Deandre Ayton, the projected No. 1 pick in this week’s NBA draft, signed a four-year, multimillion-dollar footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Puma, the company announced Monday.
The non-waiver Trade Deadline is July 31, and we’re keeping you up to date with the latest trade buzz, news, rumors and more.
Are you ready for eagles and birdies again? Of course you are. So are the 49 golfers who have made their way from the U.S. Open on Long Island up to TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, for this week’s Travelers Championship. If the RBC Heritage is the hammock after the intensity of the Masters, the Travelers is the 5 p.m. whistle on a Friday following the season’s second major. TPC River Highlands is open for business and taking orders. Scroll beneath the ranking for more on last year’s unforgettable finish, the track, what’s needed to perform well and other information to prepare you for this week’s 156-man competition. POWER RANKINGS: 2018 TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP RANK PLAYER COMMENT Checked up at T6 after sharing the 54-hole lead at Shinnecock Hills, but co-led the field in par-4 scoring. In two spins at TPC River Highlands, he’s gone T5-P2 with a scoring average of 67.13. He’s scored 9-under 271 in each of the last two editions to finish a respective T11 and T5. He’s been just as consistently strong over the last three months with a win among seven top 10s. Never a concern statistically and honoring his objective to generate consistency this season. His T25 at the U.S. Open was his 15th consecutive top 25 in official individual competition. Quietly T10 at the U.S. Open. That tags onto a T20 at the Masters and his win at THE PLAYERS among other notable results this season. He’s 8-for-8 at the Travelers with three top 15s. Predictable endorsement here with three top 10s in last five appearances (scoring average = 67.75), but he’s also coming off a T20 at the U.S. Open, his fifth top 25 in the last six majors. Perfect in seven trips with his breakthrough victory in 2012 among four top 20s. Ranks 14th on TOUR in birdies-or-better percentage. One month removed from solo second at Trinity Forest. Even when he’s not simmering, his record here is too glossy to ignore. Since debuting in 2011, he’s 6-for-7 with a T5 (2014), another five top 25s and a scoring average of 68.08. Rested after a T13 at Memorial, one of five top 20s in his last 10 starts. Two-time co-runner-up at the Travelers with another three top 10s and yet another two top 20s in 10 appearances. Rapidly becoming a threat on the biggest stages thanks to a T6 at the U.S. Open and a T2 at THE PLAYERS last month. T14 at the Travelers last year after a T5 at the U.S. Open. Since his P2 as a debutant in 2015, he’s added a T17 (2016) and a T5 (2017). His scoring average in those 12 rounds is 67.25. The top-20 machine finished T16 at Shinnecock Hills. Held his own for a T25 at Shinnecock Hills, his latest impressive result of the last four months-plus. Memorial title three weeks ago headlines five top fives. Third start at TPC River Highlands. TPC River Highlands is the kind of spot where he can find his game … and some confidence. Went wire-to-wire in what was his first appearance last year. Currently second on TOUR in GIR. Closed out his debut here last year with a field-low-tying 64 to place T17. Ranked second in strokes gained: tee-to-green for the week. Inconsistency in 2018 lowered him to this spot, however. It’s natural to expect an emotional letdown, but don’t expect a massive drop in performance. Steady since returning from injury and still relatively fresh. Placed T9 in last visit here in 2016. A frustrating and compelling talent all season despite two victories. Still best on TOUR in strokes gained: putting but outside the top 140 in eight splits in proximity to the hole from 75-275 yards. Patrick Cantlay, Brandt Snedeker and Zach Johnson will appear in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider with former winners Bubba Watson (2010, 2015), Kevin Streelman (2014) and Russell Knox (2016). It’s the first anniversary of Jordan Spieth’s hole-out that secured victory at the Travelers Championship, but no matter how many years pass, it was arguably the most exciting moment of the 2016-17 season and an indelible memory for generations. How the defending champion got to that point – he took down Daniel Berger in the only hole needed in sudden death – was as Spiethian as it gets. Spieth completed the tournament ranked outside the top 35 in distance off all drives (T38), fairways hit (T41), greens in regulation (T42) and par-5 scoring (T69). Typically, proficiency in at least one of those last three stats contributes to victory. Furthermore, it looks like a typo that he still managed to lead the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green, but it’s true. Because Spieth connected for birdie on 21 of 49 attempts to break par with his putter, he was the pacesetter in birdies-or-better percentage, one of just 11 winners last season who led their field in that scoring metric. (He added a zero-putt birdie on the par-5 sixth hole in the third round and led the field with 22 par breakers.) Berger checked the boxes of prerequisites for success at TPC River Highlands. He finished T3 in GIR, sixth in proximity (Spieth was T38) and fourth in scrambling (Spieth was T19). With bentgrass greens averaging just 5,000 square feet and running upward of 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, and with a perennial premium on hitting targets defended by four-inch rough on approach, Berger’s performance is the preferred method. The stock par 70 tipping at just 6,841 yards can also brag that its par 5s (Nos. 6 and 13) are not pushovers. Collectively, they ranked as the eight-hardest set of par 5s of 50 last season. It’s the second straight year they’ve been among the top-10 most difficult. Overall, the course averaged 70.199. TPC River Highlands will usher in summer with seasonable conditions. Sunshine will be the story until the 36-hole cut falls. When the weekend arrives, clouds will move in ahead of a reasonable threat for rain on Sunday. Wind could be a factor later as well. Daytime high will oscillate around 80 degrees. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton reviews and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.
Tippett was most recently the head coach of the Arizona Coyotes.
The top spots in the National League are unchanged in the latest 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star ballot update released Monday. But the races at catcher and second base, in particular, are much too close for comfort.
The late Dennis Green will be inducted into the Vikings’ Ring of Honor at halftime of Minnesota’s game against the Bills on Sept. 23 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Jimmy Garoppolo had a great start to his 49ers career going 5-0 in his first five games as a starter to close out the season last year. Now going into his first full season with the team, things don’t seem to be going as smoothly. According to 49ers beat reporters, Garoppolo didn’t have the greatest of minicamps. Per the Press Democrat, in the final session on Wednesday, Garoppolo missed 11 of his final 16 throws and finished with a completion percentage of 40. He didn’t complete a single deep pass. In addition, on Tuesday he caused four straight false start penalties to start the practice. “It’s all on the quarterback,â€� Garoppolo said to reporters on Wednesday. “I mean, I’m the one doing the
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – At the end of a week of punishing wind and rain, fescue and lightning-fast greens, Brooks Koepka fires a final-round 68 to hold off a surging Tommy Fleetwood (63) at the 118th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where Koepka became the first player to successfully defend his U.S. Open title since Curtis Strange in 1989. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1 Koepka’s tee-to-green game is terrific, but don’t overlook his putting. He was in trouble when he hit a wedge into the fescue left of the 11th green, especially when he and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, arrived at the ball and looked down to find it nesting in long grass that was pointing away from the green. The best they could hope for was to hack the ball out and let it roll into the bunker on the other side of the green. That’s exactly what happened, and after splashing out, Koepka rolled in a crucial bogey putt from just inside 13 feet to limit the damage. He then made par putts of just over 6 feet and 8 ½ feet at the 12th and 14th holes, respectively, to maintain momentum. “I’ll tell you what,� said Elliott, who has worked for Koepka for five years, “he’s been one of the best putters on TOUR for two or three years.� 2 Koepka’s outsized will comes from his family. Few tournaments take a toll quite like the U.S. Open, but while Koepka took a few hits, he never stayed down for long. He said he was glad for the tournament’s fabled toughness, for he knew it would take out half the field and highlight his competitive toughness. When he was growing up, he said, his father, Bob, never let him win. And when the son finally surpassed the father, there was Koepka’s little brother, Chase, who teamed with Brooks in last year’s two-man Zurich Classic of New Orleans, to worry about. “Once we started beating (Bob), it was me and Chase going at it,� Koepka said. “I think that’s why he’s so good now, the competitiveness that he’s had to go through with myself and my dad. No one’s going to let it—nobody wanted to lose, let’s put it that way. There were times when I came home pouting, and Chase did, too, getting beat by him. It’s a very competitive family.� So much so that Koepka went stir-crazy when he sat out for three months with a wrist injury to start the season. “I’ve got to be competing at something,� he said. “It doesn’t matter what it is.� Click here for more on Koepka’s comeback from injury. 3 The winner wasn’t worried about third-place Dustin Johnson (70). “He’s going to win another one,� Koepka said. “I mean, we all know that.� Johnson has 18 PGA TOUR victories, including the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, but in winning on Sunday, Koepka now takes the lead in major championships won, two to one. “Going to the gym with him, starting training, you see how hard he works,� Koepka added. “You see how talented he is. He’s physically gifted. In my mind, he’s probably one of the most talented guys ever to play the game. And the attitude, the work ethic, everything that he brings to it, I mean, in my book, he will, when he’s done, probably go down as one of the best of all time.� 4 Fleetwood and Reed will be back. Tommy Fleetwood (solo second, one back) shot a final-round 63 that could easily have been better, were it not for missed birdie putts on his closing holes. He failed to birdie the par-5 16th, and his uphill birdie putt from 8 feet, 7 inches slid by on the low side on 18. Masters champion Patrick Reed (68, solo fourth, three back) roared out of the gate but missed a par putt of just under three feet at the ninth, failed to birdie 16, and bogeyed 18. Still, both players impressed with their play. “It was a good one,� Fleetwood said. “It was a great one. I mean, yeah, so many positives, so many great things.� Said Reed: “Through the first 11 holes, I didn’t really feel like I missed a golf shot. I was hitting my lines.� 5 Tony Finau has a dedicated team of supporters. Finau made a late double-bogey to drop from a tie for third with Johnson into solo fifth, a difference of over $200,000, but he played well, and he should win something for having the most dedicated team of friends and family. His wife, Alayna, flew to New York on Friday in order to watch on the weekend, but his coach, Boyd Summerhays, really went the extra mile. Summerhays, who grew up competing against peers like Charles Howell and briefly dabbled on the TOUR, was at Shinnecock but flew home Friday to watch his son Preston, 15, become the youngest-ever winner of the Utah State Amateur, a tournament with a 120-year history, at Oakridge Country Club on Saturday. Preston, a rising sophomore, beat University of Utah golfer Kyler Dunkle 3 and 2 to take the age record away from PGA TOUR pro Daniel Summerhays (his uncle, Boyd’s brother) by a few months. Boyd then boarded a plane and flew back to New York, and looked none the worse for wear as he watched Finau play in the last group at Shinnecock on Sunday. “Tony and Daniel kept telling him this was his last year to break the record,� Summerhays said with a smile befitting a proud dad on Father’s Day. FIVE INSIGHTS 1 Koepka averaged 318.3 yards off the tee and was second in driving distance, behind Ryan Fox (318.8, T41). Gary Woodland (T36) was third at 314.7, Jhonattan Vegas (T41) fourth at 313.2, and Dustin Johnson (solo fourth) fifth at 312.5. Finau (solo fifth) was ninth at 310.1. 2 Fleetwood hit the most fairways, with 48 (86 percent), with eight players tied for second with 47 (84 percent). Although the conventional wisdom said players wouldn’t survive by straying from the short grass, Koepka hit just 36 fairways (64 percent) and was tied for 55th in that stat. 3 China’s Haotong Li (69, T16) led the field in greens in regulation (71 percent), Fleetwood and Johnson tied for second (69 percent), and Koepka was fourth (68 percent). Alex Noren led in putting, taking 28.5 strokes per round on the greens. Keopka (29.75) tied for seventh best. 4 The par-4 14th hole, which played between 511 and 536 yards depending on the setup, played toughest of the week with a 4.567 stroke average. Koepka double-bogeyed it on the way to an opening-round 75, but made three pars after that, including a crucial save from 8 ½ feet Sunday.   5 Rickie Fowler (65, T20) bettered his third-round 84 by 19 shots and shared the record for low front nine (31) for the week with Hideki Matsuyama (66, T16) and Reed. Fleetwood shot the lowest back nine (31) and lowest round (63).
Aaron Donald is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, so why don’t the Rams just “pay the man”? We answer that question and more.
The Lakers hit with Kyle Kuzma with the 27th overall pick. Ditto the Jazz with Rudy Gobert. And the Raptors with Pascal Siakam. So recent draft history shows the Celtics may be able to stay put and address their needs at No. 27.
