Catch up on all you need to know from Saturday with our men’s basketball round-up.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Sam Ryder brought down the house with a hole-in-one on the stadium 16th hole Saturday in the WM Phoenix Open, where newcomer Sahith Theegala topped a leaderboard as crowded as the course. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Get to know Sahith Theegala in 10 stories | Inside Sam Ryder’s epic ace on WM Phoenix Open’s 16th hole Ryder’s wedge shot on the 124-yard hole landed just right and short, bounced a couple of times, spun left and tumbled in. The rowdy fans on the 17,000-seat hole threw drinks in the air in celebration and littered the turf with bottles, cans and cups, leading to about a 15-minute delay. “I don’t know how I could pick a hole over this one,” said Ryder, eight strokes behind Theegala after an even-par 71. “I don’t think there’s any hole that has the electricity that this one has.” Ryder’s first TOUR ace was the 10th at No. 16 since the tournament moved to the course in 1997 and first since Francesco Molinari in the third round in 2015. Tiger Woods did it in 1997 before grandstands ringed the hole. “It just ended up being a perfect 54-degree wedge,” Ryder said. “Everything always plays a little shorter in there, adrenaline or whatever it is.” With around 200,000 fans packing firm and fast TPC Scottsdale on another sunny, 80-degree day in the Valley of the Sun, Theegala overcame a double bogey on the par-4 second to shoot a 69. “What a day,” Theegala said. “So many ups and downs. I mean, it was wild.” Making his event debut on a sponsor exemption, Theegala had a 14-under 199 total for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Brooks Koepka. FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Talor Gooch were another stroke back. “I’m really exhausted right now,” Theegala said. “Probably, I hit it in the desert five times. I got my ball stepped on twice, got my ball picked up twice. Very draining, for sure.” Theegala is trying to become the first player to win on a sponsor exemption since Martin Laird in the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open. The 24-year-old Indian-American grew up in Chino Hills, California, and starred at Pepperdine. In 2020, he swept the three major college player of the year awards. He’s playing for the fifth straight week, with his parents and some family members attending the last four in California and Arizona. “It was hard to see them,” Theegala said. “Just engulfed in the sea of people.” After hitting the lip of a fairway bunker en route to the double bogey on No. 2, Theegala rallied with birdies on Nos, 6, 7 and 8. He dropped a shot on the 11th, birdied the par-5 13th and holed a 15-footer on the par-4 17th. “Obviously, really bad start and proud of the way I fought back there,” Theegala said. “But still trying to take it all in. There’s just is so much going on there, too. Which is a good thing. I really enjoyed the fans out there.” Koepka had a 68. The four-time major champion is the last player to win the event in his first appearance, doing it in 2015. “I’m playing solid, so just go out and go play a good round tomorrow and see what happens,” Koepka said. “Just need to keep putting it the way I did. I feel confident. I like where my game’s at, and we’ll see.” Scheffler flirted with his second 59 before settling for a 62. Seeking his first TOUR victory, he began the day nine strokes behind Theegala. “I think it’s a fun event,” Scheffler said. “I think it would be a little bit draining if it was like this every week, but one week a year is pretty special.” Scheffler played his first nine in 7-under 27, and added two birdies on his second nine. He was the last player on the TOUR to shoot 59, doing it in THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2020. Jim Furyk is the only player to break 60 twice in the PGA TOUR, shooting 58 and 59. The fourth-ranked Cantlay, also making his first start in the event, had a 68. Gooch birdied the last three holes for a 67, making a 40-footer on 18. Schauffele, the leader at 14 under at the turn, shot 69. He made a double bogey after driving into the water on the par-4 11th. Hideki Matsuyama (66) was 11 under with Tom Hoge (67), Max Homa (68), Alex Noren (67) and Adam Hadwin (68). Matsuyama, the Masters champion who won in Scottsdale in 2016 and 2017, is making his first start since winning the Sony Open in Hawaii a month ago. Hoge won at Pebble Beach last week for his first PGA TOUR title.
Baylor forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua suffered a gruesome left knee injury in the 10th-ranked Bears’ game against Texas on Saturday.
Kevin Durant, who has joined the Nets on the road for the first time since suffering an MCL sprain Jan. 15, is “looking really good” as he ramps up his on-court work, coach Steve Nash said.
New Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel affirmed that he is “extremely proud” to be biracial while addressing his upbringing in an interview with ESPN.
Joe Burrow says he’s chasing Aaron Rodgers on his journey to try and “be the best” during the final day of Super Bowl media interviews.
Ram coach Sean McVay said that while he loves coaching, he also knows it’s something that could prevent him from spending as much time with his family as he would like.
The Denver Broncos are set to bring in Morgan State coach Tyrone Wheatley as their new running backs coach, sources told ESPN.
The Los Angeles Rams will be without starting tight end Tyler Higbee and backup offensive lineman Joe Noteboom in Super LVI, as both players were placed on injured reserve Friday.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Kelly Ryder knows there are no guarantees when it comes to souvenirs. RELATED: Leaderboard | The top 5 aces at TPC Scottsdale’s 16th Her son, Sam, once made an albatross at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, saved the ball, and forgot it in his courtesy car. He once played with NBA star Stephan Curry in a Korn Ferry Tour event in Northern California, and afterward they swapped signed balls. She has that one in her study back home in Orlando. Now she and her husband, Art, will be getting another souvenir after Sam became the first player to make a hole-in-one at the WM Phoenix Open’s 16th hole since Francesco Molinari in 2015. The ball flew 124 yards and spun hard left before disappearing into the cup, triggering a meteor shower of beer, beer cups, and anything else that would fly. “Still kind of coming down off the adrenaline,” Ryder said, “but, yeah, it was pretty crazy.” As 16th hole moments go, this one recalled Tiger’s ace in 1997 and the late Jarrod Lyle’s in 2011. Here’s how it all went down: Ryder didn’t have the honor; playing partner Chris Kirk had just eagled 15 and went first. Ryder and his caddie, David Pelekoudas, sized up the short shot and were in immediate agreement. “It just ended up being a perfect 54-degree wedge,” Ryder said. “Everything always plays a little shorter in there, adrenaline or whatever it is, it’s just, it always plays shorter. And it just, I just told (Pelekoudas), ‘It’s just got to be that, doesn’t it?’ And he’s like, ‘That’s all I ever thought.’” The shot came off perfectly, and as Brian Harman, the third member of the group, said later, it looked like a hole-in-one the entire way before disappearing and triggering pandemonium. What made it even more special was Ryder’s parents were inside the ropes with him, walking through the tunnel and watching from inside the cauldron of 16 as the ball went in. Ryder raised his arms and went in for a collision/embrace with Pelekoudas, then high-fived Harman and Kirk as their respective caddies and fans screamed, the stands shook, and beer rained down. After that the only question was when play would resume – it would take 15 minutes or so for volunteers and maintenance officials to clear the debris – and what to do with the ball. “We’re definitely getting this one,” Kelly said with a smile. “He knows which one it is.” After Ryder fished his ball out of the cup, and his caddie had cleaned it, he got very deliberate. “I’m like, ‘Let’s just put that one away,’” said Ryder, who had missed five cuts in 10 starts coming into the week and is 129th in the FedExCup. “And we kind of put it in a different pocket, but there was a couple other balls in there; I was like, ‘Woah, woah, woah.’” They kept the ball separate from the others and housed it in its own pocket. “We got the right one,” Ryder said. As golf shots go, it was a cardiac moment – shout out to Ryder’s sister, an ER doc – literally stopping play. But Ryder, whose last hole-in-one in competition came at a long-ago Hooters Tour event, had an up and down day otherwise (even-par 71). He said he’d be trying to figure out “what happened on the other 17 holes,” but won’t soon forget the shot of the tournament. “I’m going to enjoy it,” he said. “I want to make sure I take care of the media center and the maintenance and stuff like that, buy some drinks so that everyone can enjoy that, and they can send me the bill for that. But I’m probably just going to try and rest up and have a good day (Sunday). Probably not the answer that you’re looking for, but I’ll probably have a beverage, try and get ready for tomorrow and hopefully have a good day and finish the tournament strong.” At 6 under par, he’s tied for 29th place.
