Chun sees lead shrink to 3 at Women’s PGAChun sees lead shrink to 3 at Women’s PGA
In Gee Chun shot a 3-over 75 on Saturday, and saw her 6-shot lead shrink to three strokes heading into the final round of the Women’s PGA Championship.
Day: June 25, 2022
Sources: Watson’s NFL hearing to begin TuesdaySources: Watson’s NFL hearing to begin Tuesday
The disciplinary hearing for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is set to begin Tuesday, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Javier, Astros bullpen combine to no-hit YankeesJavier, Astros bullpen combine to no-hit Yankees
Cristian Javier had a career-high 13 strikeouts through seven innings and combined with two relievers to no-hit the Yankees in their own stadium for just the sixth time ever.
Schauffele takes 1-shot lead over buddy Cantlay at TravelersSchauffele takes 1-shot lead over buddy Cantlay at Travelers
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Xander Schauffele shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over good friend and playing partner Patrick Cantlay into the final round of the Travelers Championship. Schauffele had a 17-under 193 total at TPC River Highlands. Cantlay shot 63. Rookie Sahith Theegala was third at 14 under after a round of 64, and Kevin Kisner had a 66 to get to 13 under. Schauffele began the day at 14 under with a five-stroke lead. The Olympic champion birdied the second hole for the third time this week and had another at No. 6, part of a career-best run of 48 holes without a bogey. But he put his tee shot at 13 in the water and briefly fell into a tie for the lead after a bogey. He broke his minor birdie drought at 16, then hit the pin on his approach at 17 and sank another. “I would love to have that tee ball back on 13,” he said. “For the most part I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to protect a lead, especially when it’s five shots and it’s easy to get comfortable.” Cantlay’s bogey-free round was the best of the day. Schauffele and Cantlay have been close friends since being paired together at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia and they combined to win the Zurich Classic this season. “If only it was a combined score again this week we would be doing well,” Cantlay joked. “It’s always nice to be out with him, if he’s on my team or if he’s not. I’m going to go out there tomorrow and try as hard as I can and let the chips fall where they may.” Schauffele is looking for his sixth individual title and first since the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. He also is shooting for his sixth straight top-20 finish. He and Cantlay finished tied for 14th last week in the U.S. Open. “I’ve been looking forward to playing with Pat in a final round,” Schauffele said. “We don’t get paired together very often in regular tournaments, only in those team ones. So there’s a certain level of comfort we have playing with each other and hopefully that pays off and hopefully we can make a lot of birdies.” Theegala had an eagle on 13 to go with four birdies. The 24-year-old Californian hit his second shot on the par-4 17th over the course’s signature lake to about a foot from the pin, briefly tying Schauffele for the lead. But he bogeyed the final hole. He is looking to become the 18th player to get their first TOUR win in Connecticut. Ken Duke was the last to do it in 2013. “I’m definitely going to be nervous, definitely going to be excited,” he said. “Every single week I’m out here I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable.” Former U.S. Junior champion Michael Thorbjornsen shot a 66 to put himself in contention. He started the weekend at 7 under, just the third amateur to make a PGA TOUR cut in 2022. The Stanford star is in a group of four tied for seventh place, but said he wasn’t feeling much pressure. “One thing that might help is winning or coming in second or third I’m not getting paid either way, so it’s another tournament for me,” he said. “It’s just another round for me and I’ll just try to go out there and do the same thing I did today.” Harris English, who is trying to become just the second player to successfully defend his title here after Phil Mickelson won in 2002, shot a 69 and was in a group at 10-under. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler was also in that group after shooting a 65. He began the weekend nine strokes behind Schauffele. “Maybe I’ll go out tomorrow and do something crazy and we’ll see what happens,” Scheffler said. First-round co-leader Rory McIlroy (72) got in trouble early Saturday, hitting his tee shot on No. 2 off a nearby tree and into the tall grass 108 yards across the fairway to the right. After a 39 on the back nine Friday, he shot 36 on the front nine Saturday and finished 2 over for the day, and 6 under for the tournament, 11 strokes off the pace. There was also a buzz at the tournament Saturday around a player who was no longer even in Cromwell. Jason Kokrak was disqualified Friday after launching his final shot on the ninth hole over the green and the fence behind it. Kokrak, who would have missed the cut anyhow, left the course without replaying the shot. William McGirt who was playing in the same group said Kokrak simply didn’t see any point in finishing the hole. “He was like, `I’m not going to hold anybody up,'” McGirt said. “He didn’t storm off the golf course.”
Sahith Theegala back in contention at Travelers ChampionshipSahith Theegala back in contention at Travelers Championship
CROMWELL, Conn. – Sahith Theegala is still a rookie. He’s still figuring out how to optimize his performance, manage travel. He’s learning the courses as fast as he can. Not for nothing has he played 83 rounds this season, most on the PGA TOUR. No better teacher than experience. And yet he’s realistic. He knows he can’t expect to always be in contention like he was at the WM Phoenix Open in February, when a bad bounce on 17 led to a hard-luck T3 finish. “Yeah, it’s been an interesting situation,” he said after carding a 6-under 64 in the third round of the Travelers Championship, leaving him 14 under and three behind leader Xander Schauffele (67). “Because obviously now I have the confidence in my own game, but I totally – I’m not fooling myself and I’m not going to have this opportunity to win that often yet. “I’m making great progression to hopefully put myself in more positions like this,” he continued, “but I know I’m not a Rory or Xander quite yet.” Or a Patrick Cantlay, the FedExCup champion who shot 63, the low round of the day, and is in second, just a shot behind his Zurich Classic of New Orleans teammate Schauffele. They won that tournament in April and have also paired up in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. “Yeah, if only it was a combined score again this week we would be doing well,” said Cantlay, who made no bogeys Saturday. “It’s always nice to be out with him, if he’s on my team or if he’s not. I’m going to go out there tomorrow and try as hard as I can and let the chips fall where they may.” Schauffele was fractionally off in the third round and made his first bogey of the tournament after losing his tee shot into the water right of the fairway at the par-5 13th hole. “I’ve got to make more birdies tomorrow,” he said before heading to the driving range. Kevin Kisner (66) is just four back and hoping to draw on his knack for rising to the occasion, which has served him so well at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (2019 champion). “I just always have been able to have the ability to really sharpen my focus when the pressure goes up,” said Kisner, a four-time TOUR winner, including the 2021 Wyndham Championship. Theegala, 24, is still too young to know exactly what his tendencies are. He was in tears after the WM Phoenix Open, where his tee shot at the drivable 17 hole took a hard kick left and trickled into the water, leading to a bogey. He stayed in the fight to the end and wound up just a shot out of the Scottie Scheffler/Cantlay playoff, making plenty of new fans. Since then, he’s been mostly under the radar. After Phoenix, he missed the cut in two of his next three starts. He made cuts but didn’t qualify for the first three majors. Davis Riley and Cameron Young became the co-favorites for Rookie of the Year. Still, Theegala keeps plugging along. “I’ve just stayed patient the whole year and try to stick to that mantra of getting a little bit better, no matter what that is,” he said after a third round that included a 6-foot eagle putt on 13 and was marred only by a bogey at the last. “Even if the scores don’t reflect it, just feeling better about myself and moving forward. But, yeah, I’ve plead a lot of good golf since then too.” His best golf since Phoenix, he added, came at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, where on a firm, tough Muirfield Village he tied for fifth. He was never going to win but liked that his game held up in what he called major-like conditions. He likes that he’s made 19 cuts in 24 starts this season, showing that he can get it around even when he doesn’t have his best. Now the Pepperdine product will get another chance to raise a PGA TOUR trophy. He’ll play the final round with the veteran Kisner, and Schauffele and Cantlay may be very tough to catch. This time, Theegala’s parents won’t be following him shot for shot, but his brother, Sahan, and cousin, Pavin, will be. Sahan goes to Seton Hall, and they drove from New Jersey on Friday. “I’m definitely going to be nervous,” Theegala said. “Definitely going to be excited. It’s so nice having prior experience kind of being near the top. So I know exactly what to expect. And every single week I’m out here I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable. “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
Five Things to Know: Michael ThorbjornsenFive Things to Know: Michael Thorbjornsen
1 – Massachusetts amateur Thorbjornsen, a 20-year-old amateur from Wellesley, Massachusetts, got into the Travelers Championship as a sponsor exemption and shot 68-65 to easily make the cut. With three birdies in his first eight holes Saturday, he was suddenly just four shots behind 36-hole leader Xander Schauffele. 2 – College Cardinal He recently finished his sophomore year at Stanford, where his best result was a runner-up at the Cabo Collegiate. He was named second-team All-American and tied for 32nd at the NCAA Championship, which he called a disappointment. 3 – Homegrown U.S. Open For the last few years he had circled the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, about 15 minutes from where he grew up, and survived an 8-for-3 playoff to make the field. “It feels like a home event,” he said. Alas, the winner of the 2021 Massachusetts Amateur shot 77-69 to miss the cut by three. 4 – Beware the injured golfer Although he is playing well, he’s not entirely healthy. “I’m kind of struggling with some wrist injuries right now,” Thorbjornsen said last week. “Going to the physio lab there helps a lot. I’ve been in there every single day. Maybe been in there longer than I have been on the course practicing.” 5 – Junior Presidents Cup experience He played in the 2019 Junior Presidents Cup in Melbourne, and his mother, Sandra, played golf for Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Li Haotong holds 3-shot lead at BMW OpenLi Haotong holds 3-shot lead at BMW Open
Li Haotong recorded an eagle on the same hole for the third consecutive day to open 3-shot lead at the BMW International Open.
Source: Garoppolo plan on track, to throw soonSource: Garoppolo plan on track, to throw soon
49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo will throw over the next few weeks as his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery continues to go as planned, a source told ESPN.
NBA free agency: Latest deals, news and buzzNBA free agency: Latest deals, news and buzz
What’s going down ahead of NBA free agency? Keep it here for the latest updates leading up to June 30.