In this week’s edition, we applaud Big Bryson DeChambeau’s moonlighting abilities on the long-drive circuit, welcome a much-needed rookie class to the PGA Tour and consider a concept for U.S. captains that could change the way we think of the Ryder Cup.
Made Cut
Longball Bryson. Quietly in Tour circles, there was plenty of eye-rolling when DeChambeau signed on to participate in this week’s Professional Long Driver’s Association World Championship.
Some suggested, correctly, that Tour golf and the long drive circuit were two different sports, much like Major League Baseball and the home run derby. The skillsets for each were vastly different and DeChambeau was chasing a goal that could be detrimental to his Tour career.
Whether DeChambeau’s unabashed obsession with length is good for his long-term career is a question that won’t be answered for years, but his performance in Mesquite, Nevada, is proof he’s pretty good at both sports.
Big Bryson secured a spot in the Round of 16 in what felt like a statement performance on Thursday. DeChambeau’s pursuit of more and more speed may not always dovetail with his day job, but it is entertaining.
A rookie class. With a healthy nod to Will Zalatoris and everything he did last season to win the Tour’s Rookie of the Year Award, this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship is a wonderful reminder of what was missing last season.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain schedule in 2020, the Tour halted any promotion or relegation for the 2020-21 season, which meant the only rookies last season were those who were able to play their way onto the circuit as non-members like Zalatoris.
Rory McIlroy’s post-round interview on Sunday at Whistling Straits is why the Ryder Cup is so compelling and why it means more to the players than most fans ever realize.
Rory McIlroy became emotional in his post-match interview after beating Xander Schauffele in singles on Sunday.
Made Cut-Did Not Finish (MDF)
End of an era(s). Sometimes it’s just time.
That seemed to be the only logical answer Thursday when news surfaced that Justin Thomas was splitting with his longtime caddie Jimmy Johnson and would start working full-time this fall with Jim “Bones” Mackay.
In a post on social media, Thomas confirmed this was a one-sided decision. “I 100 [percent] did not fire him as Jimmy came to me after the Ryder Cup and told me he has decided to pursue other opportunities,” Thomas wrote.
After four years as an on-course reporter, Jim “Bones” Mackay will transition back to his original career.
A captain concept. In the victorious glow of the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s historic victory at Whistling Straits an idea was hatched that could change the way we think about the biennial matches.
By all accounts Steve Stricker was the perfect “players” captain, leaving nothing to chance, leading by example and, perhaps most importantly, running off all the distractions that make the Ryder Cup such a challenge for the U.S. side. To a man, the U.S. team voiced its unwavering support for Stricker to return as the American captain in ’23, but Stricker was having none of it.
“It’s mapped out and there’s guys in positions to be the next captains. It was an unbelievable experience, don’t get me wrong; I’m glad it’s over,” Stricker said.
Given how demanding the job can be Stricker’s reluctance is understandable, but imagine a captain like Stricker who was able to pull all the right strings and make all the right decisions coming back year after year.
It would be similar to the system used by USA Basketball which has featured Mike Krzyzewski on the sideline for 38 consecutive years. That’s probably not going to happen in golf, but what if Stricker was given a decade to lead the U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams? Just imagine the legacy a good captain could leave behind.
Missed Cut
Gimmes. This if Friday foursome 101 stuff. Anyone who has ever played a “money” game against your buddies knows that there are no such things as “gimme” putts and yet the game’s absolute best and brightest were thrown for a loop at last week’s Ryder Cup because of some sort of perceived “gimme” slight.
Shane Lowry was the first player to speak publicly of gimme-gate, saying on Paddy Power Instagram Live’s chat that he didn’t give any putts at Whistling Straits because that’s what the Americans were doing.
Shane Lowry had a bone to pick with a few members of Team USA after Europe’s loss, according to a report.
“For a start Bryson Dechambeau’s putter shaft is about four feet long so it was definitely not a gimme. Justin Thomas did the same thing and then I did the same thing but purely because Justin Thomas did it,” Lowry said. “They made me hit a putt from literally 18 inches on the first so I did the exact same thing as Thomas did just because I was annoyed with the picture I’d seen of him that morning.”
Rome and the 2023 matches can’t get here soon enough.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
