Brittany Force had a 3.661-second run at 333.91 mph in the final qualifying session to take the top spot in qualifying for the season-opening Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said a recent stretch of five games in 11 days wore him down, causing him not to return to the court after halftime on Tuesday.
LOS ANGELES – Tiger Woods admitted the uncertainty of timing around a potential return to the PGA TOUR has the 82-time TOUR winner just as frustrated, if not more so, than his legion of fans. Woods joined the broadcast booth with CBS Sports analysts Jim Nantz and Sir Nick Faldo during Saturday’s third round of The Genesis Invitational where he acts as tournament host with his TGR Foundation, and said he’s no closer to knowing when he may play again. Woods is recovering from a serious car accident in the days after last year’s tournament at Riviera Country Club where he shattered the bones in his right leg and ankle. He provided optimism for his fans last December by partnering with son Charlie to be runner up at the two-day PNC Championship but stressed riding in carts during that event was a long way from a full TOUR return. “You will see me on the PGA TOUR, I just don’t know when and trust me I’d love to tell you that I’ll be playing next week,” Woods said on the broadcast. “But I don’t know when, which is frustrating in that sense, because I’ve been down this road before with my back when I didn’t know when I was going to come back.” Woods was a spectator for the 2021 Genesis Invitational also as he was recovering from a fifth back surgery. “It’s hard because it’s hard to not have goals out there,” Woods continued. “Like I want to play this event so I can set myself up for that mentally and physically and emotionally… (but) I don’t have any of those dates in my head. I don’t know yet.” As he had revealed earlier in the week, Woods said just getting through walking 72 holes would still be too hard at this stage. His injuries remain a cause for concern and he all but ruled out a return for the Masters in April leaving speculation around July’s Open Championship at St. Andrews as a new target. “I have not been running any marathons lately, none of that. I haven’t done any backflips or anything like that, no,” Woods said. “I don’t know. I can hit balls. The hardest part is actually walking, and so, that’s going to take some time. I’m going to have to put in the time and effort at home and do all the beach walks and walk golf courses because it is very easy at Medalist to just hop in the cart and whip around and play a quick 18 or 36, but it’s a little different deal than being out here with these guys and walking up and down the hills. “(It’s) just the ankle mobility and over time the ankle swells, the foot swells, leg swells and that’s just (going to take) time.” The next big milestone for Woods is his Hall of Fame induction next month. The 82-time winner admitted to some butterflies ahead of the occasion and the speech he will give. “It’s going to be nerve-wracking. A lot of reflecting coming up,” he said.
LeBron James said that the door is “not closed” on a potential return to the Cavs and that his last season in the NBA “will be played with my son.”
LOS ANGELES – Lanny Wadkins has sat on the Riviera Country Club throne for 37 years but Joaquin Niemann is coming for him at The Genesis Invitational. A day after smashing the 36-hole scoring record at The Genesis Invitational, the 23-year-old Niemann took down the 54-hole mark and the Chilean star now stands on the precipice of securing the longest standing active 72-hole tournament scoring record on the PGA TOUR. Wadkins put up a 20-under 264 at Riviera when claiming the 1985 tournament and it has stood firm since. But Niemann is hunting after his 63-63-68 start left him at 19-under 194 with a round to play. One should never count chickens before they hatch but the elevated, Tiger Woods hosted Genesis Invitational appears Niemann’s to lose as he sits three clear of rookie Cameron Young (16-under) and six shots ahead of third placed Viktor Hovland (13-under). Only Justin Thomas (12-under) and Collin Morikawa (11-under) are also within eight shots of his lead. Eight shots is the largest comeback for the tournament, by Ken Venturi in 1959. Niemann’s 54-hole mark topped the previous 196 from Mike Weir (2004), Dustin Johnson (2017) and Justin Thomas (2019). His 36-hole score of 126 bested the previous halfway record of 130. If he closes on Sunday at the storied Riviera, he will join the greats. “I’m having the best time of my life right now. I just try to keep it calm, but yeah, I’m enjoying it a lot and I just can’t wait to have a good day tomorrow,” Niemann said. “My speed (on the greens) has just been so good this week and that’s the thing that helps a lot… they’re so fast and every putt can run away from the hole pretty quick, so the speed has been good.” Should he go on and win, Niemann will also be the first wire-to-wire winner since Charlie Sifford in 1969. If the Wadkins record falls, the longest standing mark will belong to Payne Stewart’s 264 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational 34 years ago. After bursting onto the scene claiming his first PGA TOUR win at the Military Tribute at The Greenbrier and joining the International Presidents Cup team as a 20-year-old in 2019, Niemann has since found himself in the shadow of other young players. Despite starting 2021 with back-to-back runner-up finishes in Hawaii, it was a missed chance last summer at the Rocket Mortgage Challenge that really stung. Niemann shared the 54-hole lead with Troy Merritt but both were bested by Australian Cam Davis in a playoff on Sunday. Niemann went 72-holes without a bogey, only to make one in the first hole of sudden death to miss out. He believes he’s learned from the experience and intends to enjoy the moments come Sunday at Riviera. “Rocket Mortgage, I played great golf there. Obviously, I didn’t make any bogeys that week. Sometimes things go your way, sometimes things don’t go your way,” Niemann said. “I think I put myself in with a big chance to win the tournament and it just didn’t happen. I’ve just got to learn from that and go with a better attitude the next time you’re there.” But what of the chasers? Young’s scoring has been prolific also this week yet somewhat overlooked due to the leader. On Saturday the rookie pulled within two shots of the lead before a costly double bogey on the par-3 16th. The two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner seeks to become the first rookie to win on TOUR since Garrick Higgo claimed the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree last season. A former Wake Forest standout with Will Zalatoris, Young leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (+8.008) and Driving Distance (313.8) through three rounds and looks to go one better than his T2 earlier this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship – his lone top-10 in 11 previous starts on TOUR. He’s not ready to hand anything to Niemann just yet. “Anytime you start Sunday three back, whether you’re in tenth or second, you have a chance. Anybody out here can shoot 8 or 9 under and you just never know when it’s going to be you on a Sunday,” Young said. “I’m still right there, I’ve only got one guy ahead of me. He’s a great player and I know he’s playing really well, but you just never know what can happen. Tomorrow that three shots can be gone in a hole and three shots can go the other way in a hole, so we’ll just have to see.”
LOS ANGELES — Joaquin Niemann couldn’t find a fairway over the final two hours at Riviera and it didn’t matter. He still pieced together a 3-under 68 to set the 54-hole record and build a three-shot lead in The Genesis Invitational. Cameron Young, the 24-year-old PGA TOUR rookie, tried to keep it closer until taking two shots to get out of a plugged lie in the bunker in front of the par-3 16th green and making double bogey. He had a 69 and was three behind. Joining them in the final group will be 24-year-old Viktor Hovland, who had eight birdies in his round of 65. That only got the Norwegian within six shots of Niemann. Niemann, a 23-year-old from Chile, was poised to win for the second time on the PGA TOUR and needed only one more round in the 60s to break the tournament scoring record, which has stood longer than any other 72-hole record for a PGA TOUR event. Niemann was at 19-under 194, breaking by two shots the record last held by Justin Thomas in 2017. Thomas had said there was a long way to go when he started five shots behind with 36 holes ahead of them. He started with a birdie and then made 10 straight pars before a pair of bogeys that sent him and other past major champions going in the wrong direction. Thomas birdied his last two holes for a 70. He was seven behind. Adam Scott opened with two birdies until he lost momentum and shot 73 to fall 10 shots behind. Ditto for Jordan Spieth, who had only one birdie in his round of 73 to fade from contention. The final group Sunday will feature three players from three continents who were born after tournament host Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997. Niemann has been playing at a different level this week, relying on a mix of great iron play, putting on hard, fast greens and managing trouble when he gets out of position. After a pair of birdies late on the front nine, Niemann had one of those moments that made it look like it would be his week. His drive on the iconic, reachable 10th caught the left edge of the green and barely rolled off. Using a putter, he holed it from just outside 20 feet for an eagle and was up by four. He was 2 over the rest of the way, however, as he failed to hit another fairway, two of them leading to bogey. He also missed on the 18th when Young had a chance to cut into the lead. But the Chilean hit a beautiful fade around the edges of the eucalyptus trees to the back of the green and a chip with perfect pace to save par. Young twice left shots in the bunker, starting with the par-5 opening hole that led to par. He was rock-solid the rest of the way until the 16th, where his tee shot was so badly buried in the sand his best option was to leave in there for a better lie. He blasted out a little long and missed a 6-foot putt. For a tournament stacked with 10 of the top 10 players in the world, the one leading the charge is Niemann, who is just outside the top 30 and whose only win was at The Greenbrier in the fall of 2019. This is only the third time he has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead. He converted one of them into his Greenbrier win, and the other time he lost in a playoff last summer at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Young is playing only his 12th time on the PGA TOUR, including a U.S. Open appearance as an amateur at Pebble Beach in 2019. He was a runner-up in Mississippi last fall, and he played with remarkable poise amid high-profile company while trying to keep in range of Niemann.
Flores brings head-coaching experience to the Steelers’ staff, and landing the job won’t interfere with his race-discrimination class action lawsuit.
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Florida rallied to beat No. 2 Auburn 63-62 Saturday to extend its home dominance in the series.
LeBron James used a question about Oklahoma City’s Josh Giddey as an opportunity to praise Thunder general manager Sam Presti on Saturday, less than two weeks after the Los Angeles Lakers did not make any moves at the trade deadline.
