Finland got back in the win column Friday at the world ice hockey championship by beating Britain 6-0, while Germany handed Italy a 9-4 defeat in the highest-scoring game of the tournament.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The wind finally relented Friday in the PGA Championship. Will Zalatoris never did. From the fairway or the rough, Zalatoris kept hitting the golf ball on the button at Southern Hills and took advantage of gentler conditions late in the afternoon for a 4-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Mito Pereira of Chile. The weekend will include Tiger Woods in his second straight major, a remarkable achievement in its own right. Playing on a battered right leg from his car crash 15 months ago, Woods was outside the cut line after a double bogey on the par-3 11th hole. He played the final seven holes with two birdies and a pair of 15-foot par saves for a 69 to make it with one shot to spare. But he’s 12 shots away from Zalatoris, the 25-year-old from Dallas who is built like a 1-iron and could probably hit one flush with his eyes closed. No doubt, Zalatoris and his entire side of the draw was helped when wind that gusted over 30 mph Friday morning laid down over the final two hours. Bubba Watson had a shot at the first 62 in PGA Championship history. He missed from just inside 25 feet on the 18th hole and had to settle for the 18th round of 63 in this major, and the third at Southern Hills. He joined Woods (2007) and Raymond Floyd (1982). Pereira also had a chance at 63, missing from 7 feet on the ninth hole to close his round. “I lucked out with the draw, for sure. We played 11 on without any wind,” Zalatoris said. “When I got out of position, I got the most out of it.” He opened with a shot from the rough that tumbled across the length of the green to 2 feet. He hit another through a gap in the trees to 7 feet. Not only did he have a bogey-free card, all five of his birdies were inside 8 feet. Zalatoris was at 9-under 131. And all Justin Thomas could do was watch from the couch of his rental home in Tulsa. Thomas did the heavy lifting in the morning, when the wind was raging and limbs were swaying. He dropped only one shot on his way to another 67 that set a daunting target for Rory McIlroy and everyone else in the afternoon. And now Thomas is three shots behind, with Watson right behind him. Of some two dozen players under par, only five came from the wave that played Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the two windiest windows of the week. McIlroy got the good side of the draw and failed to seize on the moment. He didn’t make a birdie until the 13th hole. That was his only one in a round of 71 that left him five shots behind. Jordan Spieth, playing alongside McIlroy and Woods, finally got back to even par for the tournament until driving into the water on the 18th for a bogey and a 69. He was 10 shots behind in his bid to get the major keeping him from the career Grand Slam. The weekend will not include Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who stumbled badly down the stretch and finished with a double bogey for a 75 to miss the cut — 4-over par — by two. Jon Rahm thought he might have worked his way back into the mix with a 69 to get to 2-over 142, and he was skeptical about the forecast of wind abating. “They said the wind was going to go down this afternoon. No, it’s not. It’s Oklahoma,” Rahm said. “It’s going to stay just as windy as we had.” If only. Watson had never scored better than 68 in his previous 49 rounds in the PGA Championship. And then he dropped nine birdies and goes into the weekend with a chance. Zalatoris and Pereira, who led the Korn Ferry Tour a year ago, will be in the final group Saturday, two players still searching for their first PGA TOUR title. Zalatoris has plenty of experience in the majors. He was runner-up in the Masters to Hideki Matsuyama in his debut in 2021. This is his eighth major, and he already has four top 10s. “When I took the sole lead on 12, I told my caddie, ‘Let’s enjoy this,’” Zalatoris said. “In my first Masters, I was runner-up and I wanted to enjoy it. I’ll take that same attitude.” Woods looked to be headed home after his double bogey on the par-3 11th, where he went from the high grass framing a stream to the bunker on the other side of the green. And then he saved par from a bunker on No. 12, hit wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the par-5 13th, saved par with another 15-footer on the next hole and hit his best shot on the 16th to 4 feet. “I had to go grind and go to work, and I did,” Woods said. “Hopefully, I can get a hot weekend and you never know.” Hot is a popular term in these parts, particularly with memories of 100-plus degrees in August when the PGA was last at Southern Hills in 2007 and Woods won by two. For Saturday, the temperatures were forecast for the low 60s.
Some things are bigger than hockey or the Battle of Alberta between Calgary and Edmonton. A five-year-old Oilers super fan is undergoing treatment for glioblastoma and he’s got a new supporter, even if it’s on the other side the rivalry.
TULSA, Okla. – Aaron Wise endured a scary moment Friday when he was hit in the head by a tee shot during the second round of the PGA Championship. He is said to be doing OK and expected to play Saturday after making the 36-hole cut. “Aaron is doing well and in good spirits after being hit today,” his management team said in a statement. “We’ll be monitoring his condition overnight but he looks forward to competing tomorrow.” Wise was in the fairway of Southern Hills’ seventh hole when he was struck on the fly by a drive from Cameron Smith, who was playing the adjoining second hole. Wise parred the hole and No. 8 before making a bogey on the ninth, his finel hole of the day, to shoot 72. He stands at 1-over 141 after two rounds. Wise was seen holding a water bottle to his head after being struck and was icing his head after signing his scorecard.
Tiger Woods played an impressive round on Friday to make it to the weekend at the PGA Championship. Here is how it happened.
TULSA, Okla. – Justin Thomas was in crisis mode earlier this week. His shots weren’t finding the sweet spot, he didn’t feel comfortable over the ball and he was unsure of the solution. Even his father, Mike, wasn’t exempt from his frustration. RELATED: The fabulous dad life of Mike Thomas | Tracing JT’s golfing roots “I have to remind him sometimes, you’re not my dad out here, you’re my swing coach, and I need you to tell me if something is wrong,” Justin said. “I don’t need my ego boosted. I’m here to try to win a golf tournament and play well.” Mike prefers to keep things simple and focus on the fundamentals. A couple days before the year’s second major wasn’t a time to break out the camera or experiment with theories. It was time to go back to the basics. Mike turned his son’s focus away from positions and told Justin to focus on one of his favorite parts of the game, his ability to shape the ball. In an analytical age, Mike wanted his son to engage his right brain. “He was like, well, let’s just start trying to hit some shots,” Justin said. Hitting it high and low, curving it both ways, through what Tiger Woods refers to as the nine windows (think every combination of height and shot shape). That did the trick. Shots started flying off the center of the clubface and Justin’s confidence returned. The high winds blowing across Southern Hills’ wide fairways gave him the opportunity to take his shot-shaping acumen from the range to the course. It showed on Thomas’ final hole Friday, a satisfying birdie that started with a low, slicing drive into the uphill fairway, followed by a wedge shot nestled below the hole on the severely-tilted green. His other birdie on his back nine came after a 6-iron from 217 yards that Thomas hit to 20 feet despite a strong crosswind. “Just being as windy as it was, it was a lot of manipulating and different shots,” said Thomas, who hit 16 greens Friday en route to his second consecutive 67. He’s made just one bogey in his last 27 holes and only three all week. He was by far the best performer among the half of the field that teed off late Thursday and early Friday, facing the day’s highest winds both days. He was three shots better than the next-best performer from that side of the draw, Matt Fitzpatrick. Only three other players broke par from that half of the field: Talor Gooch, Joaquin Niemann and Bernd Wiesberger, and they all were 1 under. Seeking his first major in five years, Thomas took a slightly different approach this week. He teed it up the week prior, playing the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas. That allowed him to make a quick scouting trip up to Southern Hills. “I loved it as soon as I saw it,” he said. Southern Hills’ renovation, which has drastically altered the appearance of this Perry Maxwell classic, has been one of the big storylines this week. The wide fairways give players room to work the ball, a skill that’s even more important in the conditions players have faced this week. The strong wind blows across most of the holes, requiring some sort of curvature to keep the ball from being blown off-target. Thomas is seeking his first win since another victory where his ballstriking skill was on display, last year’s PLAYERS Championship. He played low, hooking tee shots and towering long-irons during a weekend where he had full command of his swing. He hasn’t won since, but still ranks 15th in the FedExCup thanks to seven top-10s in 12 starts this season. That includes a fifth-place finish last week and a top-10 at the Masters after a disastrous first round where his inability to focus cost him an opportunity to command. He followed that 76 by playing the next three rounds in 5 under par, however. This time, Thomas kept fighting in the first round and didn’t let his chances at victory end before they began. Thomas already owns one PGA Championship, having won five years ago at Quail Hollow, but his major record since has been rather paltry. He only has four top-10s in majors since that win, and none better than a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Masters. “It’s golf, so it’s pretty hard sometimes,” he said Friday. “We’re halfway through so it’s still a long way from home, but I’m very, very pleased with where everything is at and the frame of mind and state of mind that I’m in.” He’s come a long way since the start of the week.
Can Tiger Woods make a move at the PGA Championship? Or will he spend his Friday at Southern Hills just trying to make the cut? We follow every step.
Can Tiger Woods make a move at the PGA Championship? Or will he spend his Friday at Southern Hills just trying to make the cut? We follow every step.
Tiger Woods opened this week’s PGA Championship in 4-over 74, losing steam after two birdies in his first five holes Thursday at Southern Hills. Beginning on No. 10, he carded nines of 35-39 and ended the day outside the projected cut line. Woods admitted to leg soreness after the opening round, and he appeared in physical discomfort as Thursday’s round wore on. He promised to go through a full post-round recovery process and do everything needed to be ready for Friday’s action. Woods plays in the afternoon wave in Friday’s second round at Southern Hills, aiming to rally in windy conditions and advance to the weekend. He begins Round 2 at 1:36 p.m. CT, alongside Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. The group will begin on No. 1 tee. Keep it here for hole-by-hole updates throughout Woods’ second round at the PGA Championship.
Michael Vick, the once-dynamic NFL quarterback whose involvement in a dogfighting ring halted a breathtaking career in its prime, has agreed to come out of retirement to join startup league Fan Controlled Football, a source told Officialsportsbetting.com on Friday.
