Without Zeke, Cowboys offense thrivesWithout Zeke, Cowboys offense thrives
The Cowboys’ first-team offense marched down the field for an impressive TD drive in Saturday’s preseason game against the Rams.
Day: August 18, 2019
Denny Hamlin runs down victory at BristolDenny Hamlin runs down victory at Bristol
Hamlin picked up his fourth win of the year as Joe Gibbs Racing cars have now won 12 of 24 Cup Series races in 2019.
The Latest: Denny Hamlin wins at BristolThe Latest: Denny Hamlin wins at Bristol
Denny Hamlin has raced to his fourth victory of the season by holding off Matt DiBenedetto at Bristol Motor Speedway. DiBenedetto finished a career-best second just days after learning Leavine Family Racing would not bring him back for a second season. Instead, Hamlin chased him down in the closing
Why are scores so low at Medinah?Why are scores so low at Medinah?
MEDINAH, Ill. – On Thursday, Justin Thomas and Jason Kokrak tied the course record at Medinah No. 3 with 7-under 65s. On Friday, Hideki Matsuyama set the new course record with a 63. On Saturday, Thomas answered back with a 61 to establish the current course record. We’ll see if it lasts longer than 24 hours. On a course that has major credentials and a reputation as a brawny brute in this City of Big Shoulders, this week’s PGA TOUR pros have spent the first 54 holes of the BMW Champioship treating Medinah like the local muni you sneak over to in order to boost your confidence. Of the 69 players in the field, just two are over par for the week (Harold Varner III and Cameron Champ at 1 over). Of the 207 rounds shot thus far, just 28 are over par. Meanwhile, Thomas leads at 21 under, six shots ahead of Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. A total of 17 players are at 10 under or better. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | Thomas shoots course-record 61, leads BMW Championship by six Thomas is among the large group of players making their first pro starts at Medinah, which most recently hosted the 2012 Ryder Cup, along with the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships. It’s hosting the BMW Championship for the first time in the FedExCup era. He’s not surprised the scores are so low. “It doesn’t matter what golf course it is. You give us soft good greens and soft fairways, we’re going to tear it apart,� Thomas said after his 11-under 61 that included two back-nine eagles. “It’s just how it is.� Indeed, the conditions this week have essentially left Medinah defenseless. Rainy weather has softened up the course, turning greens into dartboards. The wind on Friday came from a different direction than the first round, throwing a few players off, but for the most part, it has been a non-factor. When Finau first stepped on the course Tuesday for his first practice round at Medinah, he never expected the birdiefest that has developed. “I was almost convinced single digit was going to win,� Finau said his 68 on Saturday – his highest score of the week. “It’s a long golf course. I felt like it was going to firm out. Obviously hasn’t firmed out. “If you would’ve told me somebody would shoot 61 this week, I would have told you that’s a joke.� So is it strictly the easy conditions? Finau thinks yes. “The fairways are wider because they’re not bouncing and the greens are bigger – it doesn’t matter the type of spin you put on it, it’s not going very far. Forward or backspin, they’re not going very far. “When we have our number, we’re trying to hit our number. That’s no calculation …. There’s not that much running through our heads.� When Tiger Woods won the 1999 PGA at Medinah, he finished at 11 under. Only one other player shot double-digits that week – Sergio Garcia. When Woods won the PGA again at Medinah in 2006, he finished at 18 under. This time, five other players were at 10 under or better. So it’s not like Medinah can’t yield a low score. Woods, though, it surprised it’s yielded so many this week. “Amazing how many guys are under par on this golf course,� he said after his 67 on Saturday. “There isn’t one person over par. Who would’ve guessed that going into this week? “We all thought this was one of the more tough and bigger ballparks, and the whole field is playing well. There’s normally a few guys that are struggling. Th entire field is playing well is something that we’re all pretty surprised at. “These greens got a lot of movement to them, still on the quick side. The rough is hide. Can’t get to the green from the rough normally. Somehow guys are figuring out a way to all make birdies.� And eagles. There have been 30 this week – 19 of those at the 536-yard par-5 fifth, which has played to a stroke average of 0.729 below par. If that number holds up, it would be the fifth easiest hole played this season on the PGA TOUR. It also helps when you don’t even need a putter. Thomas holed out twice on Saturday, including from 180 yards for eagle at the 16th. Brandt Snedeker also had two hole-outs, both for birdies. “You have to shoot 7, 8 (under) if you want to move up the leaderboard here,� Snedeker said. It’ll likely take something better than that to catch Thomas on Sunday. But he knows he’ll need to keep firing at flags if conditions stay the same. “We all have such great control over our golf ball and we know how far it’s going to go and when we’re hitting it well,� Thomas said. “We know how it’s going to react. When the fairways are that much bigger and you put us in the fairway, I mean, we’re just good. “You know what I mean?�
Thomas in vintage form at BMW ChampionshipThomas in vintage form at BMW Championship
MEDINAH, Ill. – It’s all about Justin Thomas now. After coming into the BMW Championship winless this season, 2017 FedExCup champion Thomas scorched Medinah No. 3 with an 11-under-par 61, a new course record, and will go into Sunday’s final round with a six-shot lead over Tony Finau (68) and Patrick Cantlay (68). “I’m just trying to get my lead to seven right now,â€� said Thomas, who won a combined eight times in 2017-18 but has been noticeably absent from the winner’s circle after missing time this season with a wrist injury. “It’s at six. That’s the one thing I’m focused on.â€� This will mark the 10th time Thomas has held or shared the 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR; he has converted six of nine such leads into victories. Thomas, Finau and Cantlay will play in the last group at 1:20 p.m. ET. Players will go off in threesomes with storms in the forecast. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | FedExCup update: Spieth, Tiger, Day in danger of missing TOUR Championship For Finau, it will be the second straight day of watching Thomas up-close. “This golf course, when I played here on Tuesday for the first time, I was almost convinced a single digit (score) was going to win,â€� Finau said. “… If you would have told me somebody would shoot 61 this week, I would have told you that’s a joke.â€� He was hardly the only player shaking his head. Thomas birdied six of the first eight holes and eagled the par-5 10th hole. He wasn’t perfect; he bogeyed the sixth. Also, he pulled his wedge shot left of the green at the par-5 14th hole, one of his few bad shots, but chipped in for birdie. Another bad shot: Thomas drove into the water on 15, but after he took a drop he simply got up and down for par from 63 yards. It was that kind of day, and it was about to get even crazier. “I’m five back right now,â€� said Jon Rahm (66), who was marveling at Thomas’ chip-in birdie on 14 as the leader finished up the back nine. “Hopefully JT doesn’t get too far away.â€� Well, so much for that idea. Because in short order, Thomas holed his 180-yard second shot with an 8-iron to eagle the 16th hole, and hit his tee shot to six and a half feet for another birdie on 17. “He was already playing well,â€� said Finau, who authored his own holed out from 119 yards for eagle at the fourth hole. “And that shot on 16 put him over the top from well to really well.â€� With a score of 65 or better, Thomas (65-69-61) would break Marc Leishman’s 72-hole BMW Championship record (261). A victory at the BMW, the penultimate event of the season, brings 2,000 FedExCup points, and Thomas is projected to move from 15th to first in the standings. That’s especially important this year, as it would put him in pole position by two strokes in the new staggered-start format of next week’s TOUR Championship at East Lake. The runaway leader, though, refused to think that far ahead. “I could care less, to be honest,â€� said Thomas, who needed just 22 putts Saturday. “I’m just worried about trying to win this tournament tomorrow.â€� The week began with Thomas calling this an “oddâ€� season so far because of his wrist injury, a bone bruise suffered while hitting a tree at The Honda Classic (T30). He finished T12 at the Masters Tournament, but seemed to re-aggravate the wrist, and opted to take a break. He missed three tournaments, including the PGA Championship – a tournament he had won just two years before – and upon returning to action at the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide, he missed the cut. He also missed the cut at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach but began to climb back at The Open Championship (T11), World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational (T12) and THE NORTHERN TRUST (T12). He huddled with his team, which consists largely of his father/coach, Mike, and caddie, Jimmy Johnson. What was he doing wrong? They all agreed the answer was not much. He was due. After struggling in his warm-up for the first round at the BMW, Thomas shot 65 and proclaimed that he was playing every bit as well as he did in his 2017 FedExCup-winning and Player of the Year season. After his fourth round of 61 or better on TOUR, no one is arguing the point. “I felt good about my game for a while,â€� Thomas said, “and you don’t know when something like this is going to happen, a round like this. We’ve all been talking the last couple of weeks that I’m due to have one and it’s nice when it happens. At the end of the day, this round was great and awesome, but it’s over with and I need to go focus on tomorrow.â€�
Line tops NHRA Pro Stock qualifying at BrainerdLine tops NHRA Pro Stock qualifying at Brainerd
Jason Line raced to his second Pro Stock No. 1 qualifier of the season Saturday at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway. Brittany Force led Top Fuel qualifying, and Matt Hagan was the fastest in Funny Car.
Looks like Justin Thomas found his comfort zone againLooks like Justin Thomas found his comfort zone again
He hasn’t won in a more than a year. Well, that seems like it’s about to change — and he’s more than ready for it to happen.
Barron still atop Champions; lightning halts playBarron still atop Champions; lightning halts play
Doug Barron, who got into the field Monday with a 66 at The Links at Hiawatha Landing, led the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open by one stroke when lightning suspended play in the second round Saturday.
$250M worth of relievers has been a disaster$250M worth of relievers has been a disaster
A lot of teams spent big money on free agent relief pitchers this season and almost none of them have worked out.
FedExCup update: Tiger, Spieth, Day among notables in danger of ending seasonFedExCup update: Tiger, Spieth, Day among notables in danger of ending season
MEDINAH, Ill. – Tiger Woods isn’t the only notable player who has gone backwards in the FedExCup standings at this week’s BMW Championship. Consider these names who are one round away from seeing their seasons end if they don’t move inside the top 30 advancing to next week’s TOUR Championship: Jordan Spieth – Entered 44th, projected to 45th. Spieth has yet to break 70 at the par-72 Medinah No. 3 course and is currently 5 under. He needed a solo ninth or better, but at T-43 after 54 holes, he’ll likely miss the TOUR Championship for the second consecutive year. Jason Day – Entered 50th, projected to 52nd. Day has reached East Lake in eight of the last nine seasons. He needed a solo fifth or better this week but is T-35 going into Sunday. Phil Mickelson – Entered 46th, projected to 49th. After playing in the first seven TOUR Championships in the FedExCup era, Mickelson will likely miss the tournament for the fourth time in the last six years. He needed a solo 6th but is currently T-47. Jim Furyk – Entered 48th, projected to 54th. The 2010 FedExCup champ opened with a 66 and was just one shot off the lead. But he couldn’t sustain the momentum, shooting 72-75 and is now T-51. He needed a solo sixth to advance. Francesco Molinari – Entered 34th, projected to 41st. Was 12th in FedExCup points in April but hasn’t had a top-10 in his last seven starts. Needed a solo 15th this week but is T-51. Shane Lowry – Entered 25th, projected to 33. The Open champ was 18th in FedExCup points after his win at Royal Portrush, but he’s in danger of falling outside the top 30. He needed a solo 29th coming in but is T-58. Going low Sunday might put him back in the mix. As for Tiger, he entered 38th after his WD last week at THE NORTHERN TRUST and is now projected to 40th. He needed a solo 11th but is T-31 after his 5-under 67 on Saturday. Determined to defend at East Lake, he’s not giving up hope just yet. “At least I’ve got a shot at it,� he said. TOP 30 MOVING IN/OUT: After 54 holes, three players are projected to move inside the top 30 – Rory Sabbatini (45th to 22nd), Lucas Glover (41st to 26th) and Hideki Matsuyama (33rd to 27th). The three projected to move out are Shane Lowry (25th to 33rd), Andrew Putnam (30th to 37th) and Harold Varner III (29th to 38th). If Sabbatini maintains his position, it would be his first trip to the TOUR Championship since the inaugural 2007 FedExCup Playoffs. Glover is seeking his first trip to East Lake since 2009. Matsuyama has never missed a trip to East Lake since joining the PGA TOUR. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | Last chance for Woodland, Day to automatically qualify for Presidents Cup SNEDS GOING FULL THROTTLE: Due to the new Starting Strokes format for next week’s TOUR Championship, Brandt Snedeker is planning an aggressive gameplan Sunday. Snedeker’s goal is to leave the BMW Championship with as high a FedExCup position as possible, particularly inside the top 5 that get the most benefit from the Starting Strokes. No. 1 in points will start at 10 under next week at East Lake; No. 2 will start at 8 under; No. 3 at 7 under; No. 4 at 6 under and No. 5 at 5 under. After that, every block of five gets an assigned number of strokes, with Nos. 26-30 starting at even par. Snedeker goes into the final round at Medinah projected to 18th in FedExCup points after his 5-under 67 that included two hole-outs for birdies on his back nine. At 12 under for the tournament and tied for sixth, Snedeker figures if he can move up the leaderboard, he can dramatically increase his advantage at East Lake, where he won in 2012 to claim the FedExCup title. “There’s no point to try not to shoot away from pins,� Snedeker said. “10th doesn’t do any good this week. In years past, it might have helped me a little bit more, the old format with the points the way they were. “Now it doesn’t. Top 3 if you want to move anywhere. That’s my thought for tomorrow.� OOSTHUIZEN RIDING BUBBLE AGAIN: At the 2017 BMW Championship, Louis Oosthuizen opened 77-74, stormed back with 66-67, and wound up an agonizing 31st in the FedExCup, less than one point behind No. 30 Jason Dufner. In fact, he was 0.72 points from Dufner – the third closest margin between 30th and 31st in Playoffs history. Well, don’t look now, but Oosthuizen is riding the FedExCup bubble yet again. After moving from 47th to 28th with a T6 at THE NORTHERN TRUST, he’s gotten to 9 under at the BMW (70-69-68) and is fighting hard to stay inside the top 30. “I don’t even know where I have to finish to be in the top 30, to be honest,� said Oosthuizen, who is projected to need no worse than a 21st-place finish. Leaderboards throughout the course are hard to ignore, he added, but he’s trying to focus on just shooting one more solid round, which he figures should be enough. “It would be nice to be in Atlanta,� he said, “but a good break would also be very nice.�  ROOKIE CLARK NEEDS A LOW ONE: Things didn’t look good for rookie Wyndham Clark when he put two in the water and quadruple-bogeyed the second hole on Friday. He’s 10 under since then, though, and his 7-under 65 on Saturday has him at 9 under overall. At 68th in the FedExCup (from 90th before his T18 at THE NORTHERN TRUST), he still has an outside chance at playing his way to the TOUR Championship. “I came in with no expectations other than to try to go win, which is probably what it’s going to take for me to get to East Lake,� said Clark, one of just five rookies who advanced to the BMW. “I just wanted to play my best. Yesterday wasn’t great, unfortunately, but today was better and we set ourselves up for tomorrow, where if we really had a special day we might have a chance.� In fact, Clark needs to finish no worse than solo third to advance to the TOUR Championship. He’ll enter the final round T-18. Although he’s 12 shots behind leader Justin Thomas, Clark is just six behind Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay, who share second. Just being here has been a victory in and of itself. Clark, who began his collegiate career at Oklahoma State but finished it at Oregon, was one of four to play his way into the field at the BMW Championship. Now he’s trying to keep it going. He last played East Lake in the East Lake Cup, a college tournament. “It’s really hard to recover from a quad,� said Clark, who was followed Saturday by his brother, cousin, and father, with more friends and family on their way tonight. “It kind of put a damper on the tournament; take away that and I’d be 13 under and right in it. “It’s a bit of a longshot to get to East Lake now,� he added, “But if not, it’s still been a great year.�