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.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.
DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
Takeaways
Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.
Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.
Key moment
The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.
Key stat
Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.
Up next
Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.
To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.
Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.
“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.
“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”
The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.
The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.
First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.
Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.
No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.
“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.
Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.
“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.
This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.
The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.
“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”
Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.
Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.
“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”
The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.
Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.
“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”
LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.
“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.
The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.
Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.
“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.
“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”
Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.
Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.
Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.
Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
