Zion: Hard to see losing with minutes limitedZion: Hard to see losing with minutes limited
Zion Williamson said it’s tough to watch his team lose while he’s still on a minutes restriction.
Day: August 2, 2020
Mets’ Cespedes opting out after Sunday no-showMets’ Cespedes opting out after Sunday no-show
The Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes has opted out of the 2020 season after he did not report to Truist Park for Sunday’s game against the Braves, according to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.
Justin Thomas outlasts Koepka to take home WGC-FedEx St. Jude InvitationalJustin Thomas outlasts Koepka to take home WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Losses are often learning experiences, and that was the case for Justin Thomas at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. Losing a three-stroke lead three weeks ago helped him make an unprecedented comeback at TPC Southwind. Thomas now has 13 PGA TOUR victories, but he won this latest one in a way that he never had. He started Sunday in fifth place. Never before has he won after starting the final round so low on the leaderboard. He also trailed by four, matching the largest final-round deficit he’s overcome on the PGA TOUR. The victory kept him on an elite pace. Since 1960, only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have reached 13 wins at a younger age. Thomas is 27 years, 3 months and 4 days old. RELATED: Final leaderboard | What’s in Thomas’ bag? Thomas shot 13-under 267 (66-70-66-65) for four rounds at TPC Southwind, good for a three-shot victory over Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Daniel Berger and Tom Lewis. Thomas got into position with a stellar 31 on the front nine. He missed just one green (he hit the fringe) and had birdie putts within 25 feet on all nine holes. He bogeyed the 12th hole but birdies on 15 and 16, the former made possible by a fortuitous bounce, were the difference. Thomas finished first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, second in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and second in proximity to the hole. This was Thomas’ third win of the season, and first since the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. He increased his lead in the FedExCup to more than 700 points and retook the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking. This was his second World Golf Championships win, as well. “It was a hard-fought day, but it meant a lot … how we did it, being four behind to start the day.” Thomas said. “I haven’t exactly played well coming from behind in the past and I feel like I learned a lot from that.” The margin of victory implies an easy victory, but it was anything but. At one point on the back nine, there were five players tied for the lead. A resurgent Koepka, who seems to have regained the form that’s netted him four majors, put pressure on Thomas until the final hole. Thomas described it as a “grind.” He spent most of the round unaware of how things stood, though. That was intentional. He didn’t see a leaderboard until accidentally staring at one on the 13th hole. Thomas parred those two holes before hitting a poor tee shot on the 15th, a short par-4 with a creek that runs down the left side and in front of the green. His ball was headed toward the water, but it hit the cart path and bounced safely over the penalty area. Good breaks aren’t worth much if you don’t convert, though, and Thomas did by knocking his 51-yard wedge shot to 6 feet. He birdied the next hole with another nifty wedge that carried a bunker before checking up and stopping 3 feet from the hole. Thomas and Koepka, the past two winners of this event, had separated themselves from the field at that point, but Thomas appeared to have the tournament in hand when Koepka’s own pitch to the 16th rolled over the green. The bogey gave Thomas a two-shot lead. Koepka has a knack for summoning his best golf in crucial moments, and he did that again Sunday, holing a 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe on 17 to pull back within a shot. Thomas pushed his drive and approach well right on the 18th hole to ensure he missed the water. A bogey seemed possible, but Koepka drove into the water while Thomas was saving par with a chip he described as “pretty sick.” This was just Thomas’ second win when trailing by more than two shots entering the final round. He’s held the 54-hole lead in eight of his 13 victories. He also trailed by four entering the final round of the 2016 CIMB Classic, his second win on TOUR. “I remember that day kind of being just at ease and just not worried about Anirban (Lahiri, the 54-hole leader) and other guys that were ahead of me,” Thomas said. “I was just strictly trying to make as many birdies as I could because I can’t control what everybody else does. “And that’s what I tried to do today.” Three weeks ago, he paid the price for letting his mind wander. He had a three-shot lead with three holes remaining at the Workday Charity Open, but bogeyed two of the final three holes and lost to Collin Morikawa in a playoff. He used that experience Sunday. “I just didn’t get ahead of myself anytime those last two, three holes, where I felt like my mind was kind of wandering and maybe thinking about winning,” Thomas said. “I basically just told myself to shut up and figure out what you’re doing because I could lose that tournament just as easily as I won it today. I was really, really proud of myself to stay in the moment and get it done.”
Why Verstappen did, and Hamilton didn’t, pit at the end of the British GPWhy Verstappen did, and Hamilton didn’t, pit at the end of the British GP
A look at the decisions being made on the Mercedes and Red Bull pit-walls in the frantic and dramatic last laps of the British Grand Prix.
Bucks’ Bledsoe, Connaughton will sit out againBucks’ Bledsoe, Connaughton will sit out again
The Bucks will try to secure the No. 1 overall seed on Sunday without guards Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton, who will both miss their second straight game.
Justin Thomas wins WGC-FedEx St. Jude InvitationalJustin Thomas wins WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Justin Thomas won the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational on Sunday by three shots for his third win of the PGA TOUR season. Thomas also moved to No. 1 in the world for the first time since June 2018. Thomas dueled defending champion Brooks Koepka down the final holes, sealing the World Golf Championship victory on the par-5 16th. Thomas, who still leads the FedExCup standings, took the lead for good with his second straight birdie, while Koepka bogeyed the hole. Koepka pulled within a stroke with a 39-footer for birdie on No. 17. But Koepka put his tee shot into the water along the 18th fairway on his way to double bogey, allowing Thomas to finish up an easy par putt for what wound up a three-stroke victory. RELATED: Final leaderboard Thomas closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 13-under 267 and won for the 13th time in his PGA TOUR career. At 27, he became the third-youngest player since 1960 to reach 13 PGA TOUR wins, trailing only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. This was the fifth time Thomas rallied to win, and he matched his biggest comeback after starting the day four strokes back of third-round leader Brendon Todd. Thomas has three wins this season, two since the start of the year. The last time Thomas was world No. 1, he spent four weeks at the top of the ranking. He will supplant Jon Rahm, who became No. 1 after winning at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide two weeks ago. Koepka will go to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco looking to defend his PGA championship title. He finished with a 69 and tied for second with Phil Mickelson (67), Daniel Berger (65) and Tom Lewis (66). Thomas started Sunday with Jim “Bones” Mackay on his bag playing in the same group with Mickelson for the first time since Mickelson split with his longtime caddie. Thomas made up the deficit with four birdies on the front nine and just missed another birdie chance on No. 8. His 20-footer on No. 9 tied Todd at 12 under. Todd, whose putting had carried him through the first three rounds, three-putted for bogey from 23 feet on the par-3 eighth, leaving Thomas alone atop the leaderboard. Thomas put his second on the par-4 12th into a greenside bunker near the back edge and chopped it out to the rough. He chipped out from an awkward stance to salvage bogey. That created a five-way tie at 11 under with Koepka, Berger, Lewis and Todd. Koepka took the lead to himself on the par-4 13th. He hit his approach from 133 yards to 10 feet of the pin, and Koepka sunk the putt for his third birdie of the round to go to 12 under. After hitting his tee shot 321 yards to the rough 51 yards short of the hole on No. 15, Thomas hit to 6 feet for a birdie, tying Koepka at 12 under with three to play. Thomas found the rough far right of the cart path on the par-5 16th, then hit his third from the left rough 65 yards to 3 feet for his second straight birdie. Koepka, in the group behind Thomas, tried to answer 42 yards from the hole. His shot landed close to the hole only to keep rolling to the back of the green. Koepka wound up two-putting from 8 feet for bogey.
Lightning set to test mettle vs. CapitalsLightning set to test mettle vs. Capitals
Almost five months removed from their last meaningful game, the Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in a very similar position now as they prepare to square off against a Metropolitan Division power. Coach Jon Cooper and his Tampa Bay players were at their home rink preparing to play the Philadelphia Flyers on March 12 before the NHL paused its season due to the growing concerns over COVID-19. The Lightning get back to business on Monday in Toronto when they face the Washington Capitals as part of a round-robin tournament to determine the Eastern Conference’s seeding of its top four clubs.
Winner’s Bag: Justin Thomas, WGC-FedEx St. Jude InvitationalWinner’s Bag: Justin Thomas, WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational
Justin Thomas wins the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational for his third victory of the season. RELATED: Final leaderboard Driver: Titleist TS3 (9.5 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX 3-wood: Titleist TS3 (15 degrees) Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 85 TX 5-wood: Titleist 915 Fd (18 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 Tour Spec X Irons: Titleist T100 (4), Titleist 620 MB (5-9) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design Raw SM7 (46-10F @ 47.5, 52-12F @ 52.5), Vokey SM8 (56/14F @ 57), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60T @ 60.5) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (46), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (52-60) Putter: Scotty Cameron X5.5 Tour Prototype Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT Tour Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
All-American Luka Garza passes on NBA to return to IowaAll-American Luka Garza passes on NBA to return to Iowa
Big Ten player of the year Luka Garza announced Sunday he is withdrawing from the NBA draft and will return to Iowa for his senior season. ”My heart is in Iowa City,” Garza said. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound center from Washington, D.C., scored 20 or more points in the last 16 games of his junior season, the longest streak by an Iowa player since 1971.
Leaderboard: Final round of WGC-FedEx St. JudeLeaderboard: Final round of WGC-FedEx St. Jude
Defending champion Brooks Koepka has put himself in position to win again, but Justin Thomas is scorching hot down the stretch in Memphis.