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Golf

Jin Young Ko Leads FM at Boston

August 31, 2024 by Terry Lyons

NORTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jin Young Ko shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds at the inaugural FM Championship at TPC Boston.

Embed from Getty Images

The South Korea native bookended her day with birdies on the first two holes and the last two holes and added two more against a single bogey to take control at 11 under heading into the final round Sunday.

“I just wanted to have good golf this week in Boston,” Ko said. “I mean, a lot of Korean fans out there, so they are cheering me so much. I feel really loved. Yeah, one more round to go. I will focus myself tomorrow.”

Lauren Coughlin sits alone in second place after carding her third straight 69, putting her at 9 under for the tournament.

“Still trying to go play my game, stay in my bubble, do what I could do, hit good shots, and try to make some putts,” Coughlin said.

Three golfers are within three strokes of Ko at 8 under: Spain’s Carlota Ciganda (67), Allisen Corpuz (67) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (69).

“I just felt really comfortable with the putter this week. Been seeing a lot more putts go in,” Corpuz said. ” … Been able to get a few close and make the birdie putts.”

South Korean Haeran Ryu had shot a 10-under-par 62 on Friday to take a commanding six-stroke lead, but she had a Saturday to forget, suffering two double-bogeys among her first four holes and carding another five bogeys on her way to a 6-over 78.

Still, Ryu is tied for sixth with Germany’s Alexandra Forsterling (67) at 7 under despite the disastrous round and lurks within striking distance of her second career win.

At the other end of the spectrum, an impressive 8-under 64 vaulted China’s Ruixin Liu into contention. Her day included an eagle on the par-4 10th and eight birdies to go along with a pair of bogeys. That put her in a tie for eighth with Yealimi Noh (73).

“For me the biggest difference is I was able to hit more fairways compared to the first two days, so I gave myself more opportunities for birdies,” Liu said.

“I don’t have any expectation today because I barely made the cut … I’m just very grateful I’m able to play today, so I think that’s the most important reason why I’m able to shoot this low.”

Marina Alex, who led after one round, posted a 4-over 76 to fall into a tie for 46th at even par.

–Field Level Media

Filed Under: Boston Sports Tagged With: Golf, LPGA

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Olympic ⛳️

August 4, 2024 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

FROM the LYONS’ DEN in BOSTON – It’s time to “tee-up” a patented TL timeline of a column. It works when there’s any Olympic golf tournament, staged in Paris, France, and the time zone change brings live golf into your quiet, basement TV at three in the morning – a little like Ryder Cup times.

You know the rules. (There’s none).

Here we go:

August 1, 2024

4:11am – After my iPhone alarm had been moved to snooze twice since its 3:00am setting, a large cup of coffee – let’s call it Cafe au lait for the occasion – was made with the care of a Parisian shoppe owner while doing everything humanly possible to not awake our two wonderful canines.

As one would expect, the early bird – that’s the lève tôt pour moi – was rewarded with the 4:11am ET/10:11am (local) tee time threesome – trio – of World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the USA, Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg being introduced to the crowds of Le Golf National, located at Saint Quentin en Yvelines, to the west/southwest of Paris.

To set the scene properly, it’s important to note, the starter at Le Golf National could easily double as the cropier at the Casino de Monte-Carlo’s Baccarat table. You might remember the scene from the 2018 Ryder Cup (17 1⁄2 – to – 10 1⁄2 win by Europe), as the Albatros Course looked and played in near perfect condition.

5:00am – There’s a few general thoughts running through your columnist’s mind. They’ll be addressed now, and presented in stream of consciousness mode.

Golf returned to the Olympic Games in 2016 (Rio) and is being contested for only the fifth time in the modern Olympics. The sport was first played in the Olympics in 1900, as the 1896 modern Olympics in Greece did not have a suitable golf course to play. In 1900, at the Compiègne Club in France, both men and woman competed in the sport. Only four nations were represented (France, Great Britain, the United States and Greece).

Charles Sands, a representative of the St. Andrews Golf Club in Yonkers, New York finished the 36 hole tournament, shooting (82)+(85) for (167), defeating Walter Rutherford of Jedburgh, Scotland (Great Britain) by one stroke. In the women’s competition, Margaret Abbott of Chicago Golf Club. Abbott (born in Calcutta) shot a (47) to win and became the first ever American female to medal in the Olympic Games. The bad news was that she received a gilded porcelein bowl as a trophy, rather than a gold medal. The incredible news, Abbott’s mother finished seventh.

St. Louis was celebrating the World’s Fair in 1904 and hosted a two country (USA and Canada) golf tournament at the Glen Echo course in St. Louis. A 20-year-old American, H. Chandler Egan, a Harvard student and the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, was the heavy favorite to claim the gold medal in match play format. Egan met Canadian George Lyon in the 36-hole final but lost 3 and 2 in difficult conditions.

Golf was not included in the Olympic Games for 112 years after St. Louis. Fast forward 90 years to October 9, 2009, in Copenhagen when the 121st IOC session determined golf would be reinstated to the Summer Olympics and for plaqnning purposes, the sport returned in grand form at the 2016 Games at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Interestingly, the USOC’s Bob Condron was named venue chief – a very smart move for the brand new course constructed for the event.

Britain’s Justin Rose and Korea’s Inbee Park took the gold medals in Rio.

Of course, the global pandemic wreaked havoc but golf returned in 2021 at the Tokyo Games when Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda, both representing the United States of America, won the men’s and women’s events. They remain defending champions until medals are awarded this week.

Keep in mind, unlike the usual PGA Tour, DP World Golf or LIV Golf event when some 50-70+ players will have a slice of the sizable purse, this week, only three players in both the men’s and women’s events are recognized as winners. In other words, you get the same prize for fourth as you do for 60th – “nuthin.”

5:55am – The featured group of defending champion Schauffele – winner of two of ‘24’s four majors in the PGA Championship and the recent Open Championship – was placed with Spain’s Jon Rahm who won his first LIV Golf title only a week ago, and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, the reigning FedEx Cup Champion and winner of a cool $18 million for his efforts, joined the party.

Remember, for their entire PGA Tour careers, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, winners of 25 majors and 135 tour titles, earned a combined $7,595,888. (US).

6:06am – France’s Mathieu Pavon teed-off as the hometown hero but he was overshadowed a bit by his playing partners, Collin Morikawa of the USA and MattFitzpatrick of England.

6:15am – Two – yes, count ‘em, two dogs woke up and sought me out in our home basement and both were happy to cuddle-up and return to sleep for a while. Both Penny (Lane), our 3.5 year old Irish Golden Doodle (heavy on the Golden Retriever and Poodle side) and (Mighty) Max of Silver Hammer fame, our 1-year old english Springer Doodle, of the happiest, mellowist, craziest dog of all-time fame, remained silent, observing golf’s most important rule – “No Barking” at 6:15am.

A second wind cup of (Dunkin Donuts – original) coffee was brewed and poured into an Ember ceramic mug. BTW, the Ember Cup might be the greatest invention of the century, and I applaud (sis-in-law) for her generous Christmas gift. The glowing blue light, turned white hot, somehow keeps the coffee at its perfect temperature which can be set to the desired degree (120-145 degree Fahrenheit and that’s 48.9-62.8º degrees in Celsius – for all my many subscribers spread across the globe or those covering the golf tournament in the outskirts of Paris.

Speaking of which, please don’t categorize this as a rant. It’s a sincere wish.

HOW in the WORLD can an Olympic Golf tournament be staged without a one-day team match play event for gold, silver and bronze medals? Each country to qualify would pick two players to compete in a bracket-type, Match Play tournament, not unlike the WGC tournament which used to be on the PGA schedule. It would add a lot to the golf experience at the Olympics, and maybe add two days for the players to remain on the road. … Mixed doubles would be great too. (Four Ball).

It’s “on” to the rest of the morning:

6:30am – The “regular” alarm clocks ring. Thursday, August 1, 2024 is now, officially beginning in this Boston household.

6:39am – The final threesome of the day – Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay, Joel Girrbachof Switzerland, and Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland – are the first tee. Meanwhile, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama became the clubhouse leader for the first round by shooting an (8-under) (63), three strokes ahead of a group of two players at (-6) and four players (and growing) at (minus 5).

By days end, Hideki Matsuyama, the Japan native and popular PGA Tour player, carded a bogey-free, 8-under (63) to top the 60-athlete, first-round leaderboard on a sultry day in the outskirts of Paris. Round 1 was victim to two weather delays.

August 2, 2024

The second round saw American Xander Schauffele card a 36-hole total of (131), tying the low 36-hole Olympic mark that he recorded at the 2020 in ‘21) Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan closed with a double-bogey (6) for a 3-under (68) in his Friday play, but he leads the field with 15 birdies through the opening two rounds.

Fatigue was kicking in on the second day of the 4:00am (ET) wake-up, never mind the third day.

August 3, 2024

Spain’s Jon Rahm posted his second consecutive (66) and he hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation. Rahm leads the field in Greens in Regulation (87.04%) and Driving Accuracy (80.95%) through three rounds.

Schauffele’s third round score (68) marked his second consecutive Olympics when he, at least, had a share of the 54-hole lead. Not bad. Schauffele can become the first back-to-back medalist in the men’s Olympic golf history.

Former U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick of Great Britain withdrew from the Olympic men’s golf competition after he shot an (81) in the third round. He was nursing a thumb injury.

That leads us to the posting of WWYI (Saturday night at 10:00am ET) and the start of the final round of the tournament, beginning at 3:00am but highlighted when the leaders tee-it-up at 6:39am ET). So, if you’re reading this Saturday night, you know the deal.

If you’re reading it on Sunday morning, turn on the Golf Channel.


HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Buzzword Bingo for NBC’s coverage of the Men’s Olympic basketball tournament. Here’s a Top 10.

  1. International basketball is catching up. (psst, that happened at least 24 years ago).
  2. They check their ego at the door. (psst, there’s no ego check closet).
  3. The level of talent, is incredible. Twelve alpha-dogs.
  4. The USA hasn’t had all that much time to prepare.
  5. They have to play the right way.
  6. They’re playing for one another.
  7. This is bigger than me, individually.
  8. Take care of the basketball and defend the way you can.
  9. You’ve got guys that are willing to sacrifice.
  10. The coaching staff has done an amazing job. (a comment that can go 180-degrees if there’s an upset in the next round when it’s “On to Bercy”

RIP: There’s been far too many Rest in Peace notifications in this missive, but it’s a must to convey sincere condolences to the wife, Taryn Faith, and three daughters of Andy Jasner, a Philadelphia-based writer/reporter known to many of us through his late father, Phil Jasner, who wrote for the Philadelphia Daily News.

One minute Andy, 55, was filing a story on the Philadelphia Phillies, the next, he was gone, a victim of a massive heart attack which shook our world on Friday, August 2. The news spread quickly on Friday afternoon and the weekend. “I am simply speechless over this tragedy,” wrote one WWYI subscriber who emailed this morning.

NOTE: Sign Up for the COMPLETE Sunday Sports Notebook, sent every Saturday at 10:00pm ET to give you that Bulldog Edition kind of feel.

Filed Under: LIV GOLF, PGA TOUR, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: Golf, Paris Olympics, TL's Sunday Sports Notes, While We're Young Ideas

PGA Tour: Neimann Takes Lead

February 18, 2022 by PGA Tour Brunch

The Genesis Invitational | Preview for Round 2

PACIFIC PALISADES – Joaquin Niemann’s opening (63) ties the lowest first-round score in The Genesis Invitational history with eight other players.

Defending champion Max Homa made eagle on No. 10 and sits T-2.

PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young (T-2) opened with a 5-under (66) in his tournament debut.

A week after earning his first PGA Tour victory at the WM Phoenix Open, Scottie Scheffler (T-2/-5), 2018 Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase winner, makes his fourth event start (MC/2018, T-30/2020, T-20/2021). Currently projected to take No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup standings for the first time in his career.

Making his 10th appearance at The Genesis Invitational (best finish: T-4/2015), Jordan Spieth (T-2/-5) seeks his 13th career PGA Tour title and first since 2021 Valero Texas Open.


The Genesis Invitational | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

Joaquin Niemann 63 (-8)

Scottie Scheffler 66 (-5)

Jordan Spieth 66 (-5)

Cameron Young 66 (-5)

Max Homa 66 (-5)

Full leaderboard: (link)


The Genesis Invitational | Round 2

COURSE: Riviera County Club, Pacific Palisades, California

ARCHITECTS: G.C.Thomas, Jr. and W.P. Bell

YARDS/PAR: 7,322 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $12,000,000/$2,160,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Max Homa

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 550 (Elevated Status)

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @thegenesisinv


TV COVERAGE: Today’s broadcast is scheduled from 4:00pm to 8:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel. Saturday coverage is 1:00pm to 3:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 3:00 to 7pm (ET) on CBS. On Sunday, Golf Channel broadcasts from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (ET) and CBS follows with the final round 3:00 to 6:30pm (ET).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING on ESPN+: Streaming coverage will be featured on ESPN-Plus today with Main Feed, Featured Hole and Featured Groups from 9:30am to 8:00pm (ET). On Saturday, ESPN+ streams 12:00 noon to 7:00pm (ET) while, on Sunday, ESPN+ streaming is from 11:30am to 6:30pm (ET).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of The Genesis Invitational with today’s broadcast from 2:00pm to 8:00pm (ET). Saturday coverage on Sirius XM Radio runs from 2:00pm to 7:00pm and Sunday from 1:00 to 6:30pm (ET). PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92 or online via PGATourCom.

Filed Under: PGA TOUR Tagged With: Golf, PGA Tour, PGA Tour Brunch, The Genesis Invitational

Morikawa Wins Open Championship

July 19, 2021 by PGA Tour Brunch

SANDWICH – American Collin Morikawa won his second major title (2021 Open Championship, 2020 PGA Championship) in his eighth major championship appearance and became the first player to win two different majors in his first attempt.

Morikawa scored his fifth PGA Tour title and moved to No. 1 (FedExCup) and No. 3 (Official World Golf Ranking).

Embed from Getty Images

The 2017 Open Champion Jordan Spieth finished as runner-up for his 11th Top-4 in a major. Spieth tied the lowest total score by a runner-up at The Open: (267) in 2016 by Phil Mickelson.

2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen, who held the solo-lead after each of the first three rounds, recorded his third consecutive Top-3 in a major this season: (PGA Championship/T2, U.S. Open/2, The Open/T3).

2021 U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm finished T-3.

Three players recorded four rounds in the 60s: Collin Morikawa (1st), Jordan Spieth (2nd), Mackenzie Hughes (T6). Spieth and Hughes join list of seven players to record four rounds in the 60s and not win The Open with the most recent being Rickie Fowler at the 2014 Open Championship.

Final Leaderboard at The Open

Collin Morikawa 67-64-68-66—265 (-15)

Jordan Spieth 65-67-69-66—267 (-13)

Jon Rahm 71-64-68-66—269 (-11)

Louis Oosthuizen 64-65-69-71—269 (-11)

Dylan Frittelli 66-67-70-68—271 (-9)

Final Leaderboard at the Barbasol

Seamus Power 65-68-67-67—267 (-21)*

J.T. Poston 65-66-66-70—267 (-21)

Anirban Lahiri 68-67-68-65—268 (-20)

Sam Ryder 66-69-68-65—268 (-20)

*defeated J.T. Poston with a par-4 on the sixth playoff hole (No. 18)

Filed Under: PGA TOUR Tagged With: Barbasol, Collin Morikawa, Golf, PGA Tour, PGA Tour Brunch, The Open

While We’re Young (Ideas) – July 18

July 17, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The organization dates back to 1784 and was originally known as the Society of St. Andrew’s Golfers. By 1834, King William IV recognized the club as Royal and Ancient and the name was changed to the Royal Society of St. Andrew’s Golfers and what is now known as The Old Course was proclaimed the Home of Golf.

In 1897, the Society first recorded the rules of golf and the sport was soon to become popular throughout the world. Anyone who calls themselves avid golfers marvels at the thought of playing a round at what is now known as The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

The Royal moniker was bestowed upon golf clubs the world over. From Scotland to England to Wales to Ireland to Malta to South Africa to Australia and Hong Kong. This weekend The Open is being contested for fifteenth time at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. In 2021, it has been splendid just as it was in 1894 when the golf club hosted its first Open.

As the game became more and more popular, the rules were solidified and – unlike most other sports – they are self-regulated. In golf, you keep your own score. You honor the game by not improving your lie of the ball. You only utilize 14 different golf clubs packed in your bag on any given round. The rules apply to golfers of all abilities and the respect given to the rules by golfers is much the same as their respect for the game itself.

In many other sports, competitors often try to cheat the system. In Baseball, it is not uncommon to attempt to “steal” signs (codes from pitchers/catchers or from the dugout/Manager to players). In Basketball, a quick travel with the ball, an illegal screen, a flop to draw an offensive foul is almost coming practice. In Football, a little extra surveillance of your opponent, or taking some air out of the ball brought scandals sized to rival Watergate. Athletes and organizations bend the rules in many ways, sometimes in any way they can. They hope not to get caught – by the referees, the league or the organizing body.

What about Golf?

In Golf – how dare you – as the respect of the game and its rules carries on to higher ground, as well. There is no other sport where sportsmanship is more highly regarded. As golfers, especially weekend hackers, we are really competing against ourselves with hopes of setting personal records, rather than competing in a match against the others in our foursome.

Picture a single golfer joining a threesome of friends on a late afternoon round at a public course. Immediately, the single has three cohorts helping (him/her) find an errant tee shot or high-fiving a great hole-out from a sand trap. The single golfer respects the space and lie of his newfound partners’ putting line. He is quiet and motionless on and around the tee until it is his turn. Honors go to the golfer who scored the best on the prior hole.

Golfers are taught the written and un-written rules in their first few rounds of their golfing lives. The sport of golf is a sport for your entire life and respect of the game is paramount.

Then along come Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

The two professionals – both among the very best the game has ever seen – have been feuding like school children out on the playground at recess. They bicker verbally, non-verbally and even electronically via Twitter. They’ve been bickering since 2019 when one slighted the other on “slow play” and the feud festered from that point onward.

This week, with the British media fueling the theatrics of such a “juicy” story, the questioning about Ryder Cup pairings of the two paved a landing strip for their duel to last all the way to Whistling Straits (September 24-26 in Wisconsin). It’s all become such foolishness – eye-rolling and all.

This week, some predicted it was all “made for tv” and the two would hold a grudge match – on pay-per-view, of course. Others fuel and wallow in the gossip like girls at an Eastside NYC private school.

Some of us have simply had it and urge the PGA, the R&A, the PGA of America (who oversee the Ryder Cup) to lock the two golfers in a room and call for them to cut it out – once and for all – as they are ruining the one sport we could all count on to abide by rules and decorum.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Whether you are a student of Greek Mythologyat the University of Texas – San Antonio, Seton Hall, Harvard, or just an NBA fan, the main focus of study in the past month or two has been a total analysis of the Greek god of Milwaukee, by way of Athens. The study of Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo … also admirably known as “The Greek Freak.”

An MVP-level player in the National Basketball Association, Antetokounmpo has led his Milwaukee Bucks team to the NBA Finals, a difficult task for any god of the hoop. Antetokounmpo, however, has now taken it to another level.

As the Bucks compete against the Suns of Phoenicia, a mighty group themselves, Antetokounmpo went all Freudian on us. He did so, in of all places, the NBA Finals media interview room where he dazzled all with his interpretations and his own philosophy on Ego & Pride.

In a setting common to The Finals, media inquiries delved into Antetokounmpo’s upbringing, family life, his practice habits, his state of mind, the pressures of the game at such a high level, and now, with even higher stakes, the god of a Great Place on a Great Lake had a way of explaining how he absorbs and synthesizes the pressure.

“Obviously, as I said, the ball gets heavy. But if you are only thinking about winning and you don’t think about what’s going to happen next, it can get heavy,” he explained. “Because you want to win so bad, you know?

“So it can get heavy. But if you go back and think about the specific three minutes of Game 2, Game 4, and it could go either way, now the environment kind of gets heavy. But at that specific moment, I wasn’t thinking about what’s going to happen at the end of the game. I was thinking about that specific play. How can I set a good screen for Khris (Middleton), how can I block a shot, how can I rebound the ball, how can I run, how can I get the easy layup, what can I do to help the team win?

“So my mind is so occupied by that that I don’t think about the pressure, all that.”

Certainly Antetokounmpo was not the first NBA player to philosophize on the methods to cope with pressure. Philadelphian philosopher Julius “Vocabularius” Erving was a master at post game analysis. But Antetokounmpo was going deeper.

At age 26, who was teaching him these coping mechanisms that years of study and advanced degrees in Psychology might not produce?

“I think I would say life,” he thought. “Usually, from my experience, when I think about – Oh, yeah, I did this, I’m so great, I had 30 (points), I had 25-10-10, whatever the case might be – you’re going to think about that.

“Usually the next day you’re going to suck, you know,” he said smiling? “Simple as that. The next few days you’re going to be terrible. I figured out a mindset to have that when you focus on the past, that’s your ego.

“I did this. We were able to beat this team 4-0. I did this in the past. I won that in the past.

“When I focus on the future, it’s my pride,” he noted. “Yeah, next game, Game 5, I do this and this and this. I’m going to dominate. That’s your pridetalking. It doesn’t happen.

“You’re right here. I kind of try to focus on the moment, in the present.

“That’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s not setting no expectation.

“That’s going out there, enjoying the game, competing at a high level. I think I’ve had people throughout my life that helped me with that. But that is a skill that I’ve tried to, like, kind of — how do you say – perfect it.

How can he continue to win while spreading and sharing such deep knowledge?

“I think it starts from the environment, the leaders, the message that they push back to the team, to everybody,” said Antetokounmpo. “But we’ve been down before. When we were down before, we didn’t act like it was the end of the world. We were like, Okay, we know what the deal is.

“We’re going to try to go and execute. We weren’t worrying about going and trying to win two games in a row. We didn’t worry about that. We’re going to try to go back and execute. Try to put ourselves in a position to win. Now, if it went our way, we’re extremely happy, but it could go either way. It could go the other way and we’d be back home right now and nobody would be talking about us. But I feel like as a team we’re really good at turning the page — the next one.

“Okay, on this page – this, this, this, this – is what we got to do in order for us to be in a position to have a chance to win games down the road. I think the team has a great mindset in that. Hopefully we are going to keep doing it moving forward.”

Which takes us right back to Antetokounmpo’s birthplace – Athens and the Greek goddess of Athena – the goddess known for knowledge, a calm temperament and a huge understanding of others.

TESTING: The NBA and its players (and the WNBA, too) have managed the COVID-19 health crisis about as well as any organization on the planet – sports, business or other. As we’re going to post this Saturday evening, Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo entered the NBA Health and Safety Protocol and missed/will miss (depending on when you are reading this) Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night. Antetokounmpo, the older brother of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, was not listed on the league’s early afternoon injury report but was noted Saturday evening at 5:30pm.

Recent break-outs of COVID-19 – largely due to a delta variant to the original virus – hit Major League Baseball hard, causing the cancellation of a post All-Star break Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees game at The Stadium. All-Star Aaron Judge was among six Yankees players sidelined under the MLB protocols for COVID+ testing and a number of their teammates have been battling nagging injuries. Of note, 1B Luke Voit returned to the MLB injured list.

Crosstown from The Bronx to Flushing, Queens and the New York Mets are tending to pitching ace and Cy Young favorite Jacob deGrom and his right forearm tightness. deGrom will miss his planned start Monday.


DIAMOND DUST-UPS: After the MLB All-Star break, Jarren Duran was selected to the Boston Red Sox major league roster from Triple-A Worcester. Duran is likely to be the fifth player to make his MLB debut this season with the Red Sox (Bazardo, Sawamura, Whitlock, Wong). But, if he plays in the weekend series, he’ll have one other distinction. The last Red Sox position player to make his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium was the great Mookie Betts (6/29/14). … The Red Sox earned their fourth shutout win of the season Friday night and their first against the Yankees since June of 2018.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION in ANAHEIM: LA Angels second baseman David Fletcher notched two hits and extended his league-leading hitting streak to 25 games. He’s now tied with the great Rod Carew for the second-longest in franchise history. The Angels play the Mariners (July 17) at 9:07pm (EDT). Keep an eye on that boxscore.


FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER DEFICTS: (With an emphasis on the higher) – The Tokyo Olympics will cost an estimated $28 billion (3 trillion yen), say media outlets Nikkei and Asahi, far exceeding the organizing committee’s claims. The decision to ban spectators will cost nearly $1 billion in ticket revenue. Ouch.

Looking back, the International Olympic Committee granted the USA broadcast rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile to NBC Universal (call it Comcast, too). The agreement runs from 2021 to 2032 and it’s valued at $7.65 billion, plus an additional $100 million bonus to be used for promotion of Olympic ideals.

JAPAN HOOPS to COMPETE in TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES: There will be a number of NBA players dotting the rosters of most men’s Olympic team rosters when the basketball tournament tips off July 25th. Japan-Forward previews the Olympians from Japan and there’s a few names you’ll recognize, notably NBA forwards Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards) and Yuta Watanabe (Toronto Raptors). Japan’s men’s national basketball team last competed in the Olympic Games in 1976 in Montreal.

Filed Under: Boston Sports, Opinion, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: Golf, NBA, NBA Finals, PGA Tour, The Open, While We're Young Ideas

PGA Tour: Final Round at Zurich Classic

April 25, 2021 by Terry Lyons

PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of Zurich Classic

Six teams shot (63) for low round of the day, including third round leaders Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel.

The South African team Oosthuizen/Schwartzel seek to join nine players from outside the United States to win the Zurich Classic since 2000.

Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer sit T-9 and four back at (15-under).

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans switched from individual stroke play to the two-man team format in 2017 and is the only official FedExCup team event on Tour. Since team format was introduced, the 54-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win twice – two of the three years – (2017/Cameron Smith/Jonas Blixt, 2019/Jon Rahm/Ryan Palmer). The 2020 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Two-time major champion and 2011 Zurich Classic winner Bubba Watson and 2019-20 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Scottie Scheffler birdied two of the final three holes (Nos. 16 and 18) for a 6-under (66) and sit T-4 at (17-under), two strokes back of the leaders. Scheffler is making his Zurich Classic debut. Watson is making his 13th appearance and fourth in team format with his third different partner.

Format: Foursomes in fourth round.

Highlights from Round Three:


Tournament Tee Times today at 9:50am (local)/10:50am (EDT through 12:55pm (local)/1:55pm (EDT)

Weather: Sunday will be mostly sunny and 71-degrees with winds at 10 mph.

PGATourBrunch will be posting a Zurich Classic Wrap-Up at Noon (EDT)on Monday, April 26.

Next Week: Valspar Championship (Palm Harbor, FLA)


Leaderboard After Third Round at Zurich Classic

Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel 63-71-63—197 (-19)

Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith 63-72-63—198 (-18)

Cameron Champ/Tony Finau 63-68-67—198 (-18)

Bubba Watson/Scottie Scheffler 64-69-66—199 (-17)

Viktor Hovland/Kris Ventura 62-69-68—199 (-17)

Filed Under: PGA TOUR Tagged With: Golf, PGA Tour, PGA Tour Brunch, Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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