A bettor from Austin, Texas, picked five straight winners in Races 8-12 at Churchill Downs on Saturday, culminating with Justify’s win in the Kentucky Derby. The bet, placed at Retama Park in Selma, Texas, returned $1.2 million.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jason Day is determined. He’s proved it throughout his career, starting with his hardscrabble upbringing in Australia. That focus may have flagged last year as he dealt with his mother’s cancer diagnosis and the symptoms of burn-out, but Day has gone to great lengths to prove that he has regained his fire. When asked for an illustration of this renewed vigor, he pointed to his preseason training sessions in the California desert. “I remember getting there early in the morning and leaving at 7 at night,â€� Day said Sunday evening after winning the Wells Fargo Championship. “After a good long day of practice, I hit the gym, then I’m doing my exercises, making sure I’m really doing everything I possibly can to rededicate myself to getting back to No. 1.â€� Day’s hard work is paying off. His win at the Wells Fargo Championship moved him to No. 2 in the FedExCup standings. The victory didn’t come without trials that tested his determination, though. He built a three-shot advantage after birdies at Nos. 7, 8 and 10. His lead was gone after back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14, though. His drive into the water at the short par-4 14th was indicative of his ball-striking struggles throughout Sunday. “I was battling demons there inside my head,â€� he said. “Your subconscious takes over. You’re saying, ‘You can’t do it. You can’t do it. You’re going to fail. You’re going to fail.’ You somehow have to just get rid of those thoughts and just push forward.â€� He did, with birdies at 16 and 17. The 223-yard, par-3 17th was Sunday’s hardest hole, playing more than a half-stroke over par, but he hit the flagstick with his tee shot and made just the third birdie of the day there. Day is known for his ability to launch golf balls into orbit, but it is his superior short-game that allows him to grind out pars on difficult courses like Quail Hollow. He returned to the Wells Fargo Championship for the first time since 2012 because of how hard the renovated course was at last year’s PGA Championship. This week, Day scrambled well enough to lead the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green. He made just seven bogeys despite hitting only 41 of 72 greens in regulation. He hit into 16 greenside bunkers this week but got up-and-down 15 times. He was second in Strokes Gained: Putting this week, as well. “It gives you all the confidence in the world sometimes,â€� Day said about his short game. “It doesn’t matter how bad you hit it, you know that in the back of your mind you’re going to walk off with par. “That’s the biggest equalizer of all time is the putting and chipping.â€� He’s proved that this season. He’s won twice, and finished no worse than T22 in seven individual stroke-play events, despite ranking 169th in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green. He said his short game may be even better than when he won at TPC Sawgrass two years ago. He leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting, just as he did in his three-win season of 2016. When asked how he got his putting touch back, he said, “To be honest, I just bust my tail. I think the biggest thing is actually my desire’s back and I really want to hole a lot of putts.â€� Day called last season “a kick in the butt.â€� He watched his peers have success while he was struggling through his first winless season since 2013. He had won nine times in the previous three seasons, including a major (2015 PGA Championship), THE PLAYERS, two World Golf Championships and two FedExCup Playoffs events. He wasn’t envious of others’ victories. He was disappointed in himself for not maximizing his talent during the years when most players are in their prime. “For me to not work as hard as I should be … that really bugged me,â€� he said. Now he arrives at THE PLAYERS with two wins under his belt, just as he did in 2016. His iron play may be cause for concern at the penal PLAYERS Stadium Course, though. Ten of the past 14 PLAYERS champions have ranked inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained: Approach for the week, and only one ranked outside the top 20. Day was 50th in that statistic at Quail Hollow. This was just his third event with a new set of irons, which he put in the bag at Augusta National. Even though he won with the prior set, he felt that he was hitting them too high and with too much spin. “Once I get a little bit more practice with them, get a little bit more confidence with them, I think it’s right there,â€� he said. “I definitely think it’s just around the corner, it’s not too far.â€� There’s no reason to doubt a determined Day. Â
Jason Day was No. 1 in the world not that long ago. Then, it all went away. A win at the Wells Fargo Championship is more proof he’s got his groove back.
Shohei Ohtani impressed in his return to the mound from an ankle sprain, allowing two runs over six-plus innings and leading the Angels to a series victory over their AL West rivals. Zack Cozart and Chris Young homered off Mariners ace Felix Hernandez to open the scoring, before Mike Trout broke the game open in the 6th with his 12th home run of the season.
Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand kept his tongue to himself during Sunday’s game, but not after the Tampa Bay Lightning clinched the second-round series in five games with a 3-1 victory. Marchand took issue with statement that the NHL issued Saturday, which declared he’d face supplemental
Kevin Harvick won the first two stages of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, then took the lead from Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer after a rain delay en route to his 41st career win.
Shohei Ohtani looked sharp in his return to the mound, allowing two runs over six-plus innings and leading the Angels to a series victory over their AL West rivals. Zack Cozart and Chris Young homered off Mariners ace Felix Hernandez to open the scoring, before Mike Trout broke the game open in the 6th with his 12th home run of the season.
Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship that gamers can use next week, next year or down the road. Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte has been the host since the creation of the event in 2003 and plays 7,544 yards to a Par-71. The 2017 WFC was played at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, NC. Here are nine tidbits from the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte has been the host since the creation of the event in 2003 and plays 7,544 yards to a Par-71. The 2017 WFC was played at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, NC. Beautiful Day Australian Jason Day became the fourth multiple winner on TOUR this season as he posted 12-under 272 to win the Wells Fargo Championship for the first time. His final-round 69 saw him hold off Aaron Wise and Nick Watney by two shots to collect his 12th PGA TOUR title. Day’s day was anything but easy, but he tends to make it look that way when he’s in the hunt. His two-shot lead was three at the turn before bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 made for an interesting finish. Day cranked up the class and blasted a 380-yard drive on No. 16 that he turned into a birdie. If that wasn’t enough, he almost broke the flag on No. 17 at the base. His tee shot on the par-3 smashed into the flag and stopped three feet from the hole. His birdie sealed the tournament, as he played “The Green Mile” in 3 under for the week. Entering the week without a finish inside the top 20 since February, gamers had to trust his T9 experience at the 2017 PGA Championship would be enough. Day hasn’t played this event since 2012 when he finished T9. His wins at Torrey Pines and Quail Hollow Club shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as he hits it a mile and has a fantastic short game. He checked all of those boxes this week even though he admitted he had less than his best on Sunday. He led the field in putts per GIR and SG: Around-the-Green while checking in second in SG: Putting, scrambling and sand saves. He joins Lucas Glover as the only winner to place all four rounds in the 60’s. Gamers will only have to go back to 2016 to see how badly Day destroyed TPC Sawgrass. The changes after his victory slowed him to T60 last year but no player has ever defended that event. Ever. Those with regret can patiently wait until the PGA Championship or The TOUR Championship (among others) for a chance to use him. PGA TOUR Fantasy Game presented by SERVPRO top selections: What a difference a Day makes! Plenty of the names above feasted on the easier conditions on Saturday but regressed in the final round. The breeze was up and the sunshine was out so scores followed suit. Finau had the round of the day with a bogey-free 66, the only bogey-free round on Sunday. PGA TOUR One & Done presented by SERVPRO top selections: It’s a win-win for the Day supporters as their man won and the three horses-for-courses at Quail Hollow Club did not. I was waving my DeChambeau pompoms a bit more vigorously after he holed that 18-footer for birdie on the last to take solo fourth. One of the cheers was for DeChambeau and the other was hoping to catch McIlroy down the road when he turns it on again. Play All 72 Regular readers of this column will know that Nick Watney has now cashed in 11 consecutive events. His best result of that stretch of 10 straight was T20 the last time he played his own ball at the Valero Texas Open. He played in the final twosome and collected his best finish, T2, since he was solo second at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2015. He beat Day by two shots that day. This week he needed a 58-foot putt on the last to drop to chop the runner-up cash. This was Watney’s third top-10 finish at QHC in the last five years so make a note for next year! Close Encounters Rookie Aaron Wise was tied with Day as he teed it up on No. 16. There’s no shame in making three pars to close on “The Green Mile” and that’s exactly what he did. He played his final 16 holes on Sunday in 4 under after bogeying the second hole. The former NCAA champion from Oregon picks up his best finish as a pro and sits inside the top 50 in the FedExCup standings at No. 49. Bank on Lefty His worst 36-hole total (+2) in 14 appearances probably scared most of his investors to death. His 64-69 weekend saw Phil Mickelson claim another top 10 in Charlotte, the 10th of his illustrious career. Don’t fall into the trap of following him on to TPC Sawgrass, though. His recent record there is dire and his last top 10 was his win in 2007. The Landlord The only two-time champion at this event struggled to find anything in his game this week. Rory McIlroy’s T16 payday is his worst check he’s collected here in eight tries. Even his “bad” is good but he’s forced gamers to set the bar ridiculously high and I understand the frustration. I don’t think next week is time to break him out if he’s struggling across the board. Sunday Silence I don’t think many expected Peter Uihlein to back up his 62 with something tasty on Sunday. He didn’t, but his 71 only dropped him three spots to T5 to match his best finish of the season. … There have been two players over the years that cause gamers to bite their nails on Sunday: Paul Casey and Rickie Fowler. Casey bogeyed the last to fall into a share of T5 while Fowler finished double bogey-bogey to drop all the way to T21. … Peter Malnati held the 36-hole lead alone before 75-74 on the weekend saw him eventually land at T34. … Tiger Woods didn’t make a birdie on Sunday and ended up T55. Study Hall Sunday’s scoring average jumped to 71.973 from 70.368 as QHC played almost 100 yards longer than Saturday. The scoring average for the week was 72.132. … Wise and fellow top-10 finishers Charl Schwartzel (T9) and Sam Saunders (T9) led the field with 19 birdies for the week. … Emiliano Grillo bogeyed his last two holes to collect T9 money. That’s 13 straight paychecks this season when playing his own ball.Â
Jason Day shot a 2-under 69 on Sunday to win the Wells Fargo Championship by two strokes over Aaron Wise and Nick Watney, his second victory of the season.
Kevin Harvick won the first two stages of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway, then took the lead from Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer after a rain delay en route to his 41st career win.
