and Frittelli and Varner, who each had 75s, finished with even-par totals of 288 on a tough, wind-swept Royal Pines resort course.

Holman led by two strokes but bogeyed his final two holes. Varner’s birdie attempt on 18 that would have given him the win in regulation slid just wide of the cup.

The Australian was the only one on the fairway in the playoff and hit to the middle of the green, while Frittelli and Varner were off the green after hitting their second shots from the rough.

The 24-year-old Holman ended the playoff with a one-foot par putt after Frittelli and Varner bogeyed. The victory earned him an exemption this season and next on the European Tour, which co-sanctioned the Australian PGA this year.

Zander Lombard of South Africa, who was tied for the third-round lead with Frittelli and Varner, shot 76 and finished fourth, one stroke behind the leading trio.

“It was pretty annoying to almost lose it at the end,” Holman said of his bogey-bogey finish in regulation.

Holman also finished first in the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, which qualifies him for the British Open and the World Golf Championships.

“It’s huge, I didn’t realize what was on the line,” said Holman, who began the day two strokes off the lead.

“It’s probably a good thing, to be honest. I did think I’d get to those events in the future. I didn’t think it would be this quickly. To do it off the back of a victory is probably going to be better – I’ve deserved it. It’s stuff you dream of playing golf as a kid.”

It was the second straight year that the tournament was decided in a playoff: Greg Chalmers won a marathon seven-hole playoff with Adam Scott and Wade Ormsby in 2014.

Holman’s win continues years of Australian dominance at the PGA, which hasn’t been won by an international player since New Zealand’s Greg Turner in 1999.

Varner’s 66 had pulled him into the third-round lead, but he was nine strokes worse on Sunday.

“That’s just the way it goes sometimes,” Varner said. “I’ll be all right. I’m going to go have a great Christmas and get back to it. Just got to keep working and good things will happen. My time will come eventually.”

The newly designed back nine at Royal Pines by former Australian golfer Graham Marsh had six of the toughest nine holes on the course.

Organizers had a million-dollar “party hole” on the par-3 16th on Sunday, set up with bars and entertainment similar to a hole at the Phoenix Open. The closest anyone came to winning a 1 million Australian dollars ($734,000) bonus was Australian Matt Griffin, whose tee shot landed only six inches away from the hole.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The first time Jordan Spieth saw Albany Golf Club, he predicted Bubba Watson would love the place because it looked so open off the tee.

With virtually no wind, Watson showed just how much he liked it Saturday in the Hero World Challenge. He had seven birdies, holed out a 7-iron for eagle and matched the course record with a 9-under 63 to build a two-shot lead going into the final round.

The record he tied belonged to Paul Casey, who shot his 63 about 10 minutes earlier and was two shots behind.

Tee times were moved up Saturday to avoid a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon. With little wind, there was no stopping a world-class field from having their way on the Ernie Els design on the far end of New Providence island.

“The key for me around this golf course, I think for everybody as we’re seeing, when there’s no wind – light wind – we can score,” Watson said. “We’re all good players, don’t get me wrong. We’re all top 50 in the world. But with no wind, this golf course is a little bit easier to make birdies.”

Casey had nine of them through 13 holes, and that wasn’t even enough to get in the lead.

“And then when I started to miss putts, I went back to pars again, which was a shame,” Casey said. “Because obviously, Bubba … I don’t know where Bubba was. I wasn’t thinking too much about a course record, but I was thinking it would have been nice to shoot 10 (under) or more.”

Watson was at 19-under 197, one short of the 54-hole tournament record Spieth set last year on his way to a 10-shot victory at Isleworth.

This is the first time the World Challenge is being played at Albany after one year at Isleworth and 14 years at Sherwood Country Club in California.

Spieth, in a three-way tie for the lead with Jimmy Walker and Bill Haas at the start of the day, had a 68 and fell four shots behind.

“I shot 68 and got lapped,” Spieth said. “It was a day where you really needed to shoot lower. Par for the course is 5 under, especially in these conditions.”

Watson wasn’t even planning to be in the Bahamas. He originally decided to skip the tournament because he didn’t have a passport for his newly adopted daughter, Dakota, and because he’s going to Thailand next week, the two-time Masters champion didn’t want to be away from his kids for two weeks in a row.

But when Jason Day withdrew to stay home in Ohio with his newborn daughter, Watson was able to rush through the documents and play.

Casey wants to support the Tiger Woods Foundation for its work with children and education. He also mentioned the world ranking points and the prize money ($1 million) for the winner. And he would like a trophy to show for his good play this year.

“So there’s multiple reasons, about four really good reasons,” he said about the importance of winning. “Five if you count (Christmas) shopping.”

Even with the low scoring, Watson didn’t get that much separation. Chris Kirk and Patrick Reed each had a 66 and were three shots behind, followed by Spieth and Haas, who also had a 68.

Woods is the tournament host and followed along the final group throughout the front nine, occasionally giving good friend and NBC Sports reporter Notah Begay a lift.

Watson started the third round one shot behind and made up ground in a hurry with birdies on the first two holes. He faced a little wind from 168 yards in the fairway on No. 4 and chose to take off a little on his 7-iron, which turned out to be a wise move when he holed it for eagle.

He never saw it go in, and there isn’t much of a gallery this week.

“I heard a yell,” he said. “At least it wasn’t my mom yelling. I heard somebody.”

Reed was going nowhere with one birdie on the front nine when he saw the scores and figured he better get in gear. Wrapping up his worldwide tour, Reed ran off three straight birdies and then had an eagle on the par-5 15th to get back in the game.

“I finally made a putt and it just kind of propelled me from there,” he said.

Spieth is playing his final round of the year Sunday, and he said he would fire at every flag.

“It will be a sprint,” he said. “And then relief.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – China’s Simin Feng shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday on the Hills Course to take a five-stroke lead into the final round of the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

The 20-year-old Feng shot had a 15-under 272 total at LPGA International. The top 20 finishers Sunday will earn full LPGA Tour cards, and Nos. 21-45 and ties will receive conditional status.

Cydney Clanton and South Korea’s Julie Yang were tied for second. Yang had a 71 on the Jones Course, and Clanton shot a 72 on the Hills Course.

Canada’s Maude-Aimee LeBlanc moved four spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 4th thanks to a 3-under 69 Saturday.

The top 20 at the end of Sunday’s fifth and final round earn full-time status on the tour. Five Canadians will take part in Sunday’s play after four missed the 72-hole cut after Saturday’s round.

Cheyenne Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, had a 73 on the Jones Course to drop from a tie for 16th into a tie for 24th at 3 under.

SUN CITY, South Africa – Marc Leishman birdied the last two holes to capitalize on Henrik Stenson’s slip-ups and move into the lead on the third day of the Nedbank Challenge.

The Australian began on 8-under par, trailing Stenson by three shots, but a strong back nine saw him close Saturday on a 6-under 66 that left him 14 under and a stroke ahead of the Swede.

Stenson’s birdies at the 14th and 15th put some daylight between himself and the chasing pack, but a three-putt on No. 16 brought a bogey and he went on to drive his tee shot at the 18th into the bunker.

The 2008 champion lost his cool at that point, throwing his bag down, and another bogey saw him sign for a 70.

The 32-year-old Leishman is chasing his first European Tour win after coming close at this year’s British Open, when he lost a playoff to Zach Johnson.

“I saw Henrik was getting away a little bit so I had to try to do something to make it interesting for tomorrow,” Leishman said. “I’ve been in this position a few times in big events so it’s great to draw on that experience.”

Jaco van Zyl drained a long putt at the last to finish with a birdie and end the day on 10 under, while American Robert Streb matched the South African’s 72 to sit a shot behind in fourth place.

Van Zyl’s compatriots, Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen, both enjoyed good days to ensure a strong South African presence in the top 10.

Grace’s 67 left him tied for fifth with Austrian Bernd Wiesberger on 7 under, while Oosthuizen was a further shot back in seventh after his 68.

GOLD COAST, Australia – American Harold Varner III shot a 6-under 66 Saturday to move into a three-way share of the lead after three rounds of the Australian PGA championship.

Varner, who bounced his approach shot off the 18th-hole grandstand but scrambled to make par for the best round of the day, had a 54-hole total of 3-under 213.

He’s tied with two South Africans – Dylan Frittelli and Zander Lombard – who each shot 71.

They and fourth-place Australian Nathan Holman, who shot 70 and is two strokes behind, are the only players under par on the wind-swept Royal Pines course.

Second-round leader David Lingmerth shot 75 and was tied for fifth, three strokes behind. American Peter Uihlein, a stroke from the lead after two rounds, fell out of contention with a 79 and is tied for 25th, eight strokes behind.

Lombard held a late lead by one stroke but missed a six-foot par putt on the 18th. Lingmerth had double bogeys on the par-4 10th and 14th holes.

Varner shot a bogey-free round and birdied 14, 15 and 16 despite the gusty conditions in the joint Australian and European Tour event.

“The wind’s a pain right now,” said Varner, who joins Tiger Woods as the only player of black heritage on the PGA Tour this year.

“I haven’t played in that much wind in a long time. When bad things happen, you’ve just got to shake it off and go onto the next one. Today I did that really well.”