A stunning performance, mid-round physiotherapy, and a showdown with a frog; a chaotic second round of The Players Championship had a little bit of everything.
American Wyndham Clark blitzed through his final nine holes at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course – rattling off four birdies in a row before adding two more – to card a second consecutive seven-under 65 and take a four shot cushion into the weekend in Florida.
At 14-under par overall, the reigning US Open champion and world No. 5 tied his career-low opening 36-hole performance on the PGA Tour with his 130, a score bettered by only two players in the 50-year history of The Players.
Jason Day and Webb Simpson each shot a 129 through the opening two rounds of the PGA Tour’s flagship event in 2016 and 2018 respectively.
“I guess I’ve been breaking some records recently, which is pretty neat,” Clark, who started his second round from the 10th hole, told reporters after his round.
“More than anything I’m just super excited that kind of had a ho-hum front nine and then turned and really just got into a nice zone and felt really good on the greens and shot an awesome number.”
Four strokes behind the 30-year-old, compatriot Xander Schauffele and Canada’s Nick Taylor lead the chasing pack after shooting 69 and 68 respectively.
World No.6 Schauffele rebounded from a double bogey at the 11th with an eagle at the 16th, while Taylor – victor at the WM Phoenix Open last month – carded seven birdies.
Scheffler: ‘I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing’
Clark, already chasing a fourth win on the PGA Tour despite not winning his first until May 2023, said he had been inspired by the consistency of compatriot Scottie Scheffler, yet it was the world No.1’s durability that took center stage on Friday.
Scheffler – bidding to become the first golfer to ever defend The Players title – admitted he had thought he would be unable to continue after sustaining an injury just a few shots into his second round, but endured the pain to shoot 67 and climb to within six strokes of Clark.
After feeling discomfort in his neck following a swing on his second hole, the seven-time PGA Tour winner “could barely get the club back” following his next drive. When playing partners Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler took their tee shots at the 14th hole (the group had started from the 10th), Scheffler watched on from a portable folding chair as a physiotherapist attended to him.
Golfers are permitted to receive mid-round treatment on the PGA Tour, and Scheffler returned to action a few minutes later to make par. Two-under through his first five holes, the 27-year-old tallied three birdies and two bogeys over the rest of the round.
“Maybe it [treatment] loosened it up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much laboring to get the club somehow away from me,” said Scheffler.
“I did what I could to stay in the tournament today, and hopefully it’ll loosen up and then I’ll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.”
“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there,” he added.
McIlroy’s amphibious ambush
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy waged a very different kind of battle during his second round.
The Northern Irishman was lining up a chip from the rough onto the par-three third hole green, when he suddenly flinched in surprise. The reason for his recoil was soon revealed as a frog bounded out of the long grass around his ball.
Comedy ensued as the amphibian jumped back in McIlroy’s direction, startling the four-time major champion again. Aided by caddie Harry Diamond, the golfer eventually ushered the frog away and continued playing.
It marks the second time in the space of a year that an amphibian has momentarily delayed a premier golfing event, after a tiny endangered toad temporarily paused play at the 2023 Open Championship.
McIlroy saw the funny side, but his amusement was short-lived as his subsequent chipped approach went sailing over the green, leading to his second bogey of the day.
The series of chaotic events epitomized the 34-year-old’s tournament so far.
A breathless opening 65 on Thursday had featured 10 birdies and two rules disputes with Jordan Spieth, both related to shots McIlroy had splashed into the water.
His second round was similarly frenzied, but not for the better. Despite making five birdies, McIlroy shot four bogeys and three-putted for a painful double bogey at the 14th hole to card a one-over 73 for and fall to eight strokes behind leader Clark.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
