James opts out, leaves big void on Broncos OLJames opts out, leaves big void on Broncos OL
Broncos starting right tackle Ja’Wuan James has decided to opt out of the 2020 season.
Day: August 3, 2020
Bridgewater says he’s ‘honored’ to follow CamBridgewater says he’s ‘honored’ to follow Cam
Teddy Bridgewater says he considers it an honor to succeed Cam Newton as the Panthers’ starting quarterback.
Source: Raiders trade DT Hall to Vikings for pickSource: Raiders trade DT Hall to Vikings for pick
Two years after drafting him in the second round, the Raiders are trading defensive lineman P.J. Hall to the Vikings, a source told ESPN.
Sources: 49ers reach 1-year deal with TE ReedSources: 49ers reach 1-year deal with TE Reed
The 49ers have agreed to a one-year deal with former Washington tight end Jordan Reed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Reed missed all of last season with a concussion.
Sources: OBJ not opting out despite earlier fearsSources: OBJ not opting out despite earlier fears
Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is not expected to opt out, sources confirmed to ESPN, as concerns he expressed about the league’s preparedness amid the pandemic surface.
Power Rankings: PGA ChampionshipPower Rankings: PGA Championship
The Grateful Dead didn’t release an album about 2020, but the band from the Bay Area might as well have. Indeed, it’s been a long, strange trip. The four majors are the cornerstones on the golf calendar, but the pandemic has whittled the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season to one, this week’s PGA Championship. It’s the 102nd edition. Coincidentally, it’s the major to which you already associate a radical adjustment in recent memory. Long the anchor of the majors through 2018, it moved to May in 2019 as part of wholesale changes that repositioned THE PLAYERS Championship to its old spot in March and a shift of the FedExCup Playoffs up a month and into August. Consideration for the quadrennial Olympics over time also factored. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field Then 2020 was dropped on the world. Despite what that numerical value could suggest, there’s been nothing perfect about the vision for the near future. Yet, it keeps truckin’ on with this much as clear: the PGA of America is poised to present the tournament at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. TPC Harding Park last hosted the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2015. Forty in this week’s field competed that week. Before that and a trio of Charles Schwab Cup Championships, the Presidents Cup was contested in 2009. Before that, the then-WGC-American Express Championship in 2005. And before that, TPC Harding Park was a parking lot for the 1998 U.S. Open at The Olympic Club across Lake Merced. Seriously. That also was the last year that the PGA Championship was held on the West Coast (Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington). Each of the 156 entrants is slotted below. Thirty are first-time participants. The traditional component of the Power Rankings slots 20. Brief explanations for each category beneath it are provided. Scroll past all of them for details of the host course, what should be required to prevail and more. POWER RANKINGS: PGA CHAMPIONSHIP WILD CARD Collin Morikawa … Nothing like making your PGA Championship debut within a short drive of your college stomping grounds the year after graduation; oh, and as a two-time PGA TOUR winner with only one missed cut in 26 starts as a professional and slotted sixth in the FedExCup in your first full season. The former Cal-Berkeley standout has the game and he has the comportment. All he’s missing is the experience. It’s just that that hasn’t mattered. CHALLENGERS Each of the 24 slotted here demand attention, but all fall short of cracking the Power Rankings. It’s through no indictment of any, but each lacks a punch that those above present right now. Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (* – former champion; ^ – debutant; 2015 WGC-Match Play finish) Charl Schwartzel (T9) *Tiger Woods Abraham Ancer Tony Finau Ryan Palmer (T52) Chez Reavie *Phil Mickelson Ian Poulter (T34) ^Viktor Hovland Adam Scott (T52) Billy Horschel (T17) Shane Lowry (T34) Matt Kuchar (T34) Jordan Spieth (T17) Sergio Garcia (T34) Patrick Reed (T17) Kevin Kisner Harris English (T17) Louis Oosthuizen (T5) ^Matthew Wolff Kevin Streelman Justin Rose (T17) Henrik Stenson (T34) *Martin Kaymer (T34) SLEEPERS The customary definition for this weekly category is tossed aside for a week in favor of full relativity to the field. Always an eclectic bunch, this grouping of 16 doesn’t disappoint. It’s loaded with youth, upstarts, dandy course fits and a 2020 Ryder Cup captain. Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (^ – debutant; 2015 WGC-Match Play finish) Max Homa Mackenzie Hughes Corey Conners Joost Luiten (T17) Adam Hadwin Brendan Steele Adam Long ^Doc Redman Lucas Herbert Joaquin Niemann Cameron Champ J.T. Poston Dylan Frittelli Steve Stricker Mike Lorenzo-Vera Ryo Ishikawa QUESTION MARKS Seventy-five in the field of 156 are segregated into the two subcategories below. Placement is relative fit, form and other variables. ARROW UP Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (* – former champion; ^ – debutant; 2015 WGC-Match Play finish) Richy Werenski Marc Leishman (T9) Tom Lewis ^Matthias Schwab Erik van Rooyen Michael Thompson Joel Dahmen Lucas Glover Danny Willett (3rd) ^Talor Gooch ^Scottie Scheffler ^Mark Hubbard *Keegan Bradley (T52) Troy Merritt Cameron Tringale Luke List ^Chan Kim Emiliano Grillo ^Lanto Griffin Si Woo Kim ^Christiaan Bezuidenhout ^Sepp Straka Kurt Kitayama ^Robert MacIntyre ^Joohyung Kim Shaun Norris Zach Johnson (T17) ^Benjamin Hebert Matt Jones (T34) ^Marcus Kinhult Russell Henley (T34) ^Tyler Duncan ^Xinjun Zhang ARROW DOWN Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (* – former champion; ^ – debutant; 2015 WGC-Match Play finish) Byeong Hun An Jim Furyk (4th) Paul Casey (T5) Graeme McDowell (T52) Rafa Cabrera Bello Brian Harman Brandt Snedeker (T52) ^Denny McCarthy Bernd Wiesberger (T34) Jason Kokrak Bubba Watson (T17) ^Carlos Ortiz Scott Piercy Nick Taylor Sungjae Im Bud Cauley Brian Stuard Cameron Smith ^Sebastián Muñoz Keith Mitchell *Jimmy Walker (T52) Sung Kang ^Victor Perez Vaughn Taylor Hao Tong Li Andrew Landry Harold Varner III ^Wyndham Clark Jorge Campillo ^Tom Hoge Rory Sabbatini Jazz Janewattananond C.T. Pan Danny Lee *Jason Dufner *Davis Love III Andrew Putnam *Rich Beem ^Nate Lashley Jim Herman *Shaun Micheel ^Ken Tanigawa PGA PROFESSIONALS On June 29, the rescheduled PGA Professional National Championship (for July 19-22) was canceled. So, the 20 exemptions in the PGA Championship reserved for the top finishers in that annual competition were awarded to the top 20 in the 2019 PGA Professional Player of the Year standings. Among the notables, former PGA TOUR member and 60-year-old Jeff Hart is making his debut. Jeff “J.R.” Roth is making his first appearance since his fifth 16 years ago. He made his debut in 1988. The 62-year-old has won a record-tying 17 Michigan majors. Ranked in order of Rob’s confidence (% – former PGA TOUR member; # of prior appearances in parentheses) Ryan Vermeer (3) %Jason Caron (1) %Bob Sowards (10) Rob Labritz (6) Ben Cook (1) Shawn Warren (1) Danny Balin (6) Justin Bertsch (1) David Muttitt (4) John O’Leary (2) Alex Beach (2) Michael Auterson (0) Zach J. Johnson (1) Marty Jertson (4) Judd Gibb (0) Rod Perry (6) Rich Berberian, Jr. (4) Alex Knoll (0) %Jeff Hart (0) Jeff Roth (5) NOTE: John Daly, Branden Grace, Padraig Harrington, J.B. Holmes, Charles Howell III, Francesco Molinari, Ryan Moore, Eddie Pepperell, Thomas Pieters, Vijay Singh, Paul Waring, Lee Westwood and Y.E. Yang qualified but will not compete. Unlike the guided walks for the Presidents Cup and the Match Play, the traditional routing of TPC Harding Park will be used for the PGA Championship. It’ll also play to a par of 70 with two par fives for the first time since the 2005 WGC was contested. It was a par 71 for all events in the interim. Despite the reduction of par since its last time on center stage, TPC Harding Park is 107 yards longer. It now tips at 7,234 yards. The par-4 seventh and 16th holes are drivable – although that phrase never has been more relative on some seemingly non-drivable par 4s – and the par-4 ninth and 12th holes are converted par 5s. Lake Merced comes into view on the 13th green over which The Olympic Club can be seen. Most recently, that’s where Webb Simpson captured victory at the U.S. Open in 2012. From the 14th tee all the way to the house, water helps frame TPC Harding Park on the left. In part because of the beauty along the perimeter of the property, the inward side features the most interesting holes. Among them are the scorable par-5 10th and the 171-yard 17th, the shortest par 3 on the course. Without spectators on site, the variety of distinctive tall trees enhance the visceral experience, not that pinched fairways framed by rough as high as four inches and reasonably sized elevated greens won’t require most of the attention. Bentgrass greens are naturally groomed to be slick. That’ll be more evident later in every round with sunshine overhead. Because TPC Harding Park is situated within a mile of the Pacific Ocean, a morning marine layer always is a possibility. Sunny and dry conditions are forecast throughout the tournament. The not-so-insignificant invisible challenge will be prevailing winds out of the southwest. Trousers will be flapping at times – joggers, not so much – while daytime highs in the mid-60s will help govern distance off the tee and on approach. The winner of the Wanamaker Trophy likely will have contended for the lead in fairways hit, scrambling and bogey avoidance. Because of the penalty for missing fairways, greens-in-regulation percentages will take a hit, so he may need to slot inside only the top 20 or so. Once determined, the champion will earn 600 FedExCup points, a five-year PGA TOUR membership exemption, a lifetime exemption into the PGA Championship, five-year exemptions into the other three majors and THE PLAYERS Championship, and $2.7 million of the $15-million prize fund, a record in the history of professional golf. It’d be disingenuous to think that Jordan Spieth doesn’t care about those spoils, but his brass ring is the last leg of the career grand slam. This will be his fourth attempt. His pursuit will be followed by Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open and Rory McIlroy at the Masters, both of whom are missing those pieces to their own career grand slams. If you’re interested in the greatest performers in the history of the PGA Championship, please read the all-time Power Rankings that published during the tournament’s originally scheduled week in May. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Fantasy Insider * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.
Erik van Rooyen accepts Special Temporary MembershipErik van Rooyen accepts Special Temporary Membership
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The PGA TOUR announced Monday that Erik van Rooyen has accepted Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season. A native of South Africa, van Rooyen is now eligible for unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season as he attempts to earn his PGA TOUR card for the 2020-21 season. At No. 44 in the Official World Golf Ranking, van Rooyen has made 10 starts on the PGA TOUR in 2019-20, highlighted by a career-best T3 at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in February. Van Rooyen, who has played six of the eight weeks since the PGA TOUR returned, entered last week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational needing 29 non-member FedExCup points to secure Special Temporary Membership and finished T20, good for 46 points. To earn full status on the PGA TOUR for the 2020-21 season, van Rooyen must earn as many or more points through the non-member FedExCup points list as No. 125 in the 2019-20 season FedExCup standings. Van Rooyen currently has 305 points, and for reference, that would fall between Nos. 105 and 106 in the current FedExCup standings. No. 125 (Chase Seiffert) currently has 254 points. Van Rooyen spoke at the recent 3M Open about his desire to become a PGA TOUR member. “I think it’s been a goal since I was a kid, reason being you see the best players in the world playing out here,” he said. “It’s not so much a goal being a full-time PGA TOUR player as it is a goal of wanting to compete against the best in the world. However, the best in the world play here. So that’s why I want to get my PGA TOUR card. “We also live here now. My wife’s from Minneapolis, from here, so we live in the U.S., we want to raise our family here, so I think long term it just makes sense. But again, I see myself as one of the best players in the world and I want to compete on that level and that means I’ll play here. It’s definitely a goal of mine. It’s been on my mind throughout these last few months, but it will take care of itself. I know that I’m a good enough player, so if I put the scores up, it’s going to happen.” Van Rooyen is in the field at this week’s PGA Championship following a T8 at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage State Park Black Course, his best showing in four major appearances. The 30-year-old has three worldwide victories, most recently winning the 2019 Scandinavian Invitation on the European Tour. Van Rooyen played collegiately at the University of Minnesota before turning professional in 2013. In May, the Korn Ferry Tour announced modifications to the 2020 schedule and a fall calendar of events that would be part of a one-time, combined 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season. The adjustments resulted in the loss of a graduating class via the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020, and pushed the next available Qualifying Tournament to 2021. In turn, non-members paths to the PGA TOUR for the 2020-21 season are through the non-member FedExCup points list or a victory on TOUR. Special Temporary Members are not eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs, but Special Temporary Members or non-members who subsequently become regular PGA TOUR members by winning an official event during the season will be counted on the FedExCup points list, along with any FedExCup points earned as a non-member (excluding those won at World Golf Championships events as a non-member) and thus be eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs.
James opts out, leaves big void on Broncos’ OLJames opts out, leaves big void on Broncos’ OL
Broncos starting right tackle Ja’Wuan James has decided to opt out of the 2020 season.
Roundtable: Best players without a major; will Tiger win another?Roundtable: Best players without a major; will Tiger win another?
This week’s PGA Championship is the first — and only — major of the 2019-20 PGA TOUR season. It’s also the first of seven majors in the next 12 months, due to shifting schedules because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Odds are we will see at least one player win his first major in these next 12 months. Not since 1971-72 have their been seven majors played without at least one first-time major winner. No surprise, that stretch included three wins by Jack Nicklaus (Nos. 9, 10 and 11 in his career); three wins by Lee Trevino (Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in his career); and a win by Gary Player (No. 6 in his career). Plus, with Jon Rahm’s recent ascension to the top of the world rankings (he’s now No. 2), as well as a flurry of young talent waiting to take their success to the next level, it seems likely we’ll have multiple breakthroughs. So we asked PGATOUR.COM’s experts to weigh in on several major topics, as well as rank their current top 10 players without a major. We tabulated the votes (10 points for a 1st place, 9 points for 2nd, and so on). Here are the poll results from our seven experts: TOP 10 WITHOUT A MAJOR Which player will break through first as a major winner? CAMERON MORFIT: I believe Jon Rahm will like TPC Harding Park and collect major No. 1 this week. For some reason the trees there remind me of Valderrama (although I’m not sure how similar the courses really are). Also, he’s obviously playing well, and there would be something fitting about Rahm winning his first major in California, a long drive up the coast from where he won his first PGA TOUR event (Torrey Pines). BEN EVERILL: Current form suggests you have to look at Rahm. He will be a big hope at the PGA, U.S. Open and November Masters. I’ll say he gets it done at Winged Foot, creating a little symmetry/irony with the Mickelson story. HELEN ROSS: You can’t look past Rahm or DeChambeau, given the way they are playing. That said, DeChambeau has yet to finish higher than 15th at a major championship so my pick is Rahm – who has finished 11th or better in five of his last eight — at this week’s PGA Championship. ROB BOLTON: Now, don’t hold me to slotting Bryson DeChambeau No. 1 in the Power Rankings at TPC Harding Park, but he could spark a strings of breakthroughs that carry on through Patrick Cantlay at Winged Foot and Jon Rahm at Augusta National. SEAN MARTIN: Collin Morikawa at TPC Harding Park. It’s not overly long and he has familiarity there from his college days. JIM McCABE: Jon Rahm, upcoming U.S. Open at Winged Foot. MIKE McALLISTER: Bryson DeChambeau at the Masters in November. He’s already been giving it heavy thought, unveiling his game plan to conquer Augusta National a few weeks ago. So this is all contingent on the course not being “Bryson-proofed.” Will one player win at least two of the next seven majors? MORFIT: If Jon Rahm wins the first one, I could see him winning the U.S. Open at Winged Foot; we just saw how well he does in hard conditions. Otherwise, I don’t see that happening. The depth on TOUR now is such that it’s almost impossible to run away for any length of time. Look what happened at Muirfield Village: Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas, the main combatants in week one, didn’t really contend in week two. I just think golf is like that now. Too many good players. EVERILL: Bias alert: I absolutely think we will see someone double up in the next seven. My main targets in this are Rory McIlroy getting back amongst the majors; Jon Rahm kick-starting down the road to winning a handful of them over his career; and a resurgence of Jason Day … providing his back can hold up. ROSS: I don’t think so. We’ve had such great fields and such great competition on TOUR since returning from the COVID-19 break, I just don’t see any one player going on a run. BOLTON: If recent history is a guide — and it probably shouldn’t be but it’s all that we have — Brooks Koepka will hog the hardware. That kind of domination doesn’t last, but we’re in the wedge of time between a number of first-timers in the majors and far less of the plausible who haven’t won one. That promotes repeat major champions. So, while Rory McIlroy hasn’t been performing to his capabilities after the hiatus, put me down for him winning at least two of the next seven majors, one of which will be a Masters to complete the career grand slam. MARTIN: Justin Thomas could do it. His all-around game is so good that he’s able to get on good runs. McCABE: I know Brooks Koepka has won three of the last seven majors. So, it’s hardly a foreign concept to think that someone can win two of the next seven. But I also know that if you take Koepka out of the mix, 14 different players have won the other14 majors dating back to the Open Championship of 2015. That’s what dominates my reasoning to answer this question with an emphatic no. McALLISTER: Yes, but it will be in two different years. A major winner this fall will win again in 2021. Which players? My five names, in no particular order – JT, Rahm, Rory, Koepka and DeChambeau. How many majors will be won by players in their 20s in the next 12 months? MORFIT: Four. EVERILL: Three. ROSS: Four. BOLTON: Five. MARTIN: Four. I would expect a pretty even split between players in their 20s and 30s. McCABE: Four. (For the record, they will be Rahm, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Tyrrell Hatton.) McALLISTER: Four. Which player in his 30s is most likely to win his first major? MORFIT: Marc Leishman at the Masters in November. (Ben, feel free to just copy and paste.) EVERILL: Marc Leishman at the Masters in November. (Thanks Cam for the copy and paste.) Leishman will be a strong contender at both Masters and the Open Championship. ROSS: I like the Leishman pick, too. But for the sake of argument, I’ll go with Rickie Fowler, who has contended before and is too good a player not to finally break through and win one. BOLTON: Rickie Fowler at the 2021 Masters. MARTIN: Tony Finau this week at TPC Harding Park … if Morikawa doesn’t win, of course. You knock on the door enough and it has to open eventually. He could overpower TPC Harding Park with his length. McCABE: Tommy Fleetwood, who’ll turn 30 in January, will win the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island next May. McALLISTER: Marc Leishman at the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, channeling his success in winning the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open. Will any player over 40 (hint: Tiger) win a major in the next 12 months? MORFIT: The odds aren’t great, considering we’ve had only one 40-something winner on TOUR this season (Tiger at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP). The most likely 40-something major winners other than Tiger are Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott, the latter of whom just hit the big 4-0 earlier this month. Their chances are best at the Open Championship and, to a lesser extent, the Masters. The best story would be Matt Kuchar or Lee Westwood, ticking the final box on their careers. All of which leads me to my answer, which is no, I’m not counting on it. EVERILL: Adam Scott’s recent 40th birthday has me juuuust barely saying yes. He joins the ranks of veterans who, on their day, can still provide. The Masters twice gives the likes of Woods, Scott, Mickelson, etc. a chance — even if it’s a slight one. And somewhere in the youth parade we will get a week of don’t-forget-the-old-blokes stories. ROSS: I don’t think so. The balance of power, so to speak, is trending much, much younger. That said, I never thought Tiger would win another major so I can obviously be wrong. If it were to happen, I’d like to see Phil Mickelson complete the career Grand Slam at Winged Foot, where he came ohsoclose in 2006. BOLTON: If the over-under was 1/2 and Tiger at a Masters was off the board, take the under. MARTIN: Lee Westwood at Royal St. George’s, the same course where Darren Clarke claimed his first major after many close calls. McCABE: Yes, but it won’t be the 44- or 45-year-old Woods. Justin Rose and Adam Scott have each turned 40 and are legitimate threats, and if that ball-striking magic happens to coincide with Henrik Stenson’s appearance at Royal St. George’s, then toss him into the mix. Yes, he’ll be 45, but this is the kindest major to those over 40. (Re: Stenson won in 2016 40, Phil Mickelson in 2013 at 43, Ernie Els in 2012 at 42, Darren Clarke in 2011 at 42, and we all know about Tom Watson in 2009 at the age of 59.) McALLISTER: Would love to see Tiger nab No. 16 but I suspect we’ll look back at his 2019 Masters win much as we do Jack’s 18th in 1986. And while I won’t predict an actual win for 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, I suspect he’ll make some noise in at least one of the next seven majors.
Podcast: Blackhawks Interim President Danny Wirtz on the NHL Bubble, postseasonPodcast: Blackhawks Interim President Danny Wirtz on the NHL Bubble, postseason
Host Pat Boyle and Hawks insider Charlie Roumeliotis are joined by Blackhawks Interim President Danny Wirtz as they discuss the Hawks in the NHL Bubble. They also dive into the chances of making Danny the permanent President of the Hawks, Stan Bowman and Jeremy Colliton’s roles with the Hawks, and why the organization chose to stick with the Blackhawks logo while under pressure to change it.
