Funtastic wins Monmouth’s United Nations in 23-1 upsetFuntastic wins Monmouth’s United Nations in 23-1 upset
OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) — Funtastic led all the way in a 23-1 upset Saturday in the $300,000 United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Day: June 30, 2018
After Pearce deal, Red Sox plan next movesAfter Pearce deal, Red Sox plan next moves
With a month to go before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline, president of operations Dave Dombrowski is eyeing pitching, most likely for the bullpen.
Tiger frustrated with 68 after blazing front nineTiger frustrated with 68 after blazing front nine
With five birdies, including a 25-footer, on the front nine, Tiger Woods was in great shape Saturday at the Quicken Loans National. But he says he ‘didn’t finish it off the right way’ and settled for a 68. He is six strokes behind the leaders.
Ancer, Molinari share lead at Quicken Loans NationalAncer, Molinari share lead at Quicken Loans National
POTOMAC, Md. — Tiger Woods ran off four straight birdies and finished the front nine with seven consecutive one-putt greens. Unlike Francesco Molinari and Abraham Ancer, he couldn’t keep it going Saturday in the Quicken Loans National. Ancer and Molinari each handled the scorching heat on the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm and shared the lead going into the final round. Ancer birdied two of his last three holes for the lowest score of his career, an 8-under 62, giving the 27-year-old Mexican his best shot at a first PGA TOUR victory. Ancer has never been in the top 10 going into the final round in 22 previous starts. Molinari also is going for his first official PGA TOUR victory, though that comes with an asterisk. He won a World Golf Championship in Shanghai in 2010, though the PGA TOUR did not recognize the HSBC Champions as an official win until a year later. They were at 13-under 197, two shots clear of Ryan Armour (68) and Zac Blair (66). Woods was six shots behind, the seventh straight tournament he has been at least five shots behind going into the final round. It sure didn’t sound that way, and for most of the round, it didn’t look that way. With his fifth birdie of the front nine, Woods was one shot out of the lead. And then he opened the back nine with a pair of birdie chances just inside 10 feet and missed the both. He never really regained his momentum, finished with another bogey and shot 68. Considering the scoring average was 69.6 in the third round, he wound up losing two shots to the lead. “It was frustrating because I played better than what my score indicates,” Woods said. “I thought that 10 under would have been a good score for me to end up at for the day, and I could have easily gotten that today on the back nine.” He didn’t, and now has more ground to make up. The nine players ahead of him have combined for just five (official) PGA TOUR victories. Molinaro has five European Tour victories, has played on two Ryder Cup teams and is No. 17 in the world. The Italian is playing at the National and plans to be at the John Deere Classic in two weeks, even though the European Tour is in the meat of its summer schedule with national opens in France, Ireland and Scotland leading up to the British Open. Molinari is currently among qualifiers for the Ryder Cup team, but his FedExCup standing is at No. 123. He’s making the most of his first trip to the TPC Potomac. Even though he missed a few short putts on the front nine, he closed with a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and hit wedge into 5 feet for birdie at the 18th. “It’s where I want to be,” Molinari said, referring more to his position on the leaderboard than in heat approaching 100 degrees. “I would have been happy with even 11 or 12 under. The main thing today was to stay close to the leader, so I’ve done a very good job of that. Tomorrow I just need to go out and do my best, hit as many good shots as possible and see if that would be enough.” Ancer was tied for the lead after the opening round at the Memorial, which is the only other time he has been atop the leaderboard after any round on the PGA TOUR. Conditions have been changing since the opening round with so much sun, no rain and fairways that are getting faster. That was more bothersome to Ancer than the heat. “I grew up in Mexico, in the north part of Mexico where it’s very hot,” he said. “Didn’t bother me. I would rather play in this than cold weather.” The course certainly has everyone’s attention. Woods found that out the hard way with three shots from the rough that sailed some 30 yards over the green, leading to bogeys. “You have to hit it good. There’s no way around it,” Ancer said. Armour shared the 36-hole lead with Beau Hossler and Brian Gay, who both failed to break par. Hossler shot a 71 and was five shots behind, while Gay had a 72. Rickie Fowler, the only player from the top 10 in the world at the TPC Potomac, had a 69 and was eight shots behind.
Twins’ Rosario leaves game due to heat illnessTwins’ Rosario leaves game due to heat illness
After hitting a two-run homer in the top of the fifth inning Saturday, Minnesota Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario left the game at Wrigley Field due to heat illness. It was 96 degrees at the time Rosario exited, with a heat index of 107, the Cubs said.
Cubs beat heat, outslug Twins with 20 hitsCubs beat heat, outslug Twins with 20 hits
The Cubs logged 20 hits to outslug the Twins on a 95-degree day at Wrigley Field. Ben Zobrist drove in three runs and Albert Almora Jr., Javier Baez and Jason Heyward drove in two apiece, including a tie-breaking RBI single by Heyward in the seventh inning. Joe Mauer led Minnesota’s offense with three RBIs, while Eddie Rosario went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and Ehire Adrianza knocked in two with a double. Rosario was one of three Twins players (Bobby Wilson, Max Kepler) to exit due to heat illness. Tyler Chatwood started for the Cubs in place of Yu Darvish, yielding seven runs in five innings, while Adalberto Mejia gave up four runs in four innings in his Twins season debut. Willians Astudillo made his Major League debut when he replaced Rosario and recorded his first hit and RBI on the first pitch he saw.
Cubs beat heat, outlast Twins in hitfest winCubs beat heat, outlast Twins in hitfest win
The Cubs logged 20 hits to outlsug the Twins on a 95-degree day at Wrigley Field. Ben Zobrist drove in three runs and Albert Almora Jr., Javier Baez and Jason Heyward drove in two apiece, including a tie-breaking RBI single by Heyward in the seventh inning. Joe Mauer led Minnesota’s offense with three RBIs, while Eddie Rosario went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and Ehire Adrianza knocked in two with a double. Rosario was one of three Twins players (Bobby Wilson, Max Kepler) to exit due to heat illness. Tyler Chatwood started for the Cubs in place of Yu Darvish, yielding seven runs in five innings, while Adalberto Mejia gave up four runs in four innings in his Twins season debut. Willians Astudillo made his Major League debut when he replaced Rosario and recorded his first hit and RBI on the first pitch he saw.
Cubs beat heat, outlast Twins in hitfest winCubs beat heat, outlast Twins in hitfest win
Ben Zobrist drove in three runs and Albert Almora Jr., Javier Baez and Jason Heyward drove in two apiece, including a tie-breaking RBI single by Heyward in the seventh inning, to spark a 20-hit attack and lead the Cubs to a 14-9 win on Saturday over the Twins in a seesaw battle at sweltering Wrigley Field.
Tiger Woods roars early, fades late on Moving Day at Quicken Loans NationalTiger Woods roars early, fades late on Moving Day at Quicken Loans National
BETHESDA, Md. – Tiger Woods had everyone dreaming of PGA TOUR win number 80 early in the third round of the Quicken Loans National but the roars turned to whimpers as an epic charge stalled on the back nine. Starting the third round just four-shots back Woods had the crowd in a state of hysteria after four-straight birdies moved him to within one shot of the lead after just seven holes. But while the heat index at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm continued to rise, Woods’ putter started to cool off and a host of missed chances peppered his last nine holes. In the final wash up Woods shot a 2-under 68 to move to 7 under for the tournament, a distant six shots off the pace set by Francesco Molinari (65) and Abraham Ancer (62) at 13 under. “I played better than what my score indicates,â€� Woods said. “It was frustrating because I thought that 10 under would have been a good score for me to end up at for the day and I could have easily gotten that today on the back nine.â€� A win for Woods is certainly not completely out of the question as he sits in a tie for 10th place but the two-time FedExCup champion will need a special Sunday. With temperatures expected to squeak towards 100 degrees on Sunday Woods will base his strategy on how the golf course is set up but clearly intends to try to go low and post a number in the clubhouse. “I’m curious to see what they do with the golf course, if they keep letting it dry out or are they going to protect it against this heat,â€� Woods said. “If they let it dry out, then the scores won’t be as low tomorrow, but if they protect it, then everybody’s been making birdies everywhere here. “Either way I’m going to have to shoot a low round to try to give myself a chance, but I would hope that it would be drier because it gives me a little better chance.â€� Woods opened his round with a bogey and then played the next two holes loosely also, failing to birdie the par-5 2nd and then needing to make a 12-foot par save on the third. It was a critical putt as it kick-started a blistering run of four-straight birdies with Woods stepping up his approach game and connecting putts from six, seven, 12 and eight feet. A bogey on eight may have started the slide except Woods rebounded immediately on the par-3 9th with a 25-foot birdie. But it would be a long wait for more joy despite huge crowds willing his every move. Woods missed makeable birdie putts from eight and nine feet on the next two holes and had to settle for par on the 12th also when his 21-foot effort barely missed. A poor iron off the 13th tee would result in a sloppy bogey and then Woods missed another birdie from seven feet on the drivable par-4 14th. A 20-foot try on the 15th wouldn’t drop but a sublime approach to five feet on 16 finally resulted in his only birdie of the back side. His 23-footer on 17 wouldn’t drop and then the gloss was taken off the round when he went wayward off the 18th tee into a tough lie, hacked out into a bunker and failed to get up and down. With his new mallet style putter Woods now ranks 27th in the field through three rounds in Strokes Gained: Putting. It was his best friend on the front – where he made 78 feet, five inches of putts – but almost an enemy on the back as he made just 17 feet, five inches. “Every putt I missed on the back nine except for 18 were all high side, I just blew it through the high side three putts in a row,â€� he said. “Frustrating.â€� For those hoping to see history it certainly was.
Report: Dwight Howard has ‘serious interest’ in joining WarriorsReport: Dwight Howard has ‘serious interest’ in joining Warriors
Dwight Howard is an eight-time All-Star, three-time winner of the Defensive Player of the Year, and has been named All-NBA First Team five times. Howard, 32, is yet to sign a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets, but the thought is he will soon be a free agent. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Howard has “serious interest in the Warriors.” The question is, do the Warriors have interest in him?
