Jordan Spieth continues dominance heading into PGA Championship

I have been playing on developmental professional tours for three years now. What if I were to tell you I have made 18 cuts in 20 events in 2015. What if I were to tell you I have 16 Top 25s and 13 Top 10s, including four wins, three runner-ups and a third. Think you might be impressed?

What if I were to tell you I did this on the PGA Tour?

Well that is exactly what a young man three years my junior has done. His name is Jordan Spieth.

In 2015 alone, the 22-year-old has earned $9,319,715 in winnings, and that doesn't include his monster deal with Under Armour. He is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings, well clear of the rest of the Tour, and has climbed to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, only behind Rory McIlroy. Two of his four victories this season came in the Masters and U.S. Open, the two most important golf tournaments for any American-born golfer.

Spieth has had a lot to celebrate in 2015 (Courtesy ABC News)

Spieth's 2015 scoring average of 68.795 and birdie average of 4.58 per round put him No. 1 on Tour in both categories. Although he may not wow you with his distance or proximity, he has proven to be the best closer and clutch putter in the world. He leads the Tour in putts per round, 27.74, and in one-putt percentage, 44.29%.

In his last five starts he has five Top 10s, including two wins. He finished T4 at the Open Championship at St. Andrew's, just one shot back of the playoff in his effort to complete the rare Grand Slam. In yesterday's final round at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, he fired a 66 to back his way into another Top 10 in an event in which he struggled playing against the best players on the planet.

Well now that your brain is fried from a slew of numbers, it's time to look ahead to this week's PGA Championship, held at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin for the first time since 2010. Golf enthusiasts remember this as the year in which Dustin Johnson grounded his club in a bunker, costing him the title and beginning a chain of tragedies in majors.

This year, all eyes will be on Spieth and McIlroy as the young gun looks to replace the established leader as the world's best. McIlroy, the defending champion, will be making his return to golf following an injury to his left ankle suffered on July 4th. The two will be paired together in the first two rounds, along with Zach Johnson who is fresh off his win at St. Andrew's last month.

Spieth, McIlroy and Johnson have won the last five majors. The threesome tees off at 2:20 p.m. ET on Thursday. Spieth is the odds-on favorite at 5-to-1, followed by McIlroy at 7-to-1. 

Josh Smith says making $6.9 million in 2015-16 will be 'hard'

Josh Smith has had an up-and-down 11-year NBA career. Loaded with talent and with flashes of brilliance, he has yet to live up to his potential. That being said, he has made about $94 million in his career after jumping straight to league out of high school in 2004.

He spent the first nine years of his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks, but has been bouncing from team to team over the past couple seasons. Smith played for the Detroit Pistons for a year and a half, but was nearly invisible on a team with a very low ceiling. Seemingly lacking the motivation to play for a non-playoff team, Smith was sent to a power in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets.

During the off-season free agency frenzy, Smith signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, a team now looking like a legitimate championship contender. He signed a one-year veteran's minimum contract for around $1.5 million and will be receiving $5.4 million from the Pistons. If the Pistons had not let him go, he would be making $14 million this season instead of $6.9 million.

That brings us to the statement Smith made during a press conference in which the Clippers welcomed their latest signings for the upcoming season.

"At the end of the day, you know, I do have a family," Smith said. "So it is going to be a little harder on me this year. But I'm going to push through it, you know."

Despite having his salary cut in half for the 2015-16 season, his choice of words did not go over well with the general public. Saying he will have to "push through" making a mere $6.9 million does not generate much sympathy. Sorry Josh.

The Josh on the other side of this computer has to think twice before adding guacamole to his burrito.

I played in a one-day professional golf tournament this past weekend and shot 68 (-4). I netted just over $100 for the day and I was pretty darn happy. My largest check this year was nearly $4,000 and that was celebration worthy. Josh Smith will certainly not have any sympathy from developmental tour golfers. The leading money-winner on most developmental tours makes under $100,000 for the year. And that's the leader.

I get that having your expected salary cut in half can be tough, but complaining publicly about making nearly $7 million, putting you over the $100 million-mark for your career, is probably not the smartest PR move. Last I checked, most families are able to "push through" with sums far below what Smith will be raking in this coming season.

The Clippers also managed to resign free agent big man DeAndre Jordan to a four-year $87.6 million contract. Maybe if Smith is running short on cash in the near future, he can befriend his new comrade and borrow some dough. After all, he does have a family to feed.

USWNT bring World Cup to America amidst Independence weekend

Carli Lloyd celebrating one of her goals (Google Images)

American Flags waving elegantly in the breeze, people all around sporting their most creative red, white and blue outfits, the smell of the grill cooking your favorite summertime meal, and of course the fireworks lighting up the night sky.

The first week of July is a great time to be an American.

But none better than the 2015 Independence Day in terms of sense of pride for country, thanks to the captivating performance by the USWNT as they cruised to victory over the Japanese squad. This was the third World Cup title for the American women, but the first since 1999. That was the year all young men will remember as Brandi Chastain ripped of her shirt in celebration. Although the ladies remained fully clothed this time, it was a great celebration nonetheless.

The hero of the day was without a doubt Carli Lloyd, as she achieved a rare hat trick in the first 20 minutes of action. The game was pretty much over from the start as the Americans took a quick 4-0 lead in the opening half before going on to win 5-2 in the highest scoring World Cup final ever. The victory gave the squad vengeance after losing to the Japanese team in the finals four years ago. Lloyd was awarded the Golden Ball, given to the best player of the tournament.

We no longer have to talk about the 1999 team and the shirtless celebration, as we now have the 2015 team of destiny. This team was led by its defense all tournament as Hope Solo had allowed just one goal prior to giving up two in the concluding match. Yet it was the offense that ignited the championship rout over the very team that crushed their dreams in 2011.

It seems fitting that the title game coincided with the nation's most patriotic weekend. Soccer is not the sport America is known for worldwide, but the ladies are proving time and again that there is no better nation for women's soccer. Since winning the first World Cup in 1991, they have been a perennial powerhouse worldwide.

It will be difficult for the men to catch up as they have been participating in the World Cup since 1930 and are yet to win. Whereas women's soccer is relatively new worldwide and the Americans were on the scene instantly, the men's game has been an established entity since the 1800s and the red, white and blue have never been elite. We just hope for a respectable showing from the men, but the women have set the bar high yet again.

With no World Cup to watch next year in early July, it will be back to baseball. I suppose that is pretty American too.