Fans walk toward the 18th green during a practice round for The Players Championship, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on March 8.Charlie Neibergall
Such are the times in golf that so much attention at The Players Championship is on a player who is not even part of the strongest field of the year.
Stranger still is the player in question is not Tiger Woods.
Cameron Smith is a reminder of the fractured world of professional golf. He is the defending champion of the PGA Tour’s premier tournament, not able to return this year because the tour has suspended him for joining Saudi-funded LIV Golf.
And it’s not just Smith.
The runner-up a year ago was Anirban Lahiri, followed by Paul Casey. They are among 36 players who have defected to LIV Golf, and they are among 17 players who were part of the windy, wild weekend at the TPC Sawgrass last year.
The Australian flag still flies outside the clubhouse in honour of the champion’s home country. Smith’s pitching wedge is on display in the clubhouse, part of the tradition for the winner to leave a club that was meaningful in his win.
But there’s no Smith – or his mullet – even though the No. 5 player in the world has lived down the street since 2016. He probably can be found this week with a rod and reel, not a wedge and a putter.
“I think it’ll be a pretty quiet week on the water,” Smith told Golf Digest two weeks ago at LIV Golf’s opening event in Mexico.
Even at the richest event on the PGA Tour – a US$25-million purse with US$4.5-million going to the winner – the subject of LIV Golf is never too far away.
Smith is the first defending champion to miss The Players since Woods in 2014, who was recovering from the first of five back surgeries. Woods isn’t playing this week either, deciding to rest his battered legs ahead of the Masters.
“Yes, it’s awkward,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “But you know, ultimately that’s a decision he made, and we’ve got an unbelievable field here this week and a history and tradition that one of these 144 is going to go seek to get.”
The Players still has the strongest field so far this year, helped by the 144-man field. But by pure numbers, it can be difficult to distinguish between The Players and the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week at Bay Hill, or from the Genesis Invitational at Riviera a few weeks back.
Bay Hill had 43 of the top 50 players in the world ranking. The Players has 44 of the top 50, the difference being Harold Varner III (another LIV player) dropped out of the top 50 this week.
“It’s not going to be as big a gap as it maybe has been in the past,” Jon Rahm said, though he still noted the increase in prize money (US$25-million), world ranking points (the most in golf except for majors) and FedEx Cup points.
“And then the legacy that a tournament has,” Rahm said. “Winning this event is a big step forward to a Hall-of-Fame career … arguably as close as you can get to being a major champion without officially being one. It is our championship. So I think that’s what makes it different to some of the other events.”
Left unchanged is the dynamic nature of the Stadium Course.
It is best known for the island green on the par-3 17th hole and for its history of not favouring a particular style of game. Smith is renowned for his short game, Rory McIlroy is built on power and Justin Thomas a blend of distance and his ability to flight the golf ball with his irons.
“I don’t have a great track record here at this event. It doesn’t take much research to figure that out,” said Jordan Spieth, who played in the final group in 2014, his first year, and then missed five cuts in his next seven tries. “But I feel like when striking it well, having some momentum and feeling like a little bit of freedom as far as being able to play aggressively here, that’s going to kind of be my strategy this week to try and take advantage.”
The wind roared to life on Wednesday, the final day of practice, and that’s what caused so much havoc a year ago. Imagine aiming at an island some 145 yards away with the wind blowing nearly 64 kilometres an hour.
Xander Schauffele was two shots out of the lead later in the first weather-delayed first round and faced such conditions. He came up 15 yards short of the island and made bogey. On the next hole, he made a quadruple-bogey 8. His caddie still keeps a statistic as a reminder of how much can change so quickly.
“I think he showed me like a first ever to go from the top 10 to outside the top 100 or something like that,” Schauffele said. “My team is all about giving me reality checks, and I got one.”
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
