Fleetwood no longer a “nearly man” on the PGA Tour

The congratulatory messages came from those no less accomplished in sport than the person to whom they were directed.

From LeBron James. From Caitlin Clark. From Tiger Woods. From winners who perhaps better than the rest of us understood how it felt for a golfer named Tommy Fleetwood at last to become a winner on the PGA Tour.

And to do it in the final event of the Tour's crawl across the calendar and across the country.

No, pro golf is not over. It returns almost before we’re ready, a month from now, with the Procore Championship, September 11-14, at Silverado Country Club in Napa.  But Fleetwood’s drive(and putt) for a victory is over.

Fleetwood is from England, where our modern games were created. And there is a belief that taking part is just as important as being successful. And we’ve all been raised on the famous poem by Grantland Rice that when the great scorer comes to write against our name, he will judge not whether we won or lost but how we played the game.

And yet, we’re obsessed with victory or the lack of it.  Fleetwood’s career on the PGA tour, inevitably, was discussed in terms of what he hadn’t done, win, rather than about anything he had—including high finishes in the US Open. His streak, as we were reminded all too often, was 164 PGA Tour events without finishing first.

Similar to the Buffalo Bills—defined less by their many great seasons than by the fact that they’ve never won a Super Bowl.

Whether the negative references affected Fleetwood, we may never know until he stops competing. And since he is only 34, that probably will not be for quite a while.

Fleetwood showed his courage and skill in winning. He began the final round Sunday in a first-place tie with Patrick Cantlay, and the question was whether he could outlast Cantlay, who had won the Tour Championship four years ago.

We found out, and possibly Fleetwood found out about himself. This was the third time in the last two months he went into the final round in first or tied for first.

“It completes the story of the near-misses,” he said. “Winning on the PGA Tour was a step I wanted to take.”  

It’s a step every golfer on tour wants to take, needs to take. However, you wonder if we make too much about winning in sports, and forget about the other virtues of being in the battle. Do we recognize the effort required to play any game at a high level? Do we appreciate the job well done? That’s up to the individual.

The job Fleetwood did through the years was impressive, but it was judged incomplete. In Britain, they have a phrase for an athlete or sportsman who comes close but doesn’t come out on top: “nearly man.”  

If indeed that was the way some thought of Tommy Fleetwood, a revision is required.

Howell’s US Amateur win steals a youthful mark from Tiger

The kid was very talented and very driven. Like Tiger Woods. Now the kid has his name on the Havemeyer Trophy as US Amateur champion. Like Tiger Woods.

Except there is one difference. Mason Howell won his title Sunday at an even earlier age than did Woods, Howell routing Jackson Herrington 7 and 6, Sunday, on the Olympic Club’s Lake Course, in their scheduled 36-hole final match, which in effect sadly turned out to be a mismatch.

But it didn’t detract from Howell, who only turned 18 late June, overtaking Woods as the third youngest amateur winner in the 125 years of the competition.

Howell will be returning for his senior year at Brookwood High in his hometown of Thomasville, Ga., down near the Florida border. After graduation, he’s already announced he will enroll at his home state school, the University of Georgia, where the golf team is only a shade less prominent than the football team.

What had been a week of spectacular golf, play so often going to the ultimate hole, came to a rather lackluster conclusion, with Howell overwhelming Jackson Harrington in the final.

Maybe it would not be unfair to say Harrington, who attends another South East conference school, Tennessee, lost the match as much as Howell won it.

“I just played terrible,” said Herrington. “I can't lie. I hit some good shots that didn't even end up close. I thought I flagged it, and it flew 10 yards too far. I didn't even know what I was doing, and I couldn't figure it out.”

Howell figured things out long ago. A multi-sport athlete, he gave up baseball and tennis to concentrate on golf. A good decision, it appears. 

If the competition on Sunday wasn’t what we had hoped, the weather was better than anyone might have expected. After a week of heavy fog and occasional light drizzle, on Sunday the sun finally emerged along the Northern California coastline. 

But for Howell, the shining moment had nothing to do with the weather.

“To have my name next to these other names (people like Tiger, Jack Nicklaus, and Bobby Jones) on this trophy is unbelievable,” said Howell. “To be next to somebody named Tiger, that’s an unreal feeling.” 

The youngest golfers to win the US  Amateur were, in order, Byeong Hun An (2009), 17 years, 11 months, and 13 days; Danny Lee (2008) at 18 years and 1 month; and Tiger Woods (1964), 18 years, 7 months, and 29 days. 

Now at 18 years and 1 ½ months, Howell has replaced Woods as the third youngest. 

“To be ahead of Tiger in something,” said Howell, “that’s something that not a lot of people can say.”

Howell did trail early in the match against Herrington, losing the first two holes. However, he then won three consecutive holes with pars.  

An eagle on the short par-4 7th pushed him 4 up, all but sealing the victory.

All things considered, you might even call it a Tigerish performance.

Donegan comes up short in the Amateur, so it’s Howell and Herrington

The end of the run, but Niall Shiels Donegan, a few inches and one round short of reaching the final round of the US Amateur, saw it as more of a beginning, or at least a continuation. 

Donegan, who had seemingly most of Marin County providing vocal support, lost to Jackson Herrington one up in one of Saturday’s two semi-final matches. On Sunday, Herrington will face Mason Howell, who defeated Eric Lee 3-2 in the other semi-final at the Olympic Club where not surprisingly, an August day had a gloomy resemblance to January.

Maybe it wasn’t Mark Twain who said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco,” but whoever said it was as on target as some of the golfers were with their iron shots.

Herrington, 19, is about to enter his sophomore season at Tennessee, while Howell, 17, is scheduled to enroll at the University of Georgia in the fall.  

Anybody remember when they used to say, golf was an old man’s game? 

What we’ve been saying about Donegan is that when he was behind in other matches he was able to survive, and found a way to make the big putt at the close.  But despite vocal support from residents of Mill Valley, 20.3 miles across the Golden Gate from the Olympic Club, he wasn’t able to replicate his success of earlier rounds.

Donegan was born in Scotland and lists himself as Scottish, even though he has lived in Northern California since he was three.

“I did what I could,” said Donegan, who this fall will be transferring from Northwestern to the University of North Carolina. “I’m only 20. Like hopefully I’ve got a long career ahead of me, and this is just one of the many building blocks along the journey that hopefully commences.”

Almost certainly that career will be as a pro golfer.  

With the tour purses so large and the game so popular—Scottie Scheffler is living proof of the popularity—who wouldn’t make the effort to become a hero in the sport?

Not that Herrington isn’t already. He and Howell both have qualified for the Masters as US Amateur finalists. Herrington’s play was admirable especially because almost all the spectators watching the match were cheering for Donegan. Harrington was unbothered.

In fact he was almost inspired.

“I think I kind of feed off of it (the vocal support for his opponent). We’d be walking up the fairway, after he hit the fairway,” said Herrington. “And they’d be yelling like he made a hole-in-one. It was funny, I’d walk up the fairway and be like thank you.” 

Howell probably will know the same response Donegan received at Olympic when Mason arrives at Augusta, some 200 miles from his hometown of Thomasville, GA. Howell called qualifying for the Masters unbelievable. 

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. That’s something me and my family will celebrate (Saturday night) for sure.”

There would be no less a celebration by the winner of the Amateur, whether it is Herrington or Howell.

At the US Amateur, Donegan, Daly II, and some big surprises

Match play golf, even among equals, such as the pros, is a game of excitement, tension, and wild unpredictability. That last issue is the primary reason it’s rarely seen on tour.

You think that TV sponsors want an event in which the stars are no longer in the field after a round or two?

But match play is the essence of the amateur game, and one of the reasons the 125th U. S. Amateur now underway in the cold and gloom (brrrr) at San Francisco’s Olympic Club has been so fascinating.

Seedings and rankings mean almost nothing. As you may note from what has happened. The world’s number one-ranked player, Joseph Kolvin, was bounced 3 and 2 by Max Herendeen Thursday morning in the second round, and later in the afternoon, the number one qualifier, Preston Stout, was ousted by David Liechty, 2 and 1.

But finally, and fortunately, the surprises stopped there, not that it was any consolation to the favorites that lost. But the Friday quarterfinals would include one guy who has become a Bay Area star, Niell Shiels Donegan of Mill Valley in Marin County, and another who perhaps is on the way to equaling the stardom of his father, John Daly II. 

Donegan lists his nationality in the entry form as a Scot, and true, he was born in Scotland, but he came to America at age three and no way speaks with a Scottish accent. Donegan, who is in the process of transferring to the University of North Carolina after two years at Northwestern, is the guy who stunned Stout, one-up, going in front with a birdie on the par-5 16th.

Daly advanced to the quarters by defeating Nate Smith of South Africa 3 and 2.

“My putter has been the key to my play this week,” said Daly, who attends the University of Arkansas, where his father once was enrolled. “I’ve been putting really good. I’m reading them well and excited to see putts fall in.”

Putts that fall invariably become the difference maker in match play.

No one could better point that out than Donegan’s father, Lawrence, a long-time sports journalist for the Guardian, who knows from experience what is possible in the games we play.

Asked how he would come down from the victory, Niall said, “My dad does a pretty good job of it. He reminds me that I’m just human, like at the end of the day, this is just golf. 10 percent of my life is golf. 90 percent of my life is my family, my friends. Just keep the 10 percent where it is and live the other 90 like anybody else.” 

But everybody else is not in the quarters of America’s most important amateur tournament.

A kid from the golf school takes the US Amateur Medal

Oklahoma State is a golf school, as surely as Duke is a basketball school and Oklahoma is a football school.

It’s had US Open Champions, Wyndham Clark; Masters Champions, Bob Tway; and a lot of other stars, including Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Scott Verplank, and Viktor Hovland.

So it should be no surprise that the medalist from this year’s US Amateur, Preston Stout, attended and played for Oklahoma State. Stout shot a 5-under par 65 Tuesday on Olympic Club’s historic Lake Course that, with a 3-under 67 Monday on the Club’s Ocean Course, gave him a 2-day score of 8-under 132 and Medalist honors as low qualifier for the 125th U.S. Amateur.

That’s quite impressive, but it wouldn’t mean a thing when match play began Wednesday on the Lake.

As golfers say, match play is a different animal from stroke play. 

“I love match play,” said Stout, even though a year ago he got knocked out in the first round of the Amateur.

Need we explain that match play is golf where each hole is a separate entity, and whether you lose the hole by one stroke or five strokes makes no difference. 

“I think it is the best form of golf,” Stout added, “and it’s super fun.”

Those feelings might not be shared by someone who gets eliminated early on. But match play tests your courage as much as it does your putting stroke.

Tommy Morrison, who shared the Monday lead with Charles Forrester, ended up two shots behind Stout, but of course was among the 64 players to get into match play.

Forrester, the Englishman who played for Long Beach State, slipped back Tuesday but was safely into match play. Also advancing to match play were John Daly II of Arkansas, whose father won two majors, and Luke Poulter, Florida, whose father, Ian, kept winning Ryder Cup matches.

There is a cliché that qualifying, which goes on from early morning to dark, is the longest day in golf. But for this amateur, you can make it the longest day and a half, because when the last putt was holed Tuesday, with the fog rolling, in true San Francisco fashion, play had not concluded.

There would be a playoff, not surprisingly, but because of the darkness and gloom, it was determined earlier that if extra holes were needed, it would take place on Wednesday. 

There were 20 golfers tied at 141, 1-over par, for the final 17 places in match play. If that sounds like a playoff that was overwhelmingly large, it was.

Meanwhile, while the playoff was held on the Ocean Course, the golfers who had already qualified were teeing off in match play on the Lake Course.

And they told us golf was a very simple, organized game.

US Amateur returns to charm, contradiction of SF’s Olympic Club

The Lake Course at Olympic Club, hanging on the western edge of San Francisco, is a marvelous blend of challenge, charm, and contradiction.  

From the third tee, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. But on a foggy day, not unusual, you might not be able to see the fairway from the first tee.

At Olympic, where the 125th U.S. Amateur will be played starting Monday, also offers what members call reverse camber, meaning on certain holes, such as the fourth, you need to hit left but you are leaning right. 

To some, Olympic, which opened in 1924, on the dunes west of Twin Peaks, is best known as the place Arnold Palmer blew a 7-shot lead in the 1966 U.S. Open, losing to Billy Casper. It’s a place without a water hazard and only one fairway bunker, but there are dozens and dozens of trees. 

The first two days of the Amateur are qualifying at stroke play on both the more famous Lake Course and the Ocean Course. A field of 312 players with minuscule handicaps of 2.4 or lower will compete for one of the 64 spots in match play, which begins Wednesday on the Lake.

Not surprisingly, there is no defending champion. The winner invariably turns pro as did Spain’s Jose Luis Ballester, who last year defeated Noah Kent 2-up in the final at Hazeltine.  

This is the fourth amateur at Olympic. Charles Coe won in 1958, Nathaniel Crosby—yes, Bing’s son—in 1981, and Colt Knost in 2007.

Along the way in his distinguished career, Arnie did win an Amateur, in 1954. Phil Mickelson also won one, Jack Nicklaus two, as did Northern California’s Lawson Little Jr., and Tiger Woods three. The record, not unexpectedly, is five, by Bobbie Jones, whose final triumph in 1930 was part of the historic Grand Slam, when he took the US and British Amateurs and US and British Opens.

While the amateur game doesn’t have the glamour in this era of the big-money PGA Tour tournaments, the championship is still a great attraction.  

Especially with the format.

It’s been said that while stroke play may be a better test of golf, match play may be a better test of character.  How does a golfer respond when he or she is one down and approaching the final hole?

The top players this year, off their records, would seem to be Jackson Koivun, who plays for Auburn University (and was born in San Jose); Benjamin James, University of Virginia, and Ethan Fang, now at Oklahoma State after transferring from Cal.

Recognizable names include John Daly II, University of Arkansas, who, unlike his father, has been able to keep himself on the straight and narrow, and Luke Poulter, University of Florida, son of one-time European Ryder Cup star, Ian. Another interesting entrant is Baron Szeto of Moraga, who played at Cal Poly SLO and recorded a hole-in-one during Amateur qualifying at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course.

Wonder how he will handle reverse camber?

Can the road trip be any worse for the Giants than the homestand?

“Somewhere in this favored land, the sun is shining bright.” Yes, a line from the closing of “Casey at the Bat,” a baseball tale of woe. 

Not to be confused with the story of the Giants, who, although failing as the mighty Casey, rarely play when the sun is shining. Especially this summer in San Francisco.

What seemed so glorious a month ago has turned into a disaster that seems destined to continue Friday night in New York, when the Giants face the Mets.

The last few months have been notably displeasing for sports in Northern California. The San Francisco 49ers didn’t even make it to the playoffs last season. The Golden State Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs after a single round. And now the Giants have fallen so far so fast that, like less respected franchises such as Tampa Bay or the Colorado Rockies, at the major league trading deadline, they became sellers, not buyers.

If not clearing the roster, at least dispensing with one of the better relief pitchers, Tyler Rogers.  Teams that think positively don’t do that.

After being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates (yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates) in a three-game series that ended Wednesday under the marine layer (brrr) at Oracle Park with a 3-1 loss, the Giants had not only dropped below .500 but basically dropped out of contention as a possible wild card.

And it was only a few weeks ago, June 13th, 2025, the Giants were tied for first with the dreaded Los Angeles Dodgers. Optimism, understandably, was rampant. Hey, this time the Giants are going to catch L.A., or at least catch a spot in the postseason. They even made a trade for Rafael Devers. He was going to be the big bat that would make a big difference.

In Chicago, there is a long-held theory that people who played with the Cubs were going to struggle, no matter how good they were before coming there.

It wasn’t the players’ fault. He was trapped by history. The only way he would even succeed again was to be “de-Cubbed.”

Now you wonder whether ball players in San Francisco will have to be “de-Gianted.” Look at what’s happened. Following the All-Star break, the Giants went to Toronto and lost three straight. Then, after a loss in Atlanta, they won two. A good sign before a return home? 

Yes, until they got on the field at Oracle Park. Then it was six more defeats in a row, three to the Mets, followed by three to the Pirates. Going without a lone victory for six games at home equaled a sorrowful record set in 1896, when the Giants still were in New York. 

And, apropos of nothing, it’s where the Giants will face the Mets at the start of a road trip that can’t be worse than the last homestand. Or can it?

Not only did San Francisco prove inadequate on the mound and at the plate. Tuesday and Wednesday, they left runners on base (both times, unable to make contact).

But the Giants also botched fielding chances, misplaying fly balls or bobbling grounders.

“When you play badly, it’s contagious,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday. “When you play well, it’s contagious.”

Unfortunately, the Giants haven’t played well for a while. And who knows when, as is the poem about Casey, the sun will shine bright for San Francisco.

Venus and Verlander each get long-awaited victories

Two different sports. Two different competitors. Two different examples of athletes proving persistence will be rewarded while disproving the doubters.

Venus Williams won a tennis match, Tuesday, July 22, her first victory in 16 months.

Fewer than 24 hours later, Wednesday, July 23, Justin Verlander pitched a winning baseball game, his first in 16 starts this season. 

Williams is 45. Verlander is 42. So much for Father Time. 

And so much for doubters who never believed that either party could take the next step in careers destined to finish in their respective Halls of Fame. You felt sorry for Venus as she continued entering tournaments and getting defeated all too quickly, often in the first round. She seemed better off stepping away, as did her younger sister, Serena.

But Venus stepped back in and stepped into the winners’ circle, defeating Peyton Stears, a fellow American, 6-3, 6-4.  

“There are no limits for excellence,” said Venus, thinking the way that champions always think, which is why they are champions.

And if anybody should know excellence, it’s Williams.

“You know it’s the first step,” said Williams. “It’s hard to describe how difficult it is to play a first after so much time off.”

Sixteen months off, since a loss to Diana Shnaider in the first round of the 2024 Miami Open. 

Verlander’s time off came at the end of the 2024 baseball season. A free agent, he signed with the San Francisco Giants, who hoped he not only would pitch as in his younger days but also provide leadership for others.

It was not until Wednesday, however, that he got his first win of the year, as the Giants defeated the Braves 9-3 in Atlanta.  Even then, he was questionable because it might be delayed by the all-too-typical southeast weather. Rain began to fall in the middle of the fifth inning as Verlander needed just three outs to qualify for his first victory since the end of the 2024 season when he was with Houston.

“I figured something like that would happen,” said Verlander. “It would be like, ‘OK, this would be the game that gets rained out,’ and there’s going to be a two-hour delay, and they won’t let me go back out.” Fortunately, there was just a light drizzle and no delay, and Verlander made it through the fifth inning, which meant he and the Giants would make it into the win column. 

But nothing was going to ruin the day for Justin or for Venus. 

“So going into the match,” said Venus. “I know I have the ability to win, but it’s all about actually winning. So this is the best result, to play a good match and win.”

That statement was virtually echoed in the Giants' winning clubhouse.

“We know every time he goes out there, guys try extra hard and for whatever reason it just hasn’t worked out,” Bob Melvin, the Giants manager, said of Verlander. “For him to be able to get through five after throwing 40 pitches in the first inning, there’s some toughness involved in that.” 

As for Venus Williams, to return with a win, there’s also a toughness involved.

Next for Scheffler: Completion of the personal Grand Slam

Scottie Scheffler insists he’s nothing special. Obviously, he’s wrong.  He is “the Champion Golfer of the Year.”

Truth be told, he’s much more. He’s the man the announcers on Golf Channel kept relating to Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

He’s the man who needs only a victory in the US Open—the next one is at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island in June—to equal one of golf’s most sought-after goals: a personal Grand Slam.  Scheffler’s victory Sunday in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland gave him the third leg of the slam. It seems inevitable that Scheffler, age 29, and at the height of his game, will achieve the fourth. 

Funny how this year progressed. The talk all winter and spring was whether Rory McIlroy could win the Masters and complete his own grand slam. Which, as we know, he did. There was something else involving golf when the year began: Scheffler’s Christmas Day injury, cutting his hand on a broken glass while making dinner. That kept him out of action for the beginning of the season. But he certainly has come back. And his golf at the Open Championship was so dominant that going into the last day, the only issue was who would finish second behind Scottie, and that turned out to be Harris English.

Scheffler began the last round in the Open with a four-shot lead, which was increased for a while to seven shots, and despite a double bogey at the eighth hole, his first stumble after 32 consecutive holes with nothing worse than a par, he remained in control.

The closing round three-under par 68 gave him a four-round total of 267, 17 under. That was four shots ahead of English, who had a 66. Third, after a 67, was Chris Gotterup, who won the previous week’s Genesis Scottish Open. There was a three-way tie for fourth at 273 among Hao-Tong Li (70), who recorded the best finish ever for a player from China, Matt Fitzpatrick (69), and Wyndham Clark (65). Another shot back at 274 were last year’s winner, Xander Schauffele (68), Robert MacIntyre (67), and Rory McIlroy (69).

McIlroy is from Northern Ireland. Shane Lowry, who is from Ireland, was the 2019 Open Champion. He was effusive in his praise of Scheffler.

“I played with him the first two days,” said Lowry. “And honestly, I thought he was going to birdie every hole. It was incredible to watch.” 

Scheffler won for the fourth time this year. He is the first player in the last century to win his first four majors by at least three shots. He has won 20 times worldwide since February 2022, and this was the 11th straight time he turned a 54-hole lead into a victory.

“I’m very fortunate to come out here and being able to compete,” admitted Scheffler. “I’m living out my dreams. This is amazing to be able to come out here and compete and win.”

Only Open question: Who would finish second to Scottie?

There still was a question remaining Sunday when the Open Championship entered the final Round at Royal Portrush.

Who might finish second? Possibly, the quite unflappable guy named Haotong Li. Maybe the quite emotional guy named Rory McIlroy.

But as the tournament resumed, there was no question who would be the winner. 

Almost no question.

Scottie Scheffler, merely the number one golfer on the planet, held a 4-shot lead after Saturday’s third round, and not only had he won the previous nine tournaments when he was in front after 54 holes, but he also had taken two of the other three majors this year.

“Anytime you can keep a clean card around a major championship,” said Scheffler, who didn’t make a bogey. “You are going to be having a pretty good day.” Scheffler rarely has a bad day when he is playing, which is why he is number one in the rankings.

In this oldest and most historic of tournaments, he shot a 4-under par 67 Saturday, and was at 68-64-67–199. 

Li, the pro from China, who plays the DP World Tour, was at 203 after a 67. Third at 205 after a 66 was Matt Fitzpatrick, the Englishman, while McIlroy who also had a 66 was at 205 for the three rounds.

They tell us nothing is certain in golf, where you can gain or lose shots in an instant. Remember Arnold Palmer’s 4-shot lead in the 1966 US Open disappeared in 2 holes? And of course notoriously, Greg Norman blew a 6-shot lead in the 1996 Masters. 

Yet it’s difficult to believe Scheffler, who hits fairways with consistency and appears never to be rattled, would allow this one to get away. 

“I’m just trying to execute, not overthinking things,” Scheffler said. “I feel like I’ve been doing the right thing so far, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of (Sunday).” 

Li, 29, seems in his own world.  Asked if he was affected by the situation, Li all but yawned. “I think to play without expectations,” said Li. “Is kind of a good thing for me.”

There are plenty of expectations for McIlroy, who grew up in Northern Ireland not far from Portrush. His triumph in the Masters in April gave him victories in all four grand slam tournaments and made him more popular than ever, as hard as that is to imagine. 

His appearance at each hole Saturday brought a huge reception. 

“One of the coolest moments I’ve ever had on the golf course,” McIlroy said.

John Perry of England had a cool moment Saturday when he made so far the tournament’s only hole in one, knocking an 8-iron into the cup on the 192-yard 13th. He had a 67 and was at 213. That was exciting, even though the ending of the main event may be less so.

“Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff,” McIlroy said of Scheffler, “he’s become a complete player. Yeah, it’s going to be tough to catch him.” “But if I can get out (Sunday) and get off to a similar start to what I did today (three birdies in four holes) to get the crowd going…you never know.”

Sorry, Rory. When Scheffler is on a roll, you know.

Is Scheffler the strongest in this battle at Portrush?

Paul Gallico, a sportswriter-turned-novelist best known for The Poseidon Adventure, once said, “The Battle isn’t always to the strong or the race to the swift, but it is a good way to bet.”

And to choose winners.

Another sportswriter (blush) often has pointed out that the longer the competition—individual or team—goes on, the greater the chance the favorite will win.

Headed into Saturday’s third round of The Open Championship at Portrush, Northern Ireland, it should be no surprise that the man in front is the world’s No. 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler.   

Yes, there is half an Open remaining, and his lead is precarious, a single shot, especially with two other major champions on his tail. Still, you very much have to like his chances. You always have to like his chances. For much of Friday’s second round, Scheffler toyed with the Dunluce Links, Portrush’s main layout, making eight birdies and recording a 7-under par, 64. That put him a swing ahead of Britain’s Matt Fitzpatrick, the US Open champion in 2022, and two ahead of Brian Harman, winner of The British Open in 2023, and China’s Haotong Li. Fitzpatrick shot a 66 on Friday, while Harman and Li each carded 67s.

“He’s going to have the expectation to go out and dominate,” Fitzpatrick said of Scheffler. 

Whether he meets those expectations and he very well might, could depend on the fickle Irish weather, which shifts from sunshine to a downpour in seconds, as Scheffler realized early in the second round. Watching and listening on television, you could hear three things from across the sea: when the weather got nasty very early in Scheffler’s round.

There was the pounding of rain on umbrellas, the confirmation by an announcer on the television who said, “It is raining cats and dogs,” and an apparent outburst by Scotty who muttered something that sounded like, “Oh, spit.” Later on, the Golf Channel issued an apology for what was caught by the microphone next to Scheffler. 

Certainly, there was no reason for Scheffler to apologize for his remarkable golf, which included eight birdies. He almost had one more, but his 15-foot putt on the 18th was inches away

Rory McIlroy—the local kid who, 20 years ago as an amateur, set the course record at Portrush with a 61 (although a less difficult set-up than for The Open)—is at 139.

Two successful veterans (don’t call them seniors), 52-year-old Lee Westwood (70, 69–139) and 55-year-old Phil Mickelson (71, 72–143), both made the cut.

Shane Lowry, who won at Portrush the last time it was held there, in 2019, was assessed a two-shot penalty when, after a long video review, it was judged his ball moved during a practice swing at the 12th hole. That gave him a 1-over 72 and a 36-hole score of 144, even par.

The raucous cheers Lowry received the previous Portrush Open for his triumph will go towards someone else this time, quite probably Scotty Scheffler.

Portrush: Phil and a five-way tie for the lead

So the Open—the British Open, if you will—lurched into the second round Friday with a leader board that resembled a roll call at the United Nations and a man in contention who had all but disappeared the last few years.

That would be our old (emphasize old) friend, Phil Mickelson, who is 55, and shot 70, which was 1-under par Thursday at Royal Portrush.

Five players were tied for first at 67, Jacob Olesen (Denmark), Haotong Li (China), Matt Fitzpatrick (England), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (South Africa), and Harris English (USA).

The betting favorite, Scottie Scheffler, is very much in contention after a 68, and with three rounds remaining, Rory McIlroy certainly isn’t out of it at 70.  

If there were surprises for this Open at Northern Ireland, the weather certainly wasn’t one of them. A day that started with sunshine breaking through the overcast had periods of rain and enough wind to blow ill-struck balls every which way.

It also had a guy not long out of prison. Ryan Peake of Australia, who spent five years behind bars for assault, was paired with Mickelson and asked Phil for his autograph after shooting a 77.

Li, one of those tied for first, became infamous a few years ago when he threw his putter into a pond at the French Open, and his mother waded into the water to retrieve it. There was no reason to get angry with any of the clubs he utilized Thursday, especially the putter. He got around Portrush testing Dunluce Links without a bogey. As did Justin Rose.

Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major, when at age 50, he took the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. He was one of the very early starters Thursday in this Open. He showed his famous short game brilliance quickly, holing a shot out of a greenside bunker on the par-3 third, after failing to get out on the previous swing.

“That was a crazy one,” said Mickelson. “To make it, it was obviously a lot of luck. I was just trying to save bogey, and I got lucky and it went in.” 

Scheffler, number one in the world rankings, hasn’t as much been lucky as determined and consistent. He’s won two different majors, the Masters (twice) and the PGA Championship. He hit only three fairways Thursday at Portrush, yet he’s only one shot behind.

“I actually thought I drove it pretty well,” said Scheffler, seemingly irritated about questions about his accuracy. 

“When it’s raining sideways,” sighs Scheffler, “believe it or not, it’s not that easy to get the ball in the fairway.”  

“Really only had one swing I wasn’t too happy with on the second hole,” he said. “But outside that, I felt like I hit a lot of good tee shots, hit the ball really solid, so definitely a good bit of confidence for the next couple of rounds. 

Confidence is necessary, along with a great swing and maybe a few breaks. Particularly at the Open.

The Open returns to Portrush where the cheers still echo

What some thought could be a question—the return of the Open Championship, the British Open, to Northern Ireland after decades—instead turned out to be a celebration.

That was 2019, and the pain of the difficulties of years past, the violence between the English and the Irish, known euphemistically as “the troubles,” seemed swept away by a fortuitous sporting event. And an Irish winner, Shane Lowry.  

The cheers and chants—“Ole, ole, ole”—still echo in the mind.

 The Open comes back this week with no doubts, and with as much excitement as possible for the oldest tournament in the game.

Royal Portrush, a plot of land that is spectacularly beautiful––and for golfers, agonizingly difficult—sits on the Atlantic where the waves crash, the wind blows, and more often than not, the rain falls.

As challenging as any course, where the Open has been held in its 152-year history, Portrush offers huge dunes and a hole, the 17th, named Purgatory.

It’s long been golf country. Graeme McDowell grew up in Portrush and went on to win a US Open at another seaside course, Pebble Beach, in 2010.

Rory McIlroy, who was the favorite for that 2019 British Open and will be among the favorites this time, is also from Northern Ireland. As is Darren Clarke, who won the British Open in 2011, along with David Faherty, who kept us entertained on television after he stepped away from competition. 

The Open is traditionally held on links courses, where the bunkers are deep and numerous golfers are almost as dependent on the weather as they are on their swings. It’s been said there is too much luck involved on links courses, that a crazy bounce can determine who ends up in first place. But the great Jack Nicklaus often said the people who hit the best shots usually get the best bounces. 

Nicklaus won The Open. So did Tom Watson. And of course, so did Tiger Woods—and those guys were hardly surprised champions. Wherever the tournament goes week to week, Scottie Scheffler inevitably is the choice, along with McIlroy, Sepp Straka, and Justin Thomas.

Yet golf is different from other sports. You have no control over what another player does, only what you do.

True, McIlroy and Scheffler won the year’s first two majors, the Masters and the PGA Championship. But longshot J.J. Spaun took the US Open.

Who knows what to expect for The Open, which last year was won by Xander Schauffele. Maybe Rory, having completed his personal Grand Slam with the victory at Augusta, will follow up with a triumph at The Open. He’s determined to atone for his problems of 2019 when he hit his opening tee shot into the crowd and eventually missed the cut. The gloom was as thick as the rough.

The win by Lowry, who’s from the Republic of Ireland, helped eliminate that gloom. Yes, two different countries, but ask the residents of either and they will say, “We are all Irish.”

McIlroy was measured in describing his thoughts for this Open and his chances.

“We all want to do better. We all think we can just get a little bit extra out of what we have,” said McIlroy. “It has been an amazing year.” 

“The fact that I’m here at Portrush with the Green Jacket, having completed that lifelong dream, I want to do my best this week to enjoy everything that comes my way, enjoy the reaction of the fans, and enjoy being in front of them and playing in front of them.”

“But at the same time, I want to win this golf tournament, and I feel like I’m very capable of doing that.

Fritz not on ESPN’s bottom line, but he’s in the Wimbledon semis

Taylor Fritz has made the Wimbledon semi-finals. But he can’t make ESPN’s bottom line.

Probably not a surprise since the sports network delights in big names, and the other three men who have advanced to the semis are as big as they come in the sport of tennis—Carlos Alcaraz, Janek Sinner, and Novak Djokovic.

Fritz, at 27, although hardly unknown, is not quite in the class of those other three, each of whom has won at least one grand slam, and in the case of the seemingly ageless Djokovic, 24 slams.

The matchups Friday in Centre Court will be Fritz against number two-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who will be going for his third straight Wimbledon title, and the number one-ranked Sinner against Djokovic, who has seven Wimbledon victories to his credit.

If you’re excited by the presence of this group and what may result from the competition, you’re not alone. This is when the sport grabs even those who don’t know a volley from a rally, but do know the stars, who rally and volley—and win.

For the first time, Fritz got past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, Tuesday, defeating Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4). At last, an American male had made it this far since John Isner in 2018.

If you are wondering about the next step or two, the last American player to win the All England title was Pete Sampras in 2000.  

Djokovic, 38, defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Not that Cobolli is unpopular, but the crowd was screaming wildly for the guy they call the Joker.

If Fritz seems like the odd man out, he’s unbothered. In fact, he’s more than satisfied, finally playing the way that had been both predicted and expected since he was a teenager in Southern California. 

When your mom, the former Kathy May, was a success and you took the California Interscholastic Federation crown, there is no way to enter the battle anonymously. So, Fritz had to deal with that sort of pressure as well as more than an occasional injury. He did have a breakthrough of sorts in 2024, reaching the final of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, but his opponent was Sinner, who showed no weakness or no mercy, winning in straight sets.

“Having played the quarterfinals here twice,” said Fritz about Wimbledon, “and lost in five twice, I don’t think I could have taken another one.”

Fritz, fifth in the world rankings, won’t have that worry.

He did have another worry when the skin on one foot was rubbed bare after a strip of tape was pulled away. Quick attention from the attending medical staff corrected that problem. Fritz had an explanation for how the match turned around after he breezed through the first two sets and seemingly locked up the win.

“I’ve never really had a match change like that so drastically,” said Fritz. “Where I felt so in control, playing great, serving great. I didn’t feel like my serve was in danger. “I felt like I couldn’t miss and then, out of nowhere, I just started making a ton of mistakes.” 

He fixed whatever was wrong. And make no mistake, Taylor Fritz is one of the last four men remaining in the 2025 Wimbledon singles and the only American.

For Taylor Fritz, Wimbledon turns into a long day and night triumph

Wimbledon goes on. And so does Taylor Fritz. If a bit wearily. But not a bit unhappily.

There is no sport quite like tennis, where there is a category called lucky losers, and no tournament quite like The Championships, which is the way Wimbledon is listed. 

Rankings and seedings may mean very little, as the current Wimbledon verifies. Top players in both the men’s and women’s brackets are getting beaten in what might be described as upsets, although really it is proof that, with rare exceptions, such as Carlos Alcaraz, Janik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka, anyone in the draw can defeat anyone else.

Meaning that while Fritz, America’s number one male player, should have breezed through his first two matches, he may have been fortunate just to have won both.  

And here’s where Wimbledon, the only of the four Grand Slam tournaments still played on nature’s green grass, becomes a large part of the story.  The summer days are long in Great Britain, but eventually the sun goes down.  

For decades, daily play at Wimbledon would end in darkness. Then, some sixteen years ago, after too many rain delays, a roof was constructed. Of course, lighting had to be installed. The predictable result was that even when the weather was fine, play would go on after dark, at least until the local curfew at 11 pm.

Which certainly had an effect on Fritz in his opening round match Monday against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France, after Fritz lost the first two sets. Fritz managed to win the third, and then it was decided to close the roof and use the lighting, and after a half-hour break, to continue under the roof and under the lights. That didn’t stop Taylor, but the curfew did.

And so he and Perricard came back Tuesday, Fritz then taking the fifth set. Taylor was again on court Wednesday, and again needed to survive an extended battle, this time with Italy’s Gabriel Diallo, that went five sets, Fritz winning 3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. That match required three hours and six minutes, and medical assistance for Fritz. He incurred a bloodied elbow after diving to reach a ball when he had a break point while trailing 3-2 in the fourth set.

“That’s an incredibly hard match,” Fritz said. “The fourth set that I lost, I really don’t think there’s much I did wrong at all.”

Not an easy three days for Fritz, but certainly more rewarding than for fellow American Francis Tiafoe, who was defeated Wednesday by Britain’s Cameron Norrie, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.

No American man has won a Wimbledon singles title since Pete Sampras in 2000. Fritz will probably not be the next, but at least after these first two long victories, he’s still very much alive.

And, looking forward to getting a brief break, with no match scheduled on Thursday. 

“Tomorrow is going to be a very, very light hit. I think I’ve played plenty of tennis,” was Fritz’s post-round comment to the media. “I’m very due for a nice, relaxing day.”  

Barry may not get into the Hall, but he will get a statue at Oracle

The award Barry Bonds and his supporters would prefer is a bust that sits in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Which, if he gets—and that remains a question—will not arrive for some time. 

So Bonds, for a while, will have to be satisfied with another piece of equipment, a statue at his long-time place of employment, Oracle Park in San Francisco.

Larry Baer, the Giants' President and CEO, was asked about adding Bonds' statue to the five already outside the ballpark. “Barry is certainly deserving of a statue,” said Baer. “And I would say he is next up.”

Those already in place are five former Giants who also are in the Hall of Fame—Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, and Orlando Cepeda. 

Bonds unquestionably hit more home runs than any major leaguer in history, a total of 762, the majority while wearing the uniform of the San Francisco Giants.

That made him a beloved figure in the Bay Area, but because of the unending reports that he was the beneficiary of drug use that aided his performance, he was equally disliked away from Northern California. Bonds ’abrasive attitude when he dealt with the media also contributed to his unpopularity among baseball writers who recognized his talent but were hesitant to deal with him. 

Bonds, now 60, seems to have mellowed somewhat, although that change has not yet improved his status among those who vote for induction into the Hall. There is no question of Bonds’ skill.  It’s reflected in the number of home runs, including the all-time single-season high of 73 in 2001.  It was just his personality and constant talk of steroids that made him disliked.   

Bonds never was officially denied the opportunity to be elected to the Hall, as were others such as Shoeless Joe Jackson and Pete Rose, who are now deceased. 

Perhaps the change in the revised admission to the Hall will also extend toward Bonds. Although the ostracized players, all except Rose, were involved in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal —fixing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds—before the latter group was cleared last month by Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.

Baseball people would like to believe their game, once the “National Pastime,” is a reflection, as the man said in the movie “Field of Dreams,” of “what is right in America.”

So now that all is forgiven to the accused fixers, maybe now Bonds will be forgiven for his transgressions.  

Whatever, Barry will get his statue as he continues to get cheers. Giants fans can only wish there were someone on the current roster who could hit like Bonds. 

Maybe someday there will be.

J.J. grabs a tournament that was a very wide Open

OAKMONT, PA. — J.J. Spaun overcame a historically difficult golf course, the worst of Mother Nature, and the best of competitors to become the champion of the 125th U.S. Open.

On a Sunday of rain, suspense—and a 90-minute suspension—Spaun grabbed the lead and then grabbed the glory by ramming in a 64-foot birdie putt on the last hole.

There had been as many as five players tied for first on the back nine, it was truly a wide-open Open with the climax very much in doubt.

Spaun had hedged into the lead on 17 and then stomped off as an enthralled crowd roared its approval. A winner of only one prior event, Spaun had not been considered among those to take the tournament.

“Yeah, it’s definitely like a storybook fairytale ending,” said Spaun. “Kind of an underdog fighting back, not giving up, never quitting. With the rain and everything and then the putt, I mean, you couldn’t write a better story. I’m just so fortunate to be on the receiving end of that.”

A 34-year-old from Southern California, who played at Long Beach State as did Xander Schauffle, Spaun, whose given name is John Michael, is known only by the initials.

Now he’ll have an addition to the listing, a major golf winner.

“I thought it was a good thing having the delay. It happened to me at The Players earlier this year where I was kind of struggling on the front nine. I had the lead going into Sunday, and we had a four-hour delay, I think. I ended up turning that round into a nice fight where I got myself into the playoff.”

Spaun could only come in with a two-over par 72 for his final round, a not-unusual finish for the U.S. Open. But his four-round total of 279 was two strokes clear of Robert MacIntyre, one of the many who were at least briefly in or sharing the lead.

Spaun started the day a shot behind Sam Burns, but he had been a big factor throughout, having leaped into the first-round lead and then never losing touch as the tournament swirled among many, including Adam Scott, who at age 44 was seeking a last hurrah to go with his 2007 Masters title. Scott faded at the end, shot 79, and fell to 12th place from a third-round position of second place.

Scottie Scheffler, the number one-ranked golfer in the world, rallied somewhat, and after a poor beginning in the first and second rounds, ended up in a three-way tie for seventh place.

This was the tenth Open at Oakmont, and each one has provided both the excitement the USGA wants and the weather it doesn’t.  

The key is that the course provides the difficulty and character that is sought for the event that becomes the golfing championship of America.

Burns still ahead at Oakmont, but look who’s right there: Adam Scott

OAKMONT, Pa. — The day was loaded with warnings, literal ones posted on scoreboards or carried on flashing signs. 

Dangerous weather is approaching, they read. Prepare to take shelter.

They were aimed at the hardy spectators stomping around Oakmont Saturday, watching the scores shift during the third round of the US Open.

When the rain stopped and play ended, there was Sam Burns once more back in the lead. Burns had a 1-under par 69, and his 54-hole total of 4-under 206 is a shot ahead of J.J. Spaun and the persistent Australian, Adam Scott. 

Scott, playing in his 96th consecutive major, shot a 3-under 67 and is tied for second at 207 with J.J. Spaun, who was in front at the close of the first day, and for a few holes Saturday.

Scottie Scheffler looked a little more like the golfer who is number one in the world rankings, with an even par 70. That put him at 214, seven behind Burns. 

There is a seeming United Nations group very high on the leaderboard, including Vicktor Hovland of Norway (209), Carlos Ortiz of Mexico (210), Tyrrel Hatton of England (211) and Thriston Lawrence of South Africa (211), Rasmus Neergaard of Denmark (212), Robert MacIntyre of Scotland (213) and Marc Leishman of Australia (214).

Told that there have been seven first-time major winners in the Opens at Oakmont, Burns, who would be the eighth if he holds on, responded, “Yeah, it would be incredible. I think as a kid growing up, you dream about winning major championships, and that's why we practice so hard and work so hard. All these guys in this field I think would agree that to have the opportunity to win a major is special. I'm definitely really excited for (Sunday).”

But the last round of any major, especially the Open, is daunting and enervating, a test that is as much mental as it is physical. The pressure is there, and so are the conditions.

Scott is 44 and has a Masters victory to his credit. His career is far from finished, but at his age, a win in the US Open would be particularly fulfilling. 

“Everyone out here has got their journey, you know,” said Scott. “Putting ourselves in these positions doesn't just happen by fluke. It's not easy to do it. I really haven't been in this kind of position for five or six years, or feeling like I'm that player. But that's what I'm always working towards. It's not that easy to figure it all out.”

“But if I were to come away with it tomorrow, it would be a hell of a round of golf and an exclamation point on my career.” 

Let’s hope no warning needs to be issued about the weather.

Scheffler not out of the Open, but seven shots back, is he in it?

OAKMONT, Pa. — Two weeks ago at the Memorial Tournament, Scottie Scheffler was a dominating winner and became the understandable favorite for the US Open. But golf is not like other sports.  

In the Super Bowl, you worry about one other team. The same thing in the NBA finals. Golf, however, there are dozens of opponents, including the most irritating, yourself. Every swing can create a problem or exacerbate your previous problem.

The odds makers and most of the golf people made Scheffler the choice to win the 125th Open, and halfway through the tournament, that remains a possibility, but not a probability.

After 36 holes on a historic Oakmont Country Club Course just a few miles east of Pittsburgh, that is proving to be as difficult as expected. Scheffler, number one in the world rankings, trailed surprising leader Sam Burns by seven shots.

Burns, Friday, had the tournament’s low round so far, a 5-under 65, and at 137 is a shot in front of first-round leader J.J. Spaun.

The biggest worry for Scheffler, trying to win The Open for the first time, to add to his two Masters and one PGA Championship, may not be the number of strokes between him and the lead, but the number of golfers.

He trails such stars as two-time Open Champion and three-time PGA Championship winner, Brooks Koepka; Adam Scott, also a Masters champion; and three other major titlists—Jason Day, Jon Rahm, and Keegan Bradley.

“I was not getting the ball in the correct spots,” said Scheffler, “and paying the price for it. Felt like me getting away with 1-over today wasn’t all that bad. It could have been a lot worse.”

The weather also could have been worse. Throughout the grey, humid afternoon, warning signs were posted to advise fans to take cover because of impending thunderstorms. 

The downpour arrived after Scheffler finished. He was able to get to the range in an attempt to relocate whatever was lost in his game, but numerous tough luck competitors got drenched as they completed their last few holes.

“Any time you’re not hitting it the way or playing up to my expectations I think it’s frustrating,” said Scheffler.

He spent a few minutes in that stretch of holes, which are called the church pews, because with strips of grass among the bunkers, there is a resemblance to a house of worship. They are great to look at, but not to play from.

Scheffler was in no danger of missing the cut, but he alluded to doing so. 

“Overall, definitely not out of the tournament,” said Scheffler. “Today was, I think, with the way I was hitting it, was easily a day I could have been going home, and battled pretty hard to stay in there.”

Which is what great golfers always do. As much as you can be one shot away from trouble, you’re similarly one swing away from success.  

“I’m four-over. We’ll see what the lead is after Friday, but around this golf course I don’t think by any means I’m out of the tournament.”

We’ll find out in the next two rounds.

On the U.S. Open opening day, it’s J.J. all the way

OAKMONT, Pa. — The 125th U.S. Open began with a double eagle—also known as an albatross—the leader wasn’t Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy but a man who is in first place that goes by the initials J.J., which doesn’t even match his first name. That would be J.J. Spaun, one of those guys you see on a leaderboard and sometimes wonder what he is doing there, which is a very unfair judgment for someone who has found his role on the tour. 

Spaun began with a chip-in par on the first hole at Oakmont Country Club, in the wooded country east of Pittsburgh, and played 18 holes at a place known to cause nightmares and high scores, without making a bogey.

Spaun, a native Southern Californian, came in with a 4-under 66, which was one shot lower than Thirston Lawrence, of South Africa. There was a three-way tie for third at 68, a group that included S.W. Kim, a familiar figure on leaderboards this spring, Sungjae Im, and our old friend Brooks Koepka, who merely won back-to-back Opens in 2017-2018 and PGA Championships three times. Koepka has been hiding on the LIV tour, but arrives annually at the major championships in a big way.  

“I'm more focused on what I'm doing,” said Koepka, who is now 35 years old. “More focused on how to just keep plugging away and get through some holes, get through tough holes and try to take advantage of the easy ones.”

Scheffler, number one in the world ranking and the favorite in this year’s Open, shot a 3-over 73. McIlroy, starting on the 10th hole, didn’t have a bogey until his second nine and then stumbled to a 4-over 74. Reed, who won the 2018 Masters, holed out his second shot on the par-5 fourth hole, becoming the fourth golfer to record a double eagle in Open history. But a triple bogey seven on the closing hole left him with 3-over 73. 

Spaun, 34, who played collegiately at San Diego State, has one victory on Tour, the Valero Texas Open in 2022. Some might find it hard to believe that he is in front of what some consider to be the toughest tournament in golf, but the US Open frequently offers surprises and every once in a while a very unexpected winner, such as Orville Moody in 1969 or Scott Simpson at Olympic Club in 1987.

That idea has worked in every tournament, particularly in the Open when there are many more hard holes than easy ones.