Jordan Spieth finished second behind the NBA’s Steph Curry in the voting for Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year it was announced on Tuesday.
Spieth won the US Open and the Masters, the first man to do so in 13 years, and also emerged victorious at the FedEx Cup.
Curry’s Golden State Warriors won the NBA title for the first time in 40 years and Curry was the league’s MVP. With voting done in the latter months of 2015, it was likely that his strong play at the beginning of the current season, along with the team’s unprecedented 29-1 start, played a factor in the voting.
Ironically, race horse American Pharoah received the most first-place votes in the contest, but was left off about one-third of the ballots as voters protested that a horse is not eligible for the trophy.
Since the award began in 1931, it has gone to a golfer nine times:
1931 – Gene Sarazen; 1944-1945 – Byron Nelson; 1953 – Ben Hogan; 1971 – Lee Trevino; 1997, 1999-2000, 2006 – Tiger Woods.
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