Nearly three years after he retired from the NFL over concussion concerns, San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis has requested reinstatement to the league in a letter to commissioner Roger Goodell, Pro Football Talk reported. Davis, 29, played 72 games with the 49ers from 2010-16, but saw
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The TOUR’s elite often play a starring role at the Wells Fargo Championship. Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler have won here, and Phil Mickelson is a consistent contender at Quail Hollow. Players of that ilk make the game look deceptively easy. They launch drives that burst the 300-yard barrier, lift long-irons high into the air and sink putts with more curve than the Pacific Coast Highway. They can make us forget how difficult this game is, especially when your livelihood is on the line. The leaderboard at the halfway point of this edition of the Wells Fargo Championship is a reminder that golf can humble anyone, even the professionals. There are harder ways to make a buck – this isn’t coal mining — but that doesn’t mean professional golf is easy. Just look at 36-hole leader Jason Dufner. He won a major championship and once was an annual attendee of the TOUR Championship. Now he’s struggling to make cuts. “I’m just thankful to be playing on the weekend,â€� he said after Friday’s 63. At 11-under 131, he’s one shot ahead of Max Homa, who also shot 63 on Friday, and Joel Dahmen. Homa is back on TOUR after enduring a season you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Two years ago, he made just two cuts and was 61-over par in 16 stroke-play starts. Dahmen, who will join Dufner in Saturday’s final group, is playing his third PGA TOUR season. He served a five-year apprenticeship on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada before finally graduating to the Web.com Tour. That’s a longer tenure than most players who eventually make it to the PGA TOUR. Dufner’s day included a chip-in from 35 yards on the first hole and a 40-foot putt for birdie on 17. Those were rare bright spots in a miserable stretch of golf. The 63 was his low round since his victory at the 2013 PGA Championship. He’s 188th in this season’s FedExCup standings, missing more than half his cuts and finishing in the top 50 just twice. He has just one top-10 in the past two years, a poor stretch that led him to make a myriad of changes. He’s used four caddies this year. He left his longtime swing coach, Chuck Cook, and started working with putting instructor Phil Kenyon. “I think I’m on my fourth or fifth putter this year, I’m on my fourth or fifth driver, my fourth or fifth golf ball, fourth or fifth lob wedge,â€� Dufner said. “I’m trying to find stuff that’s going to work.â€� He started seeing positive signs at the RBC Heritage and again at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He’s 42 years old and has never played the power game that’s become prevalent on the PGA TOUR, so he knows that he has to make the most of the next few years. “Being competitive, trying to win tournaments, is where I want to be,â€� said Dufner, who owns five PGA TOUR titles. “I’ve done everything I ever thought I could do in golf, so I want to take this last window and make the most of it.â€� Dufner didn’t start playing golf until he was 15 and was a walk-on at Auburn University. Homa, on the other hand, was one of those players who turned pro with a resume overflowing with impressive accolades. He won the NCAA Championship in 2013 and played on that year’s Walker Cup team with future PGA TOUR winners Justin Thomas and Michael Kim. Homa and Thomas both made their first PGA TOUR start as professionals at the 2013 Safeway Open. Thomas finished 72nd. Homa was ninth. They both graduated to the PGA TOUR in 2014 after one season on the Web.com Tour. But while Thomas became a FedExCup and major champion, Homa lost his way while trying to get better. He finished 163rd in the FedExCup as a rookie. His return to the Web.com Tour lasted just a single season, but his struggles were even worse in his second season on the PGA TOUR. Homa’s driver was the culprit, especially the occasional “foul ballâ€� that racks up the penalty strokes. Homa earned less than $20,000 that season. He jokes now that he made more money for appearing in the Monday pro-ams. He hit rock bottom in the last event of his PGA TOUR season, shooting 14 over (75-79) to finish last by five shots and miss the cut by 15. He estimates he hit seven provisional balls a week. Homa isn’t worried about the stray tee shot anymore. His driving has steadily improved, thanks in part to a return to his coach from his college days, Les Johnson. And Homa draws confidence from his amateur accomplishments, which confirm to him that, even though his career took a detour, he can compete on the PGA TOUR. “Obviously I know Justin is far superior, but I also know that my good golf was somewhat similar,â€� Homa said. Dufner has shown he’s capable of winning the game’s biggest titles. Even though it’s been a long time since he’s proved that, he doesn’t think he’s hoisted his last PGA TOUR trophy. “By no means do I think that this is the end of me playing good golf,â€� Dufner said. “It may have looked like that to some people … but I feel like I’ve got a lot of good golf left in me.â€� Golf can lead players to some dark places. But Dufner and Homa could prove this week that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Who went first? How far did players like Antonio Brown and Leonard Fournette slide? Who is the top rookie?
Happy Friday. With the NFL Draft last week, I was too busy in Nashville to do a recruiting column. And let’s be frank, your priority was Drew Lock last Friday and not who Mizzou was recruiting. So you shouldn’t be mad at me. If you are, grow up. If you’re not, keep reading. (But seriously
Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams has agreed to become the next Phoenix Suns coach, the Suns announced Friday.
Trinity Forest Golf Club is back to host its second edition of the AT&T Byron Nelson, the PGA TOUR’s longtime Dallas stop, after Aaron Wise’s record-breaking performance last year. Jordan Spieth makes his ninth appearance in his hometown event, still seeking to top his share of 16th he achieved in his debut as a teenager. Fellow Texan Ryan Palmer also tees it up for the first time since winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Jon Rahm. FIELD NOTES: Patrick Reed takes his first spin around Trinity Forest, hoping for better fortune than his three previous Nelson appearances. His best finish at TPC Four Seasons was a share of 20th. … In all, Trinity Forest welcomes eight of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings. … European Tour standouts Thomas Pieters and Thorbjorn Olesen were given sponsor exemptions as they prepare for next week’s PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. … Tony Romo, CBS’s top NFL analyst, takes a sponsor invite for the first time in the city where he spent 14 NFL seasons. He’s previously made two starts in the Corales Puntacana Championship, missing the cut each time. … Former U.S. Amateur runner-up Doug Ghim, a University of Texas alum, also tees it up on an exemption. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Koepka tees it up for the third straight week after teaming with younger brother Chase for a share of 22nd at the Zurich Classic. Koepka also was second at The Honda Classic in March. … Spieth hopes a little home flavor will help turn around a scuffling season that has yet to produce a top-20 finish. A share of 21st at the Masters has been his best finish since last year’s FedExCup playoffs. … Spieth or Boo Weekley can become the 16th man to complete the “DFW Double� by winning both Dallas-Fort Worth events in their career. Spieth captured the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in 2016; Weekley did it three years earlier. … Wise carded all four rounds in the 60s at Trinity Forest, making him the 13th winner in the past 19 Nelsons to accomplish that feat. In all, 14 entrants last year broke 70 in every round. COURSE: Trinity Forest Golf Club, 7,371 yards, par 71. Surrounded by the Great Trinity Forest, but without a tree on the property itself, the 2016 Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design was built over 160 acres of sand-capped landfill. The layout more resembles a windswept rolling meadow that offers fans numerous spots to watch the action on multiple holes. Most striking is a double green serving Nos. 3 and 11, one of the largest in North America at roughly 35,000 square feet. Last year’s Nelson debut was a birdie fest, as only one course on TOUR surrendered more birdies and eagles than Trinity Forest’s 1,970. For those visiting the Dallas-Fort Worth area, must-play courses include The Tribute at The Colony (The Colony, Texas), Cowboys GC (Grapevine, Texas) and Bear Creek GC (Dallas). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Steven Bowditch (2015 at TPC Four Seasons). Note: Aaron Wise’s 23-under-par 261 in 2018 is the lowest against par; Bowditch was 18-under after heavy rain turned TPC Four Seasons into a par-69 layout for the final three rounds. 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Arron Oberholser (2nd round, 2006 at Cottonwood Valley GC), Keegan Bradley (1st round, 2013 at TPC Four Seasons). Trinity Forest record: 61, Marc Leishman (1st round, 2018). LAST YEAR: Wise withstood a four-hour rain delay to make Trinity Forest’s inaugural hosting of the AT&T Byron Nelson his own first PGA TOUR win, closing with a 6-under-par 65 in dying light for a three-shot triumph. Wise fired three rounds of 65 or better at the new venue, sharing the 54-hole lead with Marc Leishman and pulling away with a string of four birdies around the turn. That gave the former Oregon standout a four-shot advantage with eight holes to play, each of which he parred down the stretch to set a tournament record at 23 under for the week. Wise also became the second-youngest winner of the event (21 years, 10 months), just six months older than when Tiger Woods captured the 1997 edition at TPC Four Seasons. Leishman stood alone in second after a 68; Branden Grace was another shot back after a Sunday 62. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 22:30 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 14:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).
There are still some hurdles to clear, but it looks like Tyronn Lue is heading to Los Angeles.
After a borderline MVP season, Ryan O’Reilly just hasn’t been himself against the Stars.
Clemson fires men’s basketball assistant implicated in trial Clemson has fired men’s basketball assistant coach Steve Smith. His voice is heard on a federal wiretap at the ongoing trial into college corruption. University officials said Friday that the school would not renew Smith’s contract
The Dodgers might have won the Senior Circuit’s past two pennants, but the Cubs are making their move to reach the top perch.
