Serena’s return, even in defeat, is big for her and for tennis

Serena Williams held her own against the most agonizing of opponents, Father Time. However, she was less successful against a 20-year-old from Australia named Maya Joint. 

Tennis, like golf, is a sport of personalities, of names. There was no bigger name than Serena Williams, who retired four years ago to focus on raising her family.

There was a void in the women’s game despite Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Elena Ryabakina. They won matches. They never quite won the public’s fascination as did Williams. 

So when Serena, Tuesday, stepped out of the recent past to make an appearance on the most famous of stages, Centre Court at Wimbledon, there was magic in the air. 

And a noisy crowd at the All-England Club. 

Her opponent didn’t matter. At age 44, making a comeback, Serena was the attraction. Williams played well enough, often enough to carry the match three sets, eventually wearing down, falling to Joint, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3.

Despite the result, hardly a surprise considering Serena’s long separation from tournament tennis, Williams expressed her joy.

“It was really great to be back at Wimbledon,” said Serena. “I never expected to be here. The atmosphere was amazing. I definitely relished it and missed it and enjoyed the moment more than anything.” 

So did Joint, who came into the spotlight having won only three of her last eighteen matches. Now she is part of history.

“She has such an aura,” Joint, in her first Grand Slam, said of Williams, who has won 23 Slams.

“And this court has so many huge names that have played on it. I’ve been dreaming about this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy.”

Joint goes to face Ekaterina Alexandrova on Thursday. Where Serena goes will be decided.  Surely, she will enter the US Open in late August, but who knows? At this time, maybe not even Serena. We’re talking singles. Thursday, Serena is scheduled to compete in doubles with her sister, Venus, who turned 46 a few days ago.

ESPN covered Serena’s return match with all the pomp it deserved. The stars in individual sports become the TV faces that fill the screens.

NBC TV understandably went overboard in Scottie Scheffler’s US Open Golf tournament a week and a half ago. He could only finish second, but his presence could not be underestimated in the ratings.

Nor, as emphasized, could Serena Williams in her sport.

We watch the athletes we know. And there was nobody better known during her days on the WTA tour than Serena. Maybe there still isn’t.

Her return was both exciting and momentous. That Williams helped carry the match to a third set only added to the legend she had become.

When your opponent talks about what you have accomplished, as did Joint reflecting on Serena’s triumphs, little else needs to be said.

Clark overcomes tough course, nasty crowd to win US Open

The course was difficult. Understandably. The fans were worse. And this was a home country crowd. 

Somehow, despite the conditions and his own infrequent mistakes, Wyndham Clark, on a 3-over par 73, won the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.

His four-round total of 276 was one shot lower than the oncoming Sam Burns, whose 3-under-67 brought him up on a day when most others struggled, including Clark. 

Wyndham overcame the fans’ incivility to become one of the rare individuals with a second Open title, adding this one to his victory at the Los Angeles County Club in 2023.

He began the final round this time seven-under par, seemingly comfortably ahead. But as everyone who knows Open history understands, no lead is comfortable in the Open, particularly in the last round.

What may not be understood is the way the fans treated Clark. True, a year ago, after missing the cut at the Open at Oakmont outside Pittsburgh, Clark was so angry he bashed up two lockers. He has since apologized for his disgraceful conduct, and most people have accepted his contrition.

What is hard to accept is the way he was treated on Sunday at Shinnecock. New York is known for rowdy behavior among the sporting public, but it is usually aimed against one of the opposing teams or a member of the European Ryder Cup team. Even the popular Rory McIlroy was harassed at the Cup matches last fall at Bethpage Black, of course, located not far from Shinnecock. But the Golf Channel’s astute Brandel Chamblee, a one-time touring pro, was appalled by the way that Clark was treated. 

So was Clark. 

“New York didn’t really like me—I love you guys,” said Clark. “But I get it. Some of it is self-deserved. I did some unfortunate things last year that I really regret, and I’ve been sorry multiple times, and I’m still sorry, so hopefully I can win you guys over eventually.” 

There were no regrets about the way he played this Open, except perhaps from the people at NBC television who appeared obsessed with Scottie Scheffler.

Indeed, Scheffler is No. 1 in the world rankings and turned 30 on Sunday, and needed only a win in The Open to join a rare club of golfers who have won each of the four major championships. The group of course includes Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and after the 2025 Masters, Rory McIlroy. 

Maybe Scheffler will get that missing Open next year when the tournament is held at Pebble Beach, but this year from start to finish belonged to Clark, who took the lead on day one, with 6-under 64, when the winds off the Atlantic Ocean died down late Thursday afternoon, and stayed in front forever, or until the final putt dropped. 

Scheffler finished with a 1-over par 71. “Winning major championships is extremely difficult,” said Scheffler, who was tied for fourth at even-par 280. “He had some stones down the stretch… Being in the arena is not for everybody, and I think it shows a lot about Wyndham, how he handled not only this golf course, but I think the crowd today. And he is a well-deserving champion.”

Even if disrespected by New Yorkers.

Opens at Shinnecock: A 10 by Phil; A camera toss by Tiger’s caddie

Phil Mickelson took a 10 on a hole. Intentionally. Tiger Woods’ caddie broke a photographer’s camera. Also, intentionally. Ah, yes. Memories of US Opens at Shinnecock Hills. 

It’s back to Shinnecock, the scene of these incidents—and some memorable golf—for the 126th Open starting Thursday at that infuriating course far out on Long Island. The Open is supposed to be America’s national championship. At times, it also seems to be a study in frustration. No one ever said golf was going to be easy. However, at Shinnecock, named for the Native American tribe once sheltered there, it has been historically difficult and maddening for some competitors.

They held The Open at Shinnecock for the first time in 1896. That it didn’t return for 90 years had less to do with the fact that someone named James Foulis was the winner than the improvement in balls and clubs that made the 4,400-yard course too short for anything but miniature golf. 

If you have been paying attention, that even with longer and more severe layouts, hosting The Open there is a worry that the equipment now in use and the strength of the players using it is making courses of the 21st century too short. But the history of Shinnecock Opens is not so much about shots getting to the greens but the shots on the greens—the putts.

In the 2018 Open, at the 13th green, Mickelson showed his disgust with the set-up by whacking his ball around as if he was playing croquet right there in front of his playing partners and a national TV audience.

He could have been disqualified, but he wasn’t. Instead, he was penalized for hitting a moving ball and ended up with a 10 on the hole. And thus, he would remain winless in the Open, his six runner-up finishes a painful reminder of hardly any sort of compensation for the incident. 

Oh yes, Brooks Koepka won that 2018 Open, making him one of the few with consecutive victories in the tournament.

The next Open, 2004, eventually won by Retief Goosen, the complaint was that the greens were so dry they wouldn’t hold shots. So right there, unprecedentedly, the USGA sent out workers to water the greens. That time, notably and probably legitimately, Mickelson was among the most adamant critics.

Corey Paven was the winner of the Open at Shinnecock in 1995, but what so many remembered was a situation with Tiger Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams, who grabbed a photographer’s camera on the practice green and threw it to the ground.

Tiger had glared at John Roca of the New York Daily News, and Williams, who could be nasty in his unofficial role as Woods’ guardian—not that Tiger needed one—took it upon himself to respond.

The camera wasn’t damaged.  Three weeks later, Williams apologized.

You wonder what might happen this year at Shinnecock, where at previous Opens the golf itself has been overshadowed by everything else. No, Phil and Tiger are not here.

Korda finds success at Hogan’s Alley

The place is known as Hogan’s Alley. Ben Hogan won a U.S. Open at Riviera Country Club, and now Nelly Korda has as well. 

Maybe calling it Nelly’s niche is a bit premature so we’ll skip that description.

But when a great player succeeds on a great course, it is more than a footnote.   

As is the work of the U.S. Golf Association which through its work gave the ladies the opportunity the men had, to play and win the national championship on an historic layout. 

Pebble Beach was the site in 2023, a groundbreaker, and Allison Korpuz, the winner. Then Sunday at “The Riv”, where the walls are covered with photos of entertainers—everyone from Humphrey Bogart to Dean Martin—and there is a statue of Hogan at the practice green.

After opening with a 2 over 73 Thursday, Korda got her game together—or considering Riviera’s famous membership—act together—and ended up with a total score of 8-under-par-276. She closed with a 2-under-par 69 Sunday, dropping a 2-foot, 10 inch putt on the 18th green for the victory. Korda won by a shot. 

That brought huge cheers from the crowd huddled below the hill that creates an amphitheater at Riviera’s 18th. 

In a three-way tie for 2nd were Charley Hull of England, Gaby Lopez of Mexico and In Gee Chun of South Korea.

Korda, 27 and the World No. 1, has taken both of the women’s majors this year, adding the Open—unquestionably the biggest women’s event in the game—to the Chevron, which you may recall began as the Dinah Shore in Palm Desert.

There is no question Nelly, who struggled last year, at the moment is the best on the LPGA. There is a question whether she is the best athlete in her talented family.

Her father, Petr, was a Czech former professional tennis player who reached World No. 2 and won the 1998 Australian Open.  Her mother, Regina Rajchrtova, was a former professional tennis player who represented Czechoslovakia and competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Nelly’s sister, Jessica, was a highly successful professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Her younger brother, Sebastian, plays the ATP tour.

Korda is the youngest American player to win four majors since Mickey Wright, the one-time Stanford star, in 1960, and only the second American in the past 10 years to win the Open.

Korda had been frustrated after going winless in 2025. 

“I’ve tried to have a mindset shift,” Korda said. “I’m just going to embrace the challenges, and I’m not going to walk off the golf course. I’m just going to figure it out.”

She did exactly that.

Korda finds success at Hogan’s Alley

The place is known as Hogan’s Alley. Ben Hogan won a U.S. Open at Riviera Country Club, and now Nelly Korda has as well. 

Maybe calling it Nelly’s niche is a bit premature so we’ll skip that description.

But when a great player succeeds on a great course, it is more than a footnote.   

As is the work of the U.S. Golf Association which through its work gave the ladies the opportunity the men had, to play and win the national championship on an historic layout. 

Pebble Beach was the site in 2023, a groundbreaker, and Allison Korpuz, the winner. Then Sunday at “The Riv”, where the walls are covered with photos of entertainers—everyone from Humphrey Bogart to Dean Martin—and there is a statue of Hogan at the practice green.

After opening with a 2 over 73 Thursday, Korda got her game together—or considering Riviera’s famous membership—act together—and ended up with a total score of 8-under-par-276. She closed with a 2-under-par 69 Sunday, dropping a 2-foot, 10 inch putt on the 18th green for the victory. Korda won by a shot. 

That brought huge cheers from the crowd huddled below the hill that creates an amphitheater at Riviera’s 18th. 

In a three-way tie for 2nd were Charley Hull of England, Gaby Lopez of Mexico and In Gee Chun of South Korea.

Korda, 27 and the World No. 1, has taken both of the women’s majors this year, adding the Open—unquestionably the biggest women’s event in the game—to the Chevron, which you may recall began as the Dinah Shore in Palm Desert.

There is no question Nelly, who struggled last year, at the moment is the best on the LPGA. There is a question whether she is the best athlete in her talented family.

Her father, Petr, was a Czech former professional tennis player who reached World No. 2 and won the 1998 Australian Open.  Her mother, Regina Rajchrtova, was a former professional tennis player who represented Czechoslovakia and competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Nelly’s sister, Jessica, was a highly successful professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Her younger brother, Sebastian, plays the ATP tour.

Korda is the youngest American player to win four majors since Mickey Wright, the one-time Stanford star, in 1960, and only the second American in the past 10 years to win the Open.

Korda had been frustrated after going winless in 2025. 

“I’ve tried to have a mindset shift,” Korda said. “I’m just going to embrace the challenges, and I’m not going to walk off the golf course. I’m just going to figure it out.”

She did exactly that.

Korda finds success at Hogan’s Alley

The place is known as Hogan’s Alley. Ben Hogan won a U.S. Open at Riviera Country Club, and now Nellie Korda has as well. 

Maybe calling it Nelly’s niche is a bit premature so we’ll skip that description.

But when a great player succeeds on a great course, it is more than a footnote.   

As is the work of the U.S. Golf Association which through its work gave the ladies the opportunity the men had, to play and win the national championship on an historic layout. 

Pebble Beach was the site in 2023, a groundbreaker, and Allison Korpuz, the winner. Then Sunday at “The Riv”, where the walls are covered with photos of entertainers—everyone from Humphrey Bogart to Dean Martin—and there is a statue of Hogan at the practice green.

After opening with a 2 over 73 Thursday, Korda got her game together—or considering Riviera’s famous membership—act together—and ended up with a total score of 8-under-par-276. She closed with a 2-under-par 69 Sunday, dropping a 2-foot, 10 inch putt on the 18th green for the victory. Korda won by a shot. 

That brought huge cheers from the crowd huddled below the hill that creates an amphitheater at Riviera’s 18th. 

In a three-way tie for 2nd were Charley Hull of England, Gaby Lopez of Mexico and In Gee Chun of South Korea.

Korda, 27 and the World No. 1, has taken both of the women’s majors this year, adding the Open—unquestionably the biggest women’s event in the game—to the Chevron, which you may recall began as the Dinah Shore in Palm Desert.

There is no question Nelly, who struggled last year, at the moment is the best on the LPGA. There is a question whether she is the best athlete in her talented family.

Her father, Petr, was a Czech former professional tennis player who reached World No. 2 and won the 1998 Australian Open.  Her mother, Regina Rajchrtova, was a former professional tennis player who represented Czechoslovakia and competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Nelly’s sister, Jessica, was a highly successful professional golfer on the LPGA Tour. Her younger brother, Sebastian, plays the ATP tour.

Korda is the youngest American player to win four majors since Mickey Wright, the one-time Stanford star, in 1960, and only the second American in the past 10 years to win the Open.

Korda had been frustrated after going winless in 2025. 

“I’ve tried to have a mindset shift,” Korda said. “I’m just going to embrace the challenges, and I’m not going to walk off the golf course. I’m just going to figure it out.”

She did exactly that.

Of tennis youth, Giants third base coaches, and Niners' memories

And from out of the June gloom, proof that the sporting world is even more confusing than the real one—and in some cases, just as satisfying or unsatisfying.

We’re all growing older, of course, except the people who play tennis.

In the men’s semi-final Tuesday at Roland Garros—okay, the French Open—Jakub Mensik defeated the new kid, Joao Fonseca, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6.

Fonseca is 19. Mensik, an ancient 20. A few days ago, Fonseca defeated Novak Djokovic. He’s 39, which in the game is almost antediluvian. Then again, as you probably heard, Serena Williams is returning after four years of retirement and motherhood. She won 23 individual grand slams, the same as Djokovic. 

Marta Kostyuk dedicated her quarterfinals win to “the Ukrainian people for their resilience.” Did she clear that with the White House? 

Yes, the San Francisco Giants recently had a one-game winning streak. At the moment, they have a two-game losing streak, as opposed to the recent five games.

San Francisco just hired a new third-base coach, Gary Pettis. Maybe you’d prefer a new reliever or clean-up hitter, but that’s probably asking for too much. Oh yeah, how’s the idea of bringing a college guy to manage the team working out so far?

The NBA finals will start on Wednesday, and it seems a bit lonely without the Golden State Warriors or even the Los Angeles Lakers. Didn’t those two teams have an unbreakable lease on that spot in the playoffs? The experts saw this coming when Victor Webanyama was the first pick by San Antonio in the draft two and one-half years ago.

Is he enough to overcome the New York Knicks? Not sure, but Wembanyama has turned into the superstar the NBA hoped for and other teams can only fear.

There is a wonderful piece on Roger Maltbie by Brody Miller in The Athletic, bringing to life the unvarnished personality of the man—now a 74-year-old grandfather—who learned his golf in San Jose. Maltbie went from winning tournaments, including the first Memorial in 1976, to winning accolades and laughs as a television announcer. This year’s Memorial starts Thursday at—where else?—Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village course in Columbus, Ohio. Maltbie will be working as a walking commentator and on-course reporter for The Golf Channel. Roger partnered with 49ers’ owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which is the reason Maltbie has three Super Bowl rings. Are you old enough to remember when the Niners won a Super Bowl?

A Niners Super Bowl this upcoming season is probably more wish than reality, especially with the Rams trading for All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, who has been described as a superstar. 

And then there are the defending Seattle Seahawks, who, like the Rams and Niners, are in the NFC West. 

Yet, nothing will be decided for months, long after the tennis is finished at Roland Garros.

Your serve, Niners.

“Golf is an amazing game”: Rai after his PGA victory

Yes, someone named Aaron Rai won the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

How did he do it? The simple explanation: golf.

The game is not only frustrating and bewildering, but it also offers more unexpected results than maybe any other sport. It can also be rewarding. That’s because the players are on their own, and perhaps most of all, because there is no defense—other than the course.

In 2003, Shawn Micheel won the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, NY. And it was a considerable surprise. Micheel hadn’t done much playing competitively.

Rai had done enough so that his three-shot victory in the 108th PGA Championship couldn’t be called that big a shock, although perhaps at least it was a minor one.

A 31-year-old from Wolverton, England overcame a field that included virtually every current great player from here to St. Andrews. How’s this for a partial list of people he beat: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Zander Schauffele, John Rahm, Justin Thomas, and Brooks Koepka, each of whom has won multiple majors.  

That’s the beauty of golf. Someone unforeseen, unpredictable, knocking in a few putts and knocking off many of the game’s top players.

Rai shot a 5-under par 65 Sunday to win the second major of the season. Rai had won events on both the PGA Tour (the Wyndham) and the DP Tour, played beautifully down the stretch, particularly on the greens, holing a 39-footer for an eagle 3 on the 9th hole and then, in resounding fashion, a 68-foot birdie on 17 to further thrill a boisterous gallery.

After becoming the 1st native born Englishman to win the event since Jim Barnes in 1919, Rai, a cool, humble 31-year-old, was asked about his place in history.

“Golf is an amazing game,” said Rai. “It teaches you so many things, and it teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is ever given in this game.”

But a great deal is taken, particularly when the setup is to penalize anything but a perfect shot. 

Alex Smalley carried a two-shot lead until the final round, but that didn’t last very long. Rahm, moving ahead briefly and in the process emphasizing what a wild day this would become. At the end, Smalley and Rahm tied for second at 274, Rahm after a 2-under 68 and Smalley with an even-par 70. Scheffler managed a 1-under 69, but a total of 2-under 278 left him tied for 14th. McIlroy 69. Total 276.

Rai made six birdies over the last 10 holes, taking the lead for good on the 13th.

“To be here,” said Rai after clutching the Wanamaker Trophy, “is beyond my wildest dreams.”

Isn’t it time Scheffler wins another major?

Alright, Scottie, isn’t it about time? You haven’t won a major since last July.

Maybe it’s unfair to say that golf needs you, but truth tell golf needs you.  Specifically, golf needs great rivalries, Ben Hogan vs Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus vs Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods vs (well there wasn’t anybody else). Right now it would be you against Rory McIlroy, if you would do your part.

You may be No. 1 in the world rankings but in recent weeks golf has belonged to McIlroy who in April won a second consecutive Masters. Yes, you played admirably there, finishing second. But we’re not talking about merely  doing well, rather about domination. That brings us to this week’s 108th PGA Championship in Aronimink, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, your next chance. Golf’s next chance.

Strange things happen on a golf course where it seems the unpredictable becomes the inevitable, or haven’t you noticed what has taken place in recent weeks?  

The leader board at the recent Truist Championship played at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, where in 2025 you won the PGA Championship, was packed with names of players still trying to make their mark, people such as Kristoffer Reitan who won, Nicolai Hejgaard, and Sungjae Im. It wasn’t that long ago people in golf were predicting Ricky Fowler, who tied for second in the Truist, would become the champion that you are. He’s been impressive, a Players Title on his resume, but he has never won a major.

A football coach named Jim Mora told us about predictions in the NFL “You don’t know, you can’t know, you never will know.” The same thing probably could be said about golf. So maybe any predictions about the outcome of this PGA Championship wouldn’t make much sense. Still you believe.  Scheffler who has 20 Tour victories, could get another this week.

“You know you’re playing good golf,” Scheffler told the media, “and you’d love to get some wins. Finishing second hurts, but I think when you reflect and you’re looking at things to work on, there’s a lot less to clean up when you’re finishing second than there is when you’re finishing 30th.”

Scheffler has not finished as low as 30th in a tournament the last two years. However, a degree of frustration builds when there are numerous near misses, particularly when your wife chides you with notable humor.

According to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press, Meredith Scheffler told her husband, “You’re the first guy in PGA Tour history to have three solo runner-ups in a row.”

Hey, if you can’t have fun, why play the game?

LIV Golf Tour runs out of cash and maybe patience

It was Everett Dirksen, a senator from Illinois, who, when reviewing the defense department’s request for financing, said, “A billion dollars here, a billion dollars there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.”

Which is what golf has been talking about forever, particularly since the ill-fated LIV Tour came into existence some five years ago, fueled by money from oil sheiks who hoped to force the established PGA Tour into acceptance. And as the American Football League once did with the NFL, a merger. 

That possibility was doomed on Thursday, when those who fund the LIV tour—operating under the banner of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia—withdrew their substantial financial support.

In other words, the war is over. The PGA Tour won. 

That may not matter to us prols who believe that paying $50 to play a municipal course or attend a tour event, but it certainly will have an effect on the sport. Maybe it already has.

Rumors that the LIV board was about to change its approach have been floating around like so many miss-hit shots the past two weeks or so. The rumors were denied, naturally, but came to be true, naturally.

Golf and tennis, sports without home games, need recognizable players to get attention, something the LIV folks realized early on. So they tossed around those six-figure promises, believing that a few wealthy and famous players would create interest. 

They had a few stars, Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm, both of whom won multiple majors, to name two. What they didn’t have was much substance or depth. How many fans could be lured by Patrick Reed, although he won a Masters? The PGA Tour had Tiger Woods on its side, even though his career was hindered by injuries and time, and no less Rory McIlroy, whose personality as well as his championships were the stuff of high TV ratings and top headlines.

If you haven’t noticed, golf is in a transition period. There is a new incoming tour commissioner, Brian Rolapp, who is moving from an executive position in the NFL, seems determined to restructure Pro Golf, reducing the number of less important events. Already, the tournament in Napa has been eliminated, as have the long-time winter stops in Hawaii, including the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii.

If that gives fewer opportunities for the less established and exempt players, so be it. Ratings are what count, and if you are going to compete with the NFL, which of course is impossible, then you have to provide an attraction that is special. Or people who are special.

Scottie Scheffler fits perfectly there. As do the Masters and other majors. If you are going to spend Sunday afternoon in front of a set, there better be a solid reason. 

So, LIV, with its competition limited to matches of three rounds, not four, and with virtually none of the big boys, was at a disadvantage. The Saudis finally opted to pull the plug. Even the wealthiest of groups or individuals will not accept endless failure. It’s a blow to the ego as well as to the bankroll.

Thanks for the memory.

Dodgers-Giants feud, exactly what baseball needed on NFL draft day

“Just a fastball inside.” Of course—and just a reminder that the Los Angeles Dodgers (the dreaded Dodgers) and San Francisco Giants will remain the sort of sporting enemies that keep a rivalry alive.

The comment came from Logan Webb on Thursday after he drilled L.A.'s Dalton Rushing in the sixth inning of a game LA would win 3-0 to avoid being swept in a 3-game series—for what, the first time since Walter Alston was managing and the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn?

This was exactly what baseball needed on an afternoon when most of the free world seemed overwhelmed by the little function called the NFL draft.

What the Giants needed and what they got were victories in the first two games of the series and the thought that San Francisco might have a competent team, if not one good enough to overtake the Dodgers over the long haul.

So for the moment, we’ll focus on the fun and friction of the just-completed series at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, where few runs were scored, and few seats were empty.

Although, unfortunately, some of the seats that weren’t empty had an uncomfortably large number of Dodger fans, perhaps because they wanted to see the Bay Bridge. What they did see during the three games was a feud that has gone on between the two teams for decades. Or don’t you remember Sal (The Barber) Maglie throwing at Duke Snider, or not too long ago, Dodgers outfielder Reggie Smith climbing into the stands at Candlestick Park, attempting to dismember a heckling Giants spectator?

What happened Tuesday night was that Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was tagged out at home plate by Dalton Rushing. Lee, in apparent pain, sat behind the plate after the collision.  And a Bay Area Sports TV camera caught LA catcher, Dalton Rushing, spitting out an apparent two-word obscenity.

Rushing denied the accusation, but the Giants naturally didn’t forget what they thought was a violation of baseball conduct. 

When Webb, who grew up in Northern California and knows what has gone on between the Dodgers and Giants, plunked Lee, LA Manager Dave Roberts said it was in retaliation for the Tuesday incident.

“What's the thing with Jung Hoo?? asked Webb. “I didn’t even see that...just a fastball inside.”

Tony Vitello was experiencing the joy and heartbreak of a Dodger-Giants battle for the first time since becoming San Francisco’s manager. 

Vitello’s college days at Tennessee were never like this.  

Vitello pointed out that winning two out of three from the World Series Champion Dodgers “is an achievement.” He was understandably satisfied with Webb’s performance.

“This series felt like a play-off type atmosphere.” More specifically, it felt like a Dodgers-Giants game, and that is exactly what it was.

Dodgers-Giants feud, exactly what baseball needed on NFL draft day

“Just a fastball inside.” Of course—and just a reminder that the Los Angeles Dodgers (the dreaded Dodgers) and San Francisco Giants will remain the sort of sporting enemies that keep a rivalry alive.

The comment came from Logan Webb on Thursday after he drilled L.A.'s Dalton Rushing in the sixth inning of a game LA would win 3-0 to avoid being swept in a 3-game series—for what, the first time since Walter Alston was managing and the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn?

This was exactly what baseball needed on an afternoon when most of the free world seemed overwhelmed by the little function called the NFL draft.

What the Giants needed and what they got were victories in the first two games of the series and the thought that San Francisco might have a competent team, if not one good enough to overtake the Dodgers over the long haul.

So for the moment, we’ll focus on the fun and friction of the just-completed series at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, where few runs were scored, and few seats were empty.

Although, unfortunately, some of the seats that weren’t empty had an uncomfortably large number of Dodger fans, perhaps because they wanted to see the Bay Bridge. What they did see during the three games was a feud that has gone on between the two teams for decades. Or don’t you remember Sal (The Barber) Maglie throwing at Duke Snider, or not too long ago, Dodgers outfielder Reggie Smith climbing into the stands at Candlestick Park, attempting to dismember a heckling Giants spectator?

What happened Tuesday night was that Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee was tagged out at home plate by Dalton Rushing. Lee, in apparent pain, sat behind the plate after the collision.  And a Bay Area Sports TV camera caught LA catcher, Dalton Rushing, spitting out an apparent two-word obscenity.

Rushing denied the accusation, but the Giants naturally didn’t forget what they thought was a violation of baseball conduct. 

When Webb, who grew up in Northern California and knows what has gone on between the Dodgers and Giants, plunked Lee, LA Manager Dave Roberts said it was in retaliation for the Tuesday incident.

“What's the thing with Jung Hoo?? asked Webb. “I didn’t even see that...just a fastball inside.”

Tony Vitello was experiencing the joy and heartbreak of a Dodger-Giants battle for the first time since becoming San Francisco’s manager. 

Vitello’s college days at Tennessee were never like this.  

Vitello pointed out that winning two out of three from the World Series Champion Dodgers “is an achievement.” He was understandably satisfied with Webb’s performance.

“This series felt like a play-off type atmosphere.” More specifically, it felt like a Dodgers-Giants game, and that is exactly what it was.

Curry, Warriors on the precipice again after win to keep season going

Again, they are on the edge, the precipice. Again, the Warriors are a game away from the end of a season, maybe the end of an era.  

Now it’s the Suns Friday night at Phoenix who could send them into a summer of disenchantment.  

But look how far they’ve come after the injuries and the changes. If it’s a last hurrah, so be it. Not that a team that so many times has shown its character and skill is ready to be eliminated in what is a play-in game for the postseason.

The Warriors win, they are in the playoffs against Oklahoma City, and presumably headed for a rapid first-round defeat.

But that’s the pessimistic (realistic?) viewpoint. And through the years, Golden State has been a franchise full of optimism, and of course, success.

Which is only proper when your roster has been populated with players such as Steph Curry and Draymond Green, players who have grown older, but as we were reminded Wednesday night, have not lost the ability to surprise or to win.

Or specifically, in Curry’s case, to shoot the basketball.

There they were, 13 points behind the Los Angeles Clippers in the 4th quarter on the Clippers’ home floor, where Golden State had lost the previous seven games. 

Then there he was, Curry, who had missed a quarter of the regular season because of a leg injury, taking over, hitting shot after shot and leading the Warriors to a 126-121 victory. 

“That’s who he is,” Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr said of Curry’s wonderful offensive burst. “That’s what he does.” 

What he did this time was score 35 points, making 7-of-12 three-point attempts, 16 points in the 3rd quarter. 

“It’s just my job,” said Draymond, “to get him open and get him the ball back, and he did the rest…That’s 14 years. That don’t happen overnight.”

It’s also Draymond’s job to play defense, and in the final minute, he did that spectacularly, keeping the Clippers from getting off a good shot and twice stealing the ball. 

The Warriors were more than a two-man team, certainly. Gui Santos and Kristaps Porzingis each scored 20 for Golden State, while Brandin Podziemski had 17.

It has been a difficult time, a transition period with key men of the past aging, a problem faced by all successful teams in every sport. 

So every triumph, small as it may appear, can be considered meaningful. A link to the great days of the past.  

The Warriors won four NBA Championships starting with the 2014-15 season. And while this one victory may not stand up against those titles, it could find a place in the team’s history. 

“For one night, we’re us,” said Kerr. “We’re champions again.”

What’s ahead for Rory after his second Master’s title?

It’s different now for Rory McIlroy. And for so many of us. We kept wondering if he would ever win a Masters. Now we wonder how many Masters or other major championships he might win.

Check the list of men who have won golf’s big ones, people such as Jack Nicklaus, whose total of 18 never will be broken, Tiger Woods, and even from the past, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan. 

Maybe it is silly to even mention Rory in the same sentence as those others. 

He’s far behind. But when Rory, Sunday, took a Masters for a 2nd straight year, which only three others have done, you begin to think of future possibilities. 

Yes, Tiger Woods has 15 majors, Gene Sarazen had seven, and the great Ben Hogan won nine. And there are others high on the list.

But McIlroy is only 36, and now that he has a short game to go with his long drives and wicked determination, who’s to say he couldn’t pick up two or three more titles?

McIlroy applied both his skill and his courage in capturing the 2026 Masters on Sunday, displaying the wonderfully impressive short game he has added to a repertoire that already made him one of the sport’s current stars. 

Rory offered a not-unusual blend of excellence and mistakes on the first nine with a double bogey on the fourth hole, a bogey on the sixth, and then birdies on the seventh and eighth. He ended up shooting a 1-under par 71 for a total of 12-under 276 and a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler, who came in with a four under 68. 

There was a four-way tie for third at 278 among Justin Rose (70), Tyrrell Hatton (66), Cameron Young (73), and Russell Henley (68). In the early going, Rose, 3 times a runner-up, including 2025, and Young, each briefly held the lead.

Anyone familiar with the Masters, including the competitors, knows how quickly things change. The pressure in this first major of every year seems to build through the winter to spring. 

“I thought it was so difficult to win last year,” was McIlroy’s assessment of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam, “and then this year I realized it’s just really difficult to win the Masters.” 

That’s because the course, remodeled in the 1950’s by the late Robert Trent Jones Sr., is wonderfully challenging, the competition is outstanding, and the history can be overwhelming.

Huge scoreboards that keep everyone informed and the booming roars of the fans (or as they are known here, patrons) create an atmosphere that is both unique and sometimes intimidating. And just the name, Masters, says all you need to know.

What you also need to know is that McIlroy now joins Nicklaus, Woods, and Nick Faldo as Masters winners in consecutive years.

McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, has never been shy with his words, opinions, or tee shots. He isn’t the next Tiger Woods—there won’t be another Tiger Woods—but McIlroy’s popularity is universal.

Asked at the end of his round the familiar, if somewhat bizarre, question—“What has golf taught you about life?”—he had the perfect answer: “Just keep going.”

That’s what Rory is doing, keeping going.

Rory tied for first, but Day One of Masters looks like the U.S. Open

The Masters came disguised as the U.S. Open. A tournament famous for birdies and low scores suddenly turned into a frightening display of double and triple bogeys.

Thursday’s opening round did have some positive aspects, including an impressive start by Rory McIlroy, who was trying for a second straight win at Augusta, and shared the lead with Sam Burns, at 5-under par 67. 

But perhaps what was more newsworthy were the rounds by pre-event betting favorites, Bryson DeChambeau, a 4 over par 76, and Jon Rahm, a 78. Those are scores you might expect at Pebble Beach or Oakmont, not at a place where there is virtually no rough and is familiar to almost all the contestants.

Long ago, the late Tony Lema, who grew up in the Bay Area, was quoted as saying the Open is hard work, while the Masters is fun. 

Presumably, neither DeChambeau, who made a run last year, nor Rahm, a former winner, were having much fun as they put scores you almost needed an adding machine to record.

On the contrary, McIlroy, who completed his personal grand slam with a victory in last year’s Masters, presumably was enjoying every minute of his return.

“Honestly, I couldn’t have got a lot more out of my round,” said McIlroy, who shot the lowest first-round score for a defending champion since Jordan Spieth opened with a 66 in 2016. 

“I feel I leaned heavily on my experience out there. It’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the Champions Locker Room and put my green jacket on at the end of the day,”

Scottie Scheffler, No. 1 in the world rankings, is also a former winner, and after a 70 on Thursday, certainly is a solid possibility to take his third Masters.

But to someone who’s been to 58 previous Masters, yours truly, and who is not in attendance this year, the most amazing part of the opening day was the stumbling of DeChambeau and Rahm.

DeChambeau, 11 shots behind after 18 holes, was in his worst position at this point in his 10 Masters starts.

“Everybody has an ability for weird things to happen,” said DeChambeau, a two-time US Open champion. “And (Thursday) I just did not have my irons under control, which is weird. It’s been good coming into it.”

As every golfer—and golf fan, oops, patron—can verify, what had been good inexplicably becomes bad.

Rahm, who as DeChambeau, plays on the LIV tour, and has won a Masters and two U.S. Opens, said after his 6-over, birdie-less round, “It’s going to be a very much more uphill battle right now, but I’m going to have to come out (Friday) and most likely post something in the 60’s to have a chance to make the cut and give myself a chance on the weekend.”

True, anything can happen, but there is a famous line: “You can’t win a tournament the first day; you can only lose it.”  

We’ll find out soon enough if that applies to DeChambeau or Rahm.

Georgia on the mind, but alas, I’ll be missing this Masters

The haunting melody and lyrics of Ray Charles hit me like a 3 iron. Georgia on his mind and this opening week of April also on mine. As usual.

The Master’s is almost here, but for the first time in decades, I am not there (sigh). 

I had covered all but two of the previous 58 tournaments at Augusta National—those two during the COVID years of 2020 and 2021—that makes 58 in all since my first in 1967. If you remember that year, Gay Brewer won.

The streak is over. Time, tide, and vision difficulties, not to mention the high price of nearby rooms, have caught up with me. 

As you may know I no longer drive, travel is difficult—the only reason I can get out of the house and onto a plane is because of my wife, Liz. I understand now what the great Ben Hogan meant when he said, “don’t get old.”

I missed that advice. And now I am missing my favorite golf tournament of any year. 

Yes, the Masters is not perfect, but it comes as close to perfection as anything in golf, anything in sports. A bit of pretension perhaps, the spectators are listed only as “patrons” and those patrons are not allowed to run on the grounds. Nor are cell phones allowed. An inconvenience, perhaps, in this modern society of instant communication, but if Rory McIlroy can do without his phone, so can the rest of us. 

This is the 90th Masters—it would have been my 59th—and the event history is full of names like Bobby Jones, who helped create the tournament; Gene Sarazen, whose double eagle (an albatross, if you will) in 1935 grabbed the nation’s attention; Jack Nicklaus, and, of course, Tiger Woods.

Timing is important. After a cold winter, the Masters is not only a sign of Spring, but the first huge sporting competition after the Super Bowl.

It’s also a verification that summer is on its way and people that are trapped in snow and ice in the northeast have reason to think of the future. That is both encouraging and enticing.

We’re told the Masters, which began with another name, became popular because baseball writers en route from Spring Training in Florida, stopped in Augusta on their way home.

That sports columnist, Grantland Rice, whose “Four Horseman” lead on the 1924 Army-Notre Dame Game became infamous, was an Augusta member, also contributed to the tournament’s growth.

Although certainly no one thinks of blue grey skies during April.

That the Masters is the championship of nothing, unlike the other three majors, the US Open, British Open, and PGA Championship, is insignificant. 

It has earned its special place in both our thoughts and the headlines. The cliché is the Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday afternoon, and certainly there always seems to be drama in those final holes. As it did last year when McIlroy finally broke through to win. 

Can’t wait to see what will happen this time—although I’ll be in front of a TV set not in the press row at Augusta National. Darn.

Will Tiger, the hero, become a figure of an F. Scott Fitzgerald tragedy?

“Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy,” F. Scott Fitzgerald told us. For some reason, that line keeps running through the mind when I think of Tiger Woods and his latest misfortune. 

Tiger’s car accident a few days ago was not quite a tragedy, but it was yet another indication that Woods has problems that might be hard to imagine for a person with a talent so rare and popularity so remarkable.

From the time he was 2 years old and appearing on television, there was never a chance Tiger would fit the category of normalcy.

He was a genius, and whether that word is applicable to someone who breaks par or breaks scientific barriers, the individual tends not to be like the rest of us.

Geniuses are supposed to be different, and so the basic rules do not always apply.

This doesn’t excuse Woods for the road mishaps—lives are at stake—but it might explain the reasons. Woods was an only child—although his father previously had other children—and with unrelenting attention because of his links to success, Tiger had no place to escape the fame.

Although at Stanford, he attempted to stay as much as possible under the radar, thus earning the nickname “Urkel,” for the nebbish character in the sitcom Family Matters. 

My association with Woods began in his sophomore year at Stanford, and I was as guilty as anyone else in pestering him for stories. When he turned pro, after winning a third straight US Amateur, something neither Jack Nicklaus nor Bobby Jones could accomplish, the pressure got worse. I remember Woods during his rookie year at the then-Los Angeles Open at Riviera Country Club. The Hollywood crowd was there. Female reporters seemed less interested in Woods’ backswing than in whether he was a “swinger,” pressing him about his social life and possible girlfriends. He was understandably uncomfortable.

Tiger became the face of golf, all too quickly. I was in Paris a few years ago, and when a tour director at the Louvre asked what I did, I told her I was a sportswriter. She immediately wondered, “Do you know Tiger Woods?” 

“In a way,” I said.

Woods’ lifestyle and game reflected his personality and the direction of his super-confident and demanding father, Earl. His dad was a Green Beret, and Tiger took lessons in combat and bungee jumping. While in New Zealand in 2006 with his then caddy, Steve Williams, he leaped 440 feet twice over Nevis River.

Tiger was his own man. 

He even won the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines on a leg so bad he needed surgery a short time later.

So when I read the comments of others after the latest auto accident, and they justify that Woods needs to be more responsible, I tend to wonder if that is possible. Yes, as others have suggested, Tiger needs to get a driver—for the car, not a golf club. Still, it is easy for us to criticize Tiger. 

Mark Lye, who is a fine amateur and then a pro—and who I covered when he was a junior in Northern California—has his own thoughts on Woods and his car mishaps. And they are not kind. Lye, speaking on Fox and Friends, described Tiger’s situation as “shameful and selfish.”

Lye, 73, insisted the PGA Tour remove Tiger as one of the hosts of the Genesis Invitational, held each February. 

Tiger is frustrated. His injuries, even before the last one, have kept him from the course while keeping him in the headlines.

You can only hope that everything changes for the better.

Pro debut of new Giants manager Vitello, a losing one

 A story the other day pointed out how enthusiastically the Giants had bought into the philosophy of Tony Vitello, who before Wednesday had never managed a game in professional baseball, much less in the major leagues.

But as Vitello—and the rest of us—were reminded, there’s more to the game than understanding and enthusiasm.

Vitello’s debut as the unusual choice as manager of the San Francisco Giants hardly was what he or the franchise had envisioned when, a few months ago, he was hired off the University of Tennessee campus. The idea of General Manager Buster Posey was that Vitello, who had great success with undergraduates, would achieve similar success with the Giants. 

That eventually might take place, but the team’s first game with Vitello in charge was anything but a 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees.  

A Giants-Yankees game belongs in the World Series, not the season opener. But since the majors have stepped away from tradition, maybe nothing makes sense anymore on the diamond. 

Other than the team with better pitching and better hitting will always win, as was the situation at Oracle Park on day one of San Francisco’s 2026 season.

We knew the Giants, as every other franchise, were not going to be undefeated in a 162-game schedule. With the hype and promotion, however, you believed they could at least make it through one game. Especially with All-Star Logan Webb pitching, but the Yankee power and Webb’s bewildering ineffectiveness had the Giants down 5-0 by the second inning. Adios.

Major League Baseball reportedly paid $80 million to have this game and a few others shown exclusively on Netflix, trying to persuade—force?—viewers to subscribe to the service.

If Bay Area fans were thus unable to watch unless they paid up, it might have been a blessing. 

There was skepticism among veteran baseball people when Posey and the Giants surprisingly selected Vitello. The game is one requiring skill, persistence, and experience. Then again, if you’re in the same league as the Dodgers and Shohei Otani, why not try a different approach?  Not that anything seems to work against the dreaded Dodgers. It is hard to say what was more discouraging on Wednesday, Webb, giving up nine hits in five innings, or the Giants recording only three hits, two off starter Max Fried.

Vitello did not attempt to gloss over the seemingly apparent problems of the Giants.

"Whichever phase you pick out,” said a forthright Vitello, “we just weren't as good as we're capable of being.”  

The capability may be the question mark. The Giants were virtually a .500 team in 2025, and you wonder with their personnel whether there will be much improvement. 

Even the manager pointed out the Giants were struggling with their baserunning, hitting, and—no question—pitching. 

The Giants-Yankees game started around 5:30 pm and ended around 8. By then, the Golden State Warriors already were on the court against the Washington Wizards at neighboring Chase Center.

Too much traffic, but at least some good news—the Warriors won. Unlike the Giants.

Tie-break paradise: Aryna, Jannik win BNP titles

INDIAN WELLS — They call this place Tennis Paradise. This weekend at the end of the BNP Paribas Open you could have called it Tiebreak Paradise.

Not that there is anything wrong going into overtime when they have the No. 1-ranked player in women’s tennis and No. 2-ranked in the men’s game. 

Aryana Sabalenka, who tops the WTA rankings, overcame her own distress and Elena Rybakina to win the women’s final Sunday, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Then, a short while later, Jannik Sinner, 2nd in the ATP rankings, outlasted Daniil Medvedev, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) in the men’s final.

Yes, it was overwhelmingly hot at Indian Wells, down the road from Palm Springs. The temperature crested at 94F as the finalists sweated both figuratively and literally.

Hey, the thermometer is supposed to reach the six-digit level by Wednesday. But by then, none of the players who helped draw a total of 527,600 spectators for the tournament will be around, having gone on to Miami or other venues. 

“It was super-hot, I was dying there in the tiebreak,” said Sabalenka. 

However, she was living well enough to extend her overall record against Rybakina, No. 2 in the rankings, to 9-7.

“But what I’m happy with is that I was able to pull out great serves to get into the tiebreak,” said Sabalenka. “I also saw that she was not feeling her best. So I was trying to push myself basically to the limit. I’m super happy that in those last three points of the match, I was able to pull out really great tennis and get the win. 

Which is what the best players manage to do. Someone wondered how she had the strength to lift the winner’s trophy. She said, “I need the good picture. I’ve got to lift it up.”

Medvedev, a two-time BNP champion, said after the loss to Sinner, “It was a great tournament, great level of playing, but disappointed with the results. I played good enough to beat Carlos (Alcaraz) this year.”

Sinner produced big shots in the tie-break, which had the packed Stadium 1 crowd screaming.

“Today Sinner’s serve was phenomenal,” said Medvedev. “His serve was hard to read.”  

That’s one reason Sinner, the Italian, has won four Grand Slam tournaments, but this is his first victory here at Indian Wells.

Saturday, Sinner said about his status, “This is the first time in the final. Now we see what’s coming tomorrow.”

What came was a triumph of will and big serves. That combination will get you far. No matter how high the temperature, and as Sabalenka reminded us, it was very high and uncomfortable.

Medvedev knocks out Alcaraz. Will he finally get that BNP title?

INDIAN WELLS — It isn’t as if Daniil Medvedev is unfamiliar with the territory. Twice before he’s been in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open, although losing both times to Carlos Alcaraz.

But on this 93-degree Saturday afternoon in the California desert, Medvedev defeated the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in a BNP semi. So he will face Jannik Sinner, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Alexander Zverev in the other semi.

Alcaraz, the 23-year-old Spaniard who leads the ATP rankings, had won 16 consecutive matches since a loss at the ATP finals last November. Maybe the number is distorted somewhat because Alcaraz, like many players of his ilk, had most of the winter off. 

But the fact that he had not been defeated cannot be distorted. Nor can the relatively dominant victory by Medvedev, particularly coming two weeks after being forced to ride seven hours while trying to go from Dubai to Turkey, and then eventually by jet to the United States. 

If Alcaraz wasn’t impressed by Medvedev’s forced journey, he was by Medvedev’s tennis in their semi-final today. “Since the start of the match until the end of the match, he was playing unreal,” said Alcaraz. “I’ve never seen Daniil playing like this.”

“He deserves completely to get through and play a final here. All I can say is just congratulations to him.” 

Alcaraz said Medvedev, a former US Open winner, kept him off balance.

“I'm just running all the time against him.”  

Medvedev had his own outlook on the match.

“It’s an amazing feeling to beat someone like Carlos, No 1 in the world. In a way, when you play, it doesn’t matter the ranking.”

Sinner was No. 1 in the world for a few weeks before Alcaraz gained the spot. A Northern Italian whose basic language is German, Sinner goes about his business with few mistakes and fewer smiles. He moves beautifully and, at 6-foot-3, is able to reach shots that might escape others.

“First time I play in the finals here means a lot to me,” Sinner said.

This from a man who has won four Grand Slams and is the first from his country ever to be ranked number one.

Not surprisingly, he offered high praise of Medvedev. 

“He’s back to a very, very high level. Very big serve. I feel like, you know, he’s returning very well. Very, very deep. Everyone is trying to be slightly more aggressive.”

“And I think Daniil has found again a good, good balance on court, winning a title in Dubai, coming here, making again great results. But also last time we played has been quite a while now.”

Indeed. Let’s see.