Former Steelers WR Johnson dies at age 50Former Steelers WR Johnson dies at age 50
Charles Johnson, a star wide receiver at Colorado and first-round pick of the Steelers, has died at age 50.
Day: July 20, 2022
Tennis pro Mardy Fish makes TOUR debut at 3M OpenTennis pro Mardy Fish makes TOUR debut at 3M Open
BLAINE, Minn. – Mardy Fish has an affinity for history. The accomplished tennis pro understands no professional athlete has competed in both an ATP event and a PGA TOUR event. Fish, winner of six ATP singles and eight doubles titles, is set to change that. The 40-year-old Minnesota native will compete in this week’s 3M Open on a sponsor exemption, making not only his TOUR debut, but marking the Association of Tennis Professionals’ debut on this stage. Professional golf has long drawn similarities to tennis for its meritocratic landscape, the concept of earning one’s success on a week-to-week basis. “It’s just like tennis,” Tiger Woods said of golf at last year’s Hero World Challenge. “You have to go out there and earn it.” Fish embraces the chance to earn success at TPC Twin Cities, as he follows the likes of high-level professional athletes like Stephen Curry and Tony Romo who have competed on the Korn Ferry Tour in recent years. Neither has been able to make a cut, although Curry sent shockwaves through the sporting world with an opening-round 71 at the 2018 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae. Fish has proven he can succeed in a competitive golf setting – he won the 2020 American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament that is nationally televised. He knows that a PGA TOUR event is a new stage, though, with new challenges. He looks forward to that challenge. “Steph (Curry) and I are real close, and so he was texting me out here,” Fish said on Tuesday. “He just said, look, do what you do, do you. He’s a really good golfer. We just sort of root for each other in these scenarios as well. “I certainly don’t expect to compete to win the tournament necessarily, but making the cut is something that I’m eyeing big-time. I’ve worked really hard during the last couple of months to get myself into this type of golf shape, long irons into par-4s and long holes and stuff like that. I’ve played golf my whole life, ever since I could stand, and so you’re just hitting a little white ball around. “Like how do you enjoy it and not play well, or how do you enjoy it and play great? It’s difficult to kind of compartmentalize like that. I hope I do. I know I do leading up to it, for sure, but once the tournament starts, you’ll kind of jump back into that mode and think that you’re as good as these guys out here, and I’m sure that’s what I’ll do.” Fish has deep roots in Minnesota – he spent the first five years of his life in the Minneapolis area, and his dad is an alum of the nearby University of Minnesota. He’s a Minnesota sports fan – Vikings, Twins and Timberwolves. He threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Twins game last month, describing it as a bucket-list activity. He has cultivated friendships with Vikings players like Kyle Rudolph and Adam Thielen. “They’re all Minnesota nice,” laughed Fish. Fish played competitive tennis, golf and baseball throughout his childhood. He stopped playing golf tournaments at age 14 as he turned his attention to tennis, but he never lost the bug. He enjoyed a Tuesday practice round at TPC Twin Cities with Rickie Fowler and Camilo Villegas, soaking in how the multi-time TOUR winners approach their preparations for a tournament. He played Wednesday’s pro-am alongside country singer-songwriter Jake Owen, who has also competed at the Korn Ferry Tour level. The stage now clears for Fish. He tees off at 9:02 a.m. CT Thursday, alongside Chase Seiffert and Seth Reeves. Two rounds are guaranteed, with the objective of earning a tee time on the weekend. “Excitement,” Fish said. “Humbleness. It’s special. It really is.”
Five players looking to jump into FedExCup Playoffs position at 3M OpenFive players looking to jump into FedExCup Playoffs position at 3M Open
BLAINE, Minn. – Cameron Champ isn’t scared of the bright lights of final-round contention on the PGA TOUR. The Texas A&M alum has won three times on TOUR, most recently at the 2021 3M Open, a title he’s set to defend this week at TPC Twin Cities. Champ, 27, has other matters at hand as he readies to compete in Minnesota. He stands No. 157 on the FedExCup standings with three events remaining in the regular season, currently on the outside looking in regarding a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. The top-125 upon the conclusion of the regular season-ending Wyndham Championship will earn Playoffs berths. Champ suffered a wrist injury last fall and has struggled to find contention upon returning to competition in January. He recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes this spring at the Masters Tournament and Mexico Open at Vidanta, but he commences his 3M Open title defense on a string of five consecutive missed cuts. The California native, well regarded as one of the game’s longest hitters, leads the TOUR this season in driving distance and is No. 9 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee. He ranks No. 181 for the season in Strokes Gained: Putting, as well as No. 115 in greens in regulation, but he believes he is turning a corner, while admitting he would understand those who meet this belief with skepticism. “If you want to look at my stats and how I’ve been playing, you would think I’m crazy,” Champ said. “I’ve had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life mixed in with me breaking my wrist in the fall. That was a whole unknown for quite a while, if it was going to be serious or if it was not serious. Luckily, it wasn’t too serious.” Champ spoke of the challenges of finding the proper work-life balance, investing adequate time in both his relationships and his craft. Feeling good about his personal life allows him to find the proper head space, he said, which in turn allows him to excel on the course. “When things are going good back home, it just calms you down, it makes you not have to stress about things,” Champ said. “You can just enjoy yourself, and out here it just gives me that extra drive and force to just want to continue to get better. The last 10 months were pretty rough for me personally, honestly. I had to get over a lot of things and get through some things, but like I said, now we’re on the up and up and we’re just going to get after it.” He’ll aim to channel that perspective into a late-season push for the Playoffs. Here’s a look at five players outside the top-125 on the FedExCup standings with three events remaining in the Regular Season – after the 3M Open, the TOUR proceeds to next week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit before the Wyndham Championship. Stephan Jaeger currently holds the all-important No. 125 spot with 318 points. Rickie Fowler (No. 129) Starts: 18 Cuts made: 11 Top-25 finishes: 3 Best finish: T3, THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT FedExCup points: 309 Fowler currently trails the No. 125 position by nine points, the equivalent of a solo 49th place-finish or better. Regardless of whether he qualifies for the Playoffs, the five-time TOUR winner is fully exempt through 2023 via the tournament winner category. He’ll aim to make amends, though, for a streak of 11 consecutive FedExCup Playoffs appearances, which ended last season after finishing No. 134 on the season-long standings. The Oklahoma State alum enters the 3M Open having made five cuts in his last six starts, including a T23 at the PGA Championship. Fowler was seen in a jovial mood early-week, chatting with Wesley Bryan as he practiced bunker shots on a windy Tuesday, and he’ll aim to carry those vibes into competition days at TPC Twin Cities. Martin Trainer (No. 139) Starts: 28 Cuts made: 10 Top-25 finishes: 3 Best finish: T5, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open FedExCup points: 267 Trainer currently trails the No. 125 position by 51 points, the equivalent of a solo 17th-place finish or better. His three top-25 finishes this season are all T11 or better, demonstrating a propensity for taking advantage of his hot weeks, and he’ll aim to produce that type of week down the final stretch of the regular season. The University of South California alum won the 2019 Puerto Rico Open as a rookie to earn a two-year TOUR exemption, which was extended a year due to COVID-19. Finishing outside the top-125 would require a return to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals (he would maintain some TOUR status regardless as a past champion), and he admitted at the Mexico Open at Vidanta (T11) that the top-125 bubble was very much on his mind as the season progressed. “It’s always on my mind, unfortunately,” Trainer said at the time. “It’s pretty unhealthy, actually. You think about it, but ultimately you do your best and just see what happens.” Harry Higgs (No. 142) Starts: 27 Cuts made: 12 Top-25 finishes: 3 Best finish: T9, THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT FedExCup points: 257 Higgs trails the No. 125 position by 61 points, the equivalent of a two-way T12 or better. The affable Kansas City native is coming off a T11 finish at the Barracuda Championship, his best finish of the 2022 calendar year. He also finished T14 at the Masters. Higgs, 30, won the 2019 Price Cutter Charity Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour to cement his first TOUR card, and he found a quick knack for the TOUR level of competition, finishing top-70 on the FedExCup in each of his first two TOUR seasons. He doesn’t shy away from the knowledge that he’s fighting for his job over the closing stretch of the regular season, and he looks forward to putting his game to the test under the circumstances. “There comes a time when talk is cheap, and now you’re going to have to show it,” Higgs said at the Barracuda Championship. “More so to myself; I don’t really care to show it to anybody else. I feel like I’m way better than the position that I’m in, but that’s also the beauty of the game.” Cameron Champ (No. 157) Starts: 16 Cuts made: 6 Top-25 finishes: 2 Best finish: T6, Masters Tournament FedExCup points: 200 Champ trails the No. 125 position by 118 points, the equivalent of a two-way T4 or better. If he fails to gain Playoffs entry, though, he will remain fully exempt on the 2022-23 PGA TOUR due to his two-year tournament winner exemption. He’s confident he can make a push toward the Playoffs this week. “This is just one of those places where it doesn’t matter if I play good or bad, I’m just very comfortable with it,” Champ said of TPC Twin Cities. Scott Gutschewski (No. 179) Starts: 20 Cuts made: 7 Top-25 finishes: 2 Best finish: 5th, Barracuda Championship FedExCup points: 136 Gutschewski trails the No. 125 position by 182 points, the equivalent of a two-way T3 or better. The 45-year-old is trending upward, though, having jumped from No. 204 to No. 179 in the standings after a career-best, solo fifth place finish at last week’s Barracuda Championship. The Barracuda finish assured Gutschewski, a father of four, a top-200 position on the FedExCup, which ensures a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals at minimum (another opportunity to regain TOUR status). Across the next three weeks, he’ll set his sights higher, on either a top-125 spot – to gain a FedExCup Playoffs berth and fully exempt 2022-23 TOUR status – or a top-150 position to ensure conditional TOUR status next season.
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How to Watch the 3M Open, Round 1: Featured Groups, live scores, tee times, TV timesHow to Watch the 3M Open, Round 1: Featured Groups, live scores, tee times, TV times
Round 1 of the 3M Open takes place Thursday from TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota. Cameron Champ returns to defend his title as the PGA TOUR’s 2021-22 season inches closer to an exciting conclusion. John Deere Classic winner J.T. Poston is also in the field, as is Hideki Matsuyama as one of six major champions teeing it up. Tony Finau, Sungjae Im, and THE PLAYERS Championship winners Jason Day and Rickie Fowler are slated to compete. The winner will receive 500 FedExCup points. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and newly expanded and extended coverage on ESPN+. Click here for more details. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes FEATURED GROUPS THURSDAY Marquee Group Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Tom Hoge Featured Groups Sahith Theegala, Joohyung Kim, Chesson Hadley Rickie Fowler, Ryan Palmer, Martin Laird Featured Holes: No. 4 (par 3), No. 8 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 17 (par 3) FRIDAY Marquee Group Tony Finau, Jason Day, Davis Riley Featured Groups Cameron Champ, Michael Thompson, Chez Reavie J.T. Poston, Cam Davis, Adam Long Featured Holes: No. 4 (par 3), No. 8 (par 3), No. 13 (par 3), No. 17 (par 3) MUST READS Power Rankings Expert Picks The First Look Joohyung Kim accepts Special Temporary Membership
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Pick ‘Em Preview: 3M OpenPick ‘Em Preview: 3M Open
The 3M Open drops at a time when none of the most notable in its field is playing its best. It’s also not a replicate of the Mexico Open at Vidanta that had an overwhelming favorite in Jon Rahm to deliver on the most challenging task – victory. Of course, this is also golf, so it’s not to say that any of the short list of names that the most casual of fans might know won’t be holding the trophy at TPC Twin Cities on Sunday, but the more knowledgeable among us have reasons to be skeptical. PointsBet always is open for business, but toying with the possibilities in PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live this week extends an enhanced experience throughout the chaos of the uncertainty. For gamers of a certain age, it’s like any of the Choose Your Own Adventure books that were so popular 25-40 years ago. We all begin on page 1 and none of us ever takes the same path. Embrace the process because your choices just might lead you to the promised land. Register for PGA TOUR Pick ‘Em Live here and monitor Rob’s and Glass’ progress as Influencers. For a broader explanation of the format and FAQs, click here. TOURNAMENT TO WIN Glass … Harry Higgs (+20000) As I noted in Horses for Courses, all three winners of the 3M Open opened at +12500, so starting on the fringes and working back is, again, the angle this week. Higgs has admitted he needs to put it gear as he looks to build on his T11 last week near Lake Tahoe. If lightning is NOT caught in a bottle, I’ll shake the dice again as the week moves on. Rob … Brice Garnett (+12500) I bettered Glass at St. Andrews but I deferred this week’s opening kickoff because his narrative deserves top billing. The 3M Open is a platinum opportunity for us. The extremely gradual rise on the outrights board eliminates everyone at +6000 and shorter until the 36-hole cut falls. Keep scrolling. I’ll also stick with the trend at TPC Twin Cities. Garnett has made very little noise all season, but he’s fresh off a T16 at the Barracuda Championship where he was the only golfer in the top 30 to lose point – one point to be exact – in the final round. When he’s on, it’s all about piling up scoring opportunities, and that’s the ticket this week. He’s 3-for-3 in this tournament with a pair of top 25s and a scoring average of 68.25. TOP 10 Rob … Cole Hammer (+2000) I’ll retake the honor here, thank you. So, even though PointsBet had a market for top 10s ahead of the finale of The Open Championship, the bet didn’t unlock on this page, so I was stuck with Joohyung Kim and his T47. That’s the common experience for the Top 20 bet where I will continue to play it safer, but now it’s fair to wonder if it’s going to happen again in this lane. (I was up until 2:00 a.m. PT on Sunday when the 2-balls were uploaded.) All of that is to say that, while I want to see what the kid can do, he’ll be on a pitch count. Former University of Texas teammate Pierceson Coody already is a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, but Hammer beat Coody on the KFT last week, T7-MC, so he arrives with some momentum into Minnesota. He’s one of my Sleepers. As bananas as it seems for Hammer to convert on this target, consider that Matthew Wolff also has just turned pro before he broke through for victory in the inaugural 3M Open in 2019. Glass … Austin Cook (+1500) Thankfully I have an early alarm bell on Saturday for TRAVEL SPORTS so I should find the sweet spot to reload, if necessary. Cook has snapped off five paydays in his last five events and can get the putter hot on command. It doesn’t hurt that he’s 14th in fairways hit with tough short grass to find. TOP 20 Glass … Scott Gutschewski (+600) Sometimes you need a map and a compass when searching for value. I’m going to start with a guy who picked up his first top five on TOUR last week. Let’s find hot, stay hot and maybe get hotter! Rob … Cole Hammer (+900) Keeping it simple in piggybacking the Top 10. When courses aren’t terribly difficult, the inexperienced have a better chance to contend, and I’m relying on his strong week in Illinois as a springboard. ROUND 1 LEADER Rob … Adam Svensson (+6000) This likely is the first time that the No. 1 in my Power Rankings goes out in the first threesome of the day, so that prevents me from overthinking it. (Despite rumors, there’s no truth that I arranged this.) By the time I’m awake and alert, he’ll be on his inward side, so I won’t hesitate to pivot. Thursday will present the age-old debate about whether you want your charge to go out on the easier side when the wind is down and come home on the harder when it freshens, or the opposite. Relative to par, the back nine of TPC Twin Cities is easier, but that’s in part because two of the three par 5s on the course are Nos. 12 and 18. Svensson begins on No. 1. Conventional wisdom suggests that you want your guy on the easier side when the breezes are up, but this course isn’t challenging enough to make a significant difference. My philosophy always has been to tilt toward playing the easier side when the wind lays down because he’s more likely to go lower in the meantime and hang on (at worst) on the rest. Sure, some will prove that wrong, but you’ll get a subset of guys on the opposite side of the course also disobeying the intent. Either way, commit to your shot and learn from it. Glass … Sungjae Im (+3300) Fairways, greens and putts for birdies. I’m riding a simple formula with a guy who, when he’s in the mood, has no problem racking up par breakers. Tee 10 at 7:23 a.m. CT doesn’t hurt my angle. It also gives me all morning/afternoon to jump to a hotter horse. If necessary. NOTE: While Glass and Rob typically stick with their selections as detailed in Pick ‘Em Preview, they are allowed the right to make changes at any time.
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MVP Stanton, Buxton lift AL to 9th ASG win in rowMVP Stanton, Buxton lift AL to 9th ASG win in row
Giancarlo Stanton took home All-Star MVP honors after his 457-foot blast powered the American League to its ninth straight victory in the All-Star Game.