Clarke was one of the most decorated players to come from Boston in the past decade and had recently declared for the NBA draft after one season at Kentucky.
Padres manager Jayce Tingler said Thursday that “everybody feels pretty optimistic” about Dinelson Lamet’s forearm after the starting pitcher exited his season debut with tightness.
Jessica Korda shot a 6-under 65 on Thursday in the HUGEL Air Premia LA Open to break the tournament 36-hole scoring record and increase her lead to three strokes.
Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings birdied eight of their last 11 holes, Viktor Hovland and Kris] Ventura birdied nine of their final 12, and both teams shot 10-under 62 in Zurich Classic to share the first-round lead Thursday.
The all-Australian pairing of Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman could have been over before it began at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after Smith let his partner trim his infamous mullet on tournament eve. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Smith, Leishman have point to prove Staying together in a house near TPC Louisiana, Smith was about to head out to a local barber for a tidy up on Wednesday until his mate stepped up. “I said I needed to get a cut and I was going to go get one yesterday afternoon. Leish said, I can do it, I cut my boys’ hair at home. So I put faith in him, and I think he did a pretty good job,” Smith said after the pair opened with an impressive 9-under 63 in Four-Ball to be just one shot off the lead. It was a brave move as Smith’s hair has become the two-time PGA TOUR winners good luck charm and if things had of gone wrong – well – “I would have killed him,” Smith, who won this event in 2017 with Jonas Blixt, smirked. “But the lines were there. I had a barber do it last year, so all Leish had to do was like a coloring in, just don’t go outside the lines. I had a pretty good template to work with. It wasn’t too tough.” Leishman, a five-time TOUR winner who teamed with Smith to a runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup, was as comfortable with the clippers as he is over a 3-footer. “During the quarantine, the start of last year when all the hairdressers were closed, my boys were getting a bit scruffy and I cut their hair,” he explained. “I will say I was a bit nervous the first few chunks I took out, but they turned out pretty good, so I was confident I could handle the short sides for Cam.” The duo’s attention now turns to the Foursomes format on Friday, also known as alternate shot. Leishman, who technically contributed just one of the teams birdies while Smith made an eagle and six birdies, was hoping to make his presence felt. “We were pretty good (today). I had the pars covered on most holes, and he had the birdies covered,” Leishman said. “It was great to be playing with someone who’s got a hot putter and putting himself in good positions on pretty much every hole. It made my job pretty easy. Hopefully I can fire up tomorrow and be ready for the foursomes.”
AVONDALE, La. — Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings birdied eight of their last 11 holes, Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura birdied nine of their final 12, and both teams shot 10-under 62 in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to share the first-round lead Thursday. RELATED: Leaderboard | What’s in the bag: Matthew Wolff, Collin Morikawae “Kris decided to heat up his putter. That really helped,” Hovland said. “But I felt like we really played solid golf all 18 holes.” Ventura made a 36-foot birdie putt from the fringe on 15 and a 19-footer on 16 for his seventh and final birdie of the day in the best-ball format played on the first and third rounds. Players will alternate shots in the second and final rounds. Garnett hit approach shots within 7 feet on the first, second, fourth and fifth holes and made all four birdie putts after his team made the turn following a back-nine start. Stallings’ birdie putt from nearly 18 feet on the eighth hole pulled his team into a tie atop the leaderboard. “We had a tale of two nines,” said Stallings, who made half of his team’s 10 birdies. “It was nice we didn’t birdie the same hole ever, and that’s what you have to do. We did a great job of that today.” Hovland started the Norwegian tandem’s run up the leaderboard by landing a shot from the bunker left of the green within 4 feet to birdie the par-5 seventh. Ventura birdied Nos. 8, 9 and 11 — highlighted by his 9-foot putt on the par-3 ninth – before Hovland put a 194-yard approach on 12 within 2 feet to set up another birdie. Hovland also birdied the par-5 18th. Seven teams shot 63, including two-time Zurich champion Billy Horschel and his teammate, Louisiana native and former LSU player Sam Burns. Tony Finau and Cameron Champ, who had a back-nine start in the same group as Horschel and Burns, birdied the seventh and eighth holes to join the third-place teams. Cameron Smith, who won the Zurich during its first year as a team event in 2017, made a 38-foot eagle putt on the par-5 second hole to help him and fellow Australian Marc Leishman post a 63. Smith also had six of his team’s seven birdies. “I’ll probably buy dinner tonight after that exhibition he put on,” Leishman said. “He’s definitely owed that.” Louis Oosthuizen nearly put his approach shot in the water on 18, but then chipped in from a steep embankment for birdie to pull himself and his teammate, fellow South African Charl Schwartzel, into a tie for third. Also at 63 were the teams of Brendan Steele and Keegan Bradley; Sebastian Cappelen and Mark Hubbard; and Kyle Stanley and Kyoung-Hoon Lee. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay finished among a handful of teams at 64, including the tandem of Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler. A cool breeze from the north that had numerous players wearing long sleeves — uncommon in late April in south Louisiana — also had a chilling effect on the anticipated risk-taking that can occur in the best-ball format. That was particularly the case on the 403-yard 13th hole, where players elected to aim for the fairway to the right of a massive cypress tree rather go straight at the green over a waste bunker to the left of the tree. “This course isn’t really designed to play in this wind,” Horschel said, also noting he did appreciate temperatures in the 60s for much of the round. “It was nice to see Sam have a really good round because he’s been playing well … and I just made sure I didn’t do anything stupid.” Defending champions Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm shot 65.
A day after hitting a monster home run at Wrigley Field that Statcast measured at “only” 429 feet, reigning Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso committed to this year’s event at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Said the Mets slugger: “I’m all-in.”
Blue Jays outfielder George Springer will play in an intrasquad game Friday, the next step on his return from two strained muscles that have delayed his Toronto debut.
Sports Betting News’ Lead Draft Analyst Eric Edholm goes 1-on-1 with Oregon Left Tackle Penei Sewell thanks to USAA. The highest rated offensive lineman entering the 2021 NFL Draft describes his childhood in American Samoa, his decision to opt out of the 2020 NCAA season, and where he thinks he may go in the Draft. In advance of the NFL Draft, Penei Sewell partnered with USAA, Official NFL Salute to Service Partner, to offer fans an inside look at how his military-inspired-upbringing and his family’s history of military service have prepared him for success in life, on and off the football field. Click here to learn more about Sewell’s military background.
