Ranking every player in the U.S. Open fieldRanking every player in the U.S. Open field
From Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlory, Michael Collins went through the 156-field and found everyone a spot. It wasn’t easy.
Day: June 13, 2018
Can relationship between Kawhi and Spurs be repaired?Can relationship between Kawhi and Spurs be repaired?
Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich will soon sit down to talk. What comes of that will have huge ramifications for the Spurs — and the entire NBA.
Seven best Kawhi Leonard trades we’d like to seeSeven best Kawhi Leonard trades we’d like to see
Trade discussions could heat up if the Spurs and Leonard can’t agree on a new contract. Our NBA Insiders give seven deals that work.
“He should be black flagged really”“He should be black flagged really”
A recap of the best radio soundbites of the Canadian Grand Prix, where the chequered flag was waved one lap too early to give Sebastian Vettel a well-deserved win.
2026 World Cup is awarded to North America2026 World Cup is awarded to North America
The United States, Mexico and Canada easily beat out Morocco for the rights to host the global event, marking its return to the continent after a three-decade drought.
Fantasy golf: One & Done, U.S. OpenFantasy golf: One & Done, U.S. Open
If you’ve yet to take a moment to soak in what the 118th U.S. Open is giving to us, do yourself that favor. As fantasy golf gamers, there’s a high probability that you’re also a fan of the sport. That’s not tongue-in-cheek; that’s a serious statement. With the proliferation of DFS flooding our universe for purposes not necessarily motivated by traditional interests, we have brothers and sisters out there who don’t even know where Shinnecock Hills is located much less have any awareness or curiosity about what happened when the USGA was last in town in 2004. (For the record, this week’s host course is in Southampton on the East End of Long Island. It’s so far east on U.S. soil that the first threesome will go off split tees on Thursday at 3:45 a.m. Pacific Time. If you’re in Hawaii, you could watch a few guys knock it around before hitting the sack on Wednesday night.) Anyway, no matter the makeup of today’s baseline audience, how the field of 156 in the season’s second major lines up also ticks the box of something special for gamers. Consider that every eligible qualifier is committed to compete. There are no concerning injuries, no serious illnesses (of which we are aware), no imminent births with private jets idling nearby and no personal reasons or travel concerns superseding this opportunity. Also consider that almost all of the short-listers who capture our attention as an option every time they tee it up offer reasonable possibilities to contend. This is rarely the case and arguably the strongest such moment in time for this generation. It would require far less time reviewing who among the chalk to avoid: Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia. See? Next case. So bursting with promise, the field presents yet another rarity – the chance to invest with your heart influencing the negotiations. Really. Want another go at riding shotgun with Phil Mickelson as he chases the career grand slam for the fifth consecutive year? Go for it. Not only is he physically poised, no one will have more support among the New York faithful. Love Dustin Johnson in the afterglow of a six-shot runaway in Memphis? Of course you do. No one has stated a stronger case to break the egg and become the first to prevail at the U.S. Open the week after polishing off a victory. Keen on Brooks Koepka to defend? Well, I’ll tug on that leash and remind you that it’s been 29 years since Curtis Strange was the last to go back-to-back in the U.S. Open, but Koepka isn’t a foolish investment by any stretch. What I love even more than his potential is that this is just his fifth start since returning to competition after sitting out almost four months to allow his left wrist to heal. No one is more fresh. Jason Day. Justin Thomas. Jon Rahm. Justin Rose. Hideki Matsuyama. Stop it already. I’m not talking you out of any of those guys, either. J-Wall essentially stole my thunder in his comment below about Rickie Fowler. The recently engaged 29-year-old is facing his challenge as one of the best in the world who has yet to win a major head-on. He hasn’t balked at gushing over Shinnecock Hills. He knows the course as well as anyone in the field. He’s benefited by relatively wide fairways. His ball flight is ideal if the wind kicks up. And on and on and on. Tommy Fleetwood is sure to be a popular pick. His personality is infectious, but his results and profile are inspiring. He’s also built for the center stage of a major. In any other preview and you’d accuse me of burying Rory McIlroy, but not this week. That he’s shoving for attention makes him look even more attractive. Expect his ownership percentage to be low. For the purpose of drawing a hard line, holster Masters winner Patrick Reed, PLAYERS champ Webb Simpson, Henrik Stenson, Louis Oosthuizen, Matt Kuchar and Marc Leishman. At least half of those guys will be on our radar at Carnoustie for The Open Championship as well as other stops down the stretch. The only advice that two-man gamers need this week is to remember to submit your picks. You’re as golden as this age of the game. FUTURE POSSIBILITIES NOTE: Select golfers committed to the tournament are listed alphabetically. Future tournaments are sorted chronologically and reflect previous success on the courses on which the tournaments will be held in 2017-18. The numerical values in parentheses represent the order of relative confidence of where to use each golfer if multiple sites are listed (e.g. 1 for strongest, 2 for next-strongest and so on). To present weighted confidence in real time, numerical values will not change all season no matter how many tournament remain listed for each golfer. All are pending golfer commitment. Daniel Berger … Travelers (2) Paul Casey … Travelers (4); WGC-Bridgestone (5); Dell Technologies (2); TOUR Championship (3) Kevin Chappell … WGC-Bridgestone (2); Dell Technologies (3) Jason Day … U.S. Open (2); Canadian (11); WGC-Bridgestone (9); PGA Championship (1); THE NORTHERN TRUST (8); Dell Technologies (5) Jason Dufner … U.S. Open (4); Wyndham (6); TOUR Championship (7) Tony Finau … Greenbrier (2); Canadian (4) Rickie Fowler … WGC-Bridgestone (3); THE NORTHERN TRUST (10); Dell Technologies (6) Sergio Garcia … Open Championship (1); TOUR Championship (4) Branden Grace … U.S. Open (4); WGC-Bridgestone (3) Bill Haas … Wyndham (2) Brian Harman … John Deere (3) Russell Henley … Greenbrier (2) Charley Hoffman … Travelers (2); Canadian (3) Dustin Johnson … U.S. Open (13); Canadian (10); WGC-Bridgestone (14); PGA Championship (9); Dell Technologies (11); TOUR Championship (6) Zach Johnson … John Deere (1); Open Championship (5); WGC-Bridgestone (6); TOUR Championship (8) Kevin Kisner … Wyndham (6) Russell Knox … Dell Technologies (7) Brooks Koepka … U.S. Open (1; defending); Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (6); PGA Championship (2) Matt Kuchar … Canadian (3); WGC-Bridgestone (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9) Marc Leishman … Travelers (2); Open Championship (1) Hideki Matsuyama … U.S. Open (6); WGC-Bridgestone (8; defending) Graeme McDowell … WGC-Bridgestone (3) Rory McIlroy … Open Championship (4); WGC-Bridgestone (7); Dell Technologies (5); TOUR Championship (3) Phil Mickelson … Open Championship (5) Louis Oosthuizen … U.S. Open (5); PGA Championship (4); Dell Technologies (3) Scott Piercy … John Deere (6) Patrick Reed … Travelers (5); PGA Championship (8); Wyndham (7); THE NORTHERN TRUST (9); Dell Technologies (2) Justin Rose … Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (7); TOUR Championship (2) Charl Schwartzel … U.S. Open (5); Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (2) Adam Scott … U.S. Open (10); Open Championship (8); WGC-Bridgestone (3); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (6) Webb Simpson … Travelers (8); Greenbrier (5); Wyndham (1) Brandt Snedeker … U.S. Open (5); Travelers (6); Canadian (3); Wyndham (4) Jordan Spieth … Travelers (6; defending); John Deere (7); Open Championship (9; defending); WGC-Bridgestone (10); TOUR Championship (4) Brendan Steele … Travelers (3) Henrik Stenson … Open Championship (6); WGC-Bridgestone (4); PGA Championship (7); Wyndham (8; defending); Dell Technologies (9); TOUR Championship (2) Justin Thomas … Dell Technologies (6; defending); TOUR Championship (3) Jimmy Walker … Greenbrier (8); Dell Technologies (7) Tiger Woods … WGC-Bridgestone (3)
Ross Brawn responds to ‘boring F1’ accusationsRoss Brawn responds to ‘boring F1’ accusations
After a Canadian Grand Prix with just 22 changes of position, Ross Brawn has played down concerns that Formula One is delivering boring racing.
U.S. Open roundtable: Who ya got?U.S. Open roundtable: Who ya got?
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas each admitted they hadn’t known the USGA changed the playoff format, from an 18-hole Monday playoff to a two-hole Sunday one. What else surprised you from the press conferences so far? Sean Martin, Senior Editor: I appreciated Jason Day’s boldness and honesty. “I think if I want to be the best player in the world, I’ll be the best player in the world,â€� is a quote that really stuck out to me from Tuesday. He definitely seemed inspired. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: Hearing Jason Day talk about Tiger Woods’ “MC Hammer pantsâ€� from 2004 at Shinnecock and then Bubba Watson’s messy burrito habits was something I was not expecting in the lead-up to this tournament. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: Probably D.J. admitting he hit mid irons and even a couple long irons into some of the holes at Shinnecock. And here I thought he carried driver and a bunch of wedges. Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: Given the way the ’04 U.S. Open ended, I’m surprised that the only complaining has been about the traffic. But it’s early. Shinnecock’s greens are like upside-down cereal bowls, and once balls start landing in the wrong places and funneling 50 yards away, it’s on. Who is the one player almost no one is talking about who is nonetheless on your radar? Martin: I don’t think enough people are talking about Tommy Fleetwood. He finished fourth in last year’s U.S. Open and remains very much one of the world’s best players. I think he’ll like Shinnecock Hills’ linksy characteristics. Everill: Lucas Herbert. The 23-year-old Australian dominated the Portland Sectionals and is a highly touted youngster out of Australia. Won’t be overawed and could easily replicate Cameron Smith’s U.S. Open debut from 2015 (T4). Wall: Tommy Fleetwood. He’s finished outside the top 25 three times in 10 TOUR starts this season. And did I mention he was fourth last season at the U.S. Open? He has the game to contend at Shinnecock. Literally no one is talking about him. Morfit: He got injured, so Brooks Koepka fell out of the conversation. Now he’s back. He’s posted 63s in two of his last three starts and said in his presser, “I feel like I always play well at U.S. Opens. I play very conservative, middle of the greens a lot of times, and I feel like major championships are kind of where I shine.â€� I’d be shocked if the defending champ doesn’t finish in the top 10. Dustin Johnson looked strong in winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic by six, but is Shinnecock a course that favors touch around the greens more than power off the tee? Martin: I think the short game is going to be very important this week. Between the wind and the sloping greens, those chipping areas around the putting surfaces are going to get plenty of work. The last three U.S. Opens here were won by stellar short games. Raymond Floyd was one of the best chippers in the game. Corey Pavin hit less than half the greens when he won here. Retief Goosen hit only six greens in the final round. Everill: It is clearly a mixture of both but there must also be a premium on accuracy. At the end of the day the guy who gets up and down from trouble and makes the clutch par putts will hoist the trophy. Wall: I think you need to have an all-around game to contend. It’s important to find the fairway, but you can’t continually lay back and have mid and long irons into the greens. Even the best short game in the world won’t keep you from making a couple bogeys with that game plan. Morfit: I don’t think a bomber wins, especially as dry as it is this week. Shinnecock is a second-shot course (Goosen was a specialist with the irons), and being crafty and economical around those crazy green complexes counts for a lot, too. Phil Mickelson is making his 27th U.S. Open start, and says he loves the setup. He’s tried just about everything. How would you prepare if you were him? Martin: I think take it easy and rely on your past work here. He’s played here twice and done well. And energy management is key for Mickelson at this stage in his career, as we saw at THE PLAYERS Championship. Everill: By renting a bigger yacht than Tiger’s and parking it right next door. Phil needs to be Phil – that is relaxed and trying to be funny. Forget all this career slam pressure. Just go out and play. Wall: What he’s doing right now: Resting. Phil played last week in Memphis and needed a recharge. Playing the course in advance of this week meant he didn’t need to grind out practice rounds. Work on the short game and conserve energy for what should be a 72-hole grind at Shinnecock.  Morfit: Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte has him practicing and playing off-site at nearby Friar’s Head with, among others, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. I hope they’re taking a cart, because he should do as little as possible to preserve his legs and (admittedly) sporadic ability to drill down and focus. It’s a long week.
Angels’ hot Trout tries to prevent sweep by MarinersAngels’ hot Trout tries to prevent sweep by Mariners
Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout entered his team’s three-game series in Seattle mired in a 2-for-19 slump with no extra-base hits, no RBIs and seven strikeouts in his previous five games. Trout has homered twice in each of the first two games of the series heading into the finale Wednesday afternoon
Real or Not? Miggy might never dominate at the plate againReal or Not? Miggy might never dominate at the plate again
A season-ending injury for Miguel Cabrera might end the aging slugger’s days as one of baseball’s most fearsome right-handed hitters.