How Dustin Johnson got his second major in a one-of-a-kind Masters

The category: Former University of Georgia golfers. Get your buzzers ready. The answer for $200: This two-time PGA TOUR winner is making his 200th career start at this week’s RSM Classic. Please respond in the form of a question. The correct response: Who is Harris English? OK, so Alex Trebek hasn’t really offered up that category on “Jeopardy!â€� – at least not yet. But if he does, it’s a good bet that English will be watching (and, of course, voicing his response ahead of the three actual contestants). English is a huge fan of the popular game show, which is no surprise considering his educational background. He made the Southeastern Conference All-Academic honor roll in each of his four years at Georgia and graduated with a degree in Consumer Economics. While he’s never been on “Jeopardy!,â€� English could certainly hold his own if given the opportunity – and, no, he wouldn’t have to rely on running the table in his go-to category of sports. With all sorts of random facts stored in his brain, he could quickly spit out the answers in more challenging areas. “It could be like a science — stuff you have learned in high school or college, but I can regurgitate the information,â€� English said. “But I like the random categories like ‘Potpourri.’ That can be about anything, really.â€� Of course, there are some categories, English wouldn’t buzz in on. Take “Opera,â€� for example, or “Shakespeare.â€� Of course, most of us would say the same. The self-described “fanaticâ€� of “Jeopardy!â€� has watched the long-running TV show since he was a kid. He’s a big fan of trivia nights, too, and has won several competitions while playing with his buddies. “My mom would always cook dinner and then as a family, we just kind of watched the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘Jeopardy!’â€� he recalled, adding that his father was probably the best at playing the games. “It was kind of our time as a family. “I just love trivia. It kind of stuck to me as a kid and I still watch it.â€� When he has an off-week and is back home in Sea Island, Georgia, he likes to square off against his wife, Helen. He says they are on par with each other when it comes to the game. “We’ll sit down and that’s kind of our thing is to watch ‘Jeopardy!’ and kind of compete against each other in a fun way,â€� English says. “That’s cool. It sounds a little cheesy, but it’s fun. “We’ll just sit on the couch and kind of yell out the answer. Obviously, it you get it wrong it doesn’t mean anything, but it’s fun to guess.â€� On a good night, English said he may get up to nine questions right. No doubt he would have cleaned up that recent night when all three contestants missed – dare we say, fumbled — all five football questions. They didn’t know what a fair catch, offsetting penalties or an option play was. They couldn’t tell you what football team Tom Landry coached or who the Purple People Eaters were. And to make matters funnier – they didn’t even try to guess. Click here to watch the video. The huge Georgia and Atlanta Falcons fan missed that episode. But English is well acquainted with Ken Jennings, who won 74 consecutive “Jeopardy!â€� games and nearly $3.2 million. And he watched Eddie Timanus, the first blind contestant on the show who won five games in 1999 and has returned for four other Tournament of Champions shows, most recently in 2014. “It’s just kind of cool these guys that get on some runs,â€� English said. “It’s pretty cool to watch.â€� English says he and his wife often do the game-show double and watch “Wheel of Fortune,â€� too. But he’d be the first to admit he’s not as good at that TV show where contestants solve word puzzles. “Some of those confuse me a little bit when they do the crosswords,â€� he says. “We will usually do both, but mainly ‘Jeopardy!’ is our thing.â€� Ask English what a good “Jeopardy!â€� question featuring him would be and he’s stumped. There are options, to be sure. He marks his ball with a 1989 quarter, for one, because it’s the year in which he was born. His bucket list includes skydiving, flying in an F16 and driving a NASCAR vehicle. Maybe, he finally says, it could be about where he grew up – English was born in Valdosta, Georgia; lived in nearby Quitman for a while and then moved to Moultrie when he was 5 years old. “So I’ve been around a little bit, but a lot of people considered like Thomasville or Valdosta where I’m from,â€� he says. “But it was really Moultrie where I grew up, I guess.â€� See, even he isn’t sure of the right answer, Alex. Thankfully, it was not Final Jeopardy!

Click here to read the full article…

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Justin Thomas looked anything but a winner. Slumped in the interview chair. Tired. A little disheveled. Without a smile. The only clue he’d just won for the 12th time on the PGA TOUR was the beautiful glass trophy shaped in a wave with a whale tail diving in sitting on the floor next to him. Thomas had, in fact, just won the Sentry Tournament of Champions, for the second time no less, to take ownership as the most prolific TOUR winner of those in their 20s. It took three extra holes, but he had indeed prevailed over Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele. He could be forgiven for his lethargy. The final few hours of a tough week which included wild winds and weather throughout were brutal on his nerves. He’d looked anything but a winner on the last few holes in regulation and even early in the playoff, just as he did now. And the emotional rollercoaster had worn him down. It’s hard to fathom your achievements in those circumstances so instantaneously. Earlier he had looked a winner for sure. Starting the day one back of Schauffele, he wrestled the lead at the ninth hole as he went through a stretch of four straight birdies (8-11) to extend his buffer. The lead was two with three holes to play, but a bogey on 16 cut it in half. Still, on the last, the par-5 finisher, Thomas had a one-shot advantage. He hit a poor drive but then inexplicably hit his second shot into the penalty area when he could have laid up safely. When he missed his eight-foot par putt, he thought it was over. Related: Leaderboard | What’s in Thomas’ bag? But Schauffele missed from closer and a playoff it would be. He dodged Reed missing putts to win on the first and second playoff holes before making birdie on the third to clinch. “The emotions and how I was winning and then I was barely winning and then I was losing and then I barely got in a playoff… that takes a lot out of you. I probably don’t seem as elated as I might be or as I would hope to be,â€� Thomas confirmed. “But it’ll just take a little bit. Once I get back to the hotel hopefully with my family, I’ll be able to enjoy it a little bit and we’ll talk about it. But relief is definitely a word that comes to mind. “I truly felt like through 15 holes it was one of the best rounds I had played. I was in such control tee to green. I was putting it beautifully, my irons were awesome, and I hit a really good drive on 16, just the wind took it more, and then 18 was just a disaster. I really didn’t hit very many good shots on the hole. But it worked out.â€� In winning, Thomas rocketed to the top of the FedExCup standings. He joined Tiger Woods (34) and Jack Nicklaus (20) as the only players with 12 or more PGA TOUR wins before the age of 27 in the last 60 years. It is his second win this season, and third in his last six TOUR starts. And he joined Stuart Appleby (3), Geoff Ogilvy (2) and Dustin Johnson (2) as multiple winners of the Sentry Tournament of Champions since the event moved to The Plantation Course at Kapalua in 1999. Thomas had started the week saying he was disappointed he hadn’t won more. Now he is on his way to rectifying that. “It means a lot. A decent amount of them I got fortunate like I did today. That’s what happens when you win. Stuff goes your way,â€� Thomas said. “It’s not supposed to be that hard. I know it’s hard, but I made it about five times as hard as it needed to be. Obviously you have to play well and make some putts and hit some shots, but at the end of the day, you need stuff to go your way, and it definitely did today, and it feels great. “It’s another one down. I want to keep building on that, and I feel like I’m really just trying to get better every year, and we’re improving in some of the right areas. Next week we will try to get to 13.â€� Of course the last time he won at Kapalua, in 2017, he almost let it slip to Hideki Matsuyama. But he went to the Sony Open and started with a 59. He would win that event with a record-low score. Perhaps if he recreates that, we might see a bigger grin.

Click here to read the full article…

PGA TOUR bettors have jumped on Muirfield Village specialist Jon Rahm ahead of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday but Ireland’s Shane Lowry leads the handle tally at BetMGM in the leadup to the elevated invitational event hosted by Jack Nicklaus. Rahm has shown recent dominance in the event, winning in 2020 by three shots and then fashioning a six-shot lead through three rounds in 2021 only to be forced to withdraw following a positive COVID-19 test result. Course history is a proven trend at Muirfield Village which also places a premium on finding the fairway and hitting good iron shots, more so than putting. Rahm ranks No. 1 on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green this season. Because of this, and being ranked No. 2 in the world, it’s no surprise the Spaniard has the best golf odds to win this week at +1000. At BetMGM as of Tuesday, Rahm was pulling in the most tickets at 6.3% but the fourth-most handle at 7.8%. Regarding handle, Lowry (+2500) and Hideki Matsuyama (+2800) were pulling in the most money, with Lowry at 12% and Matsuyama right behind at 10.3%. Lowry enters in great form – three top-3 finishes in his last 11 worldwide starts as well as a T-6 finish at the tournament last year – while Matsuyama won the event in 2014 and has three finishes of T-13 or better since. Japan’s superstar has been up-and-down this year, though, which may scare away some bettors. Current Handle & Tickets Handle 1. Shane Lowry – 12% 2. Hideki Matsuyama – 10.3% 3. Collin Morikawa – 8.8% 4. Jon Rahm – 7.8% 5. Patrick Cantlay – 7.3% Tickets 1. Jon Rahm – 6.3% 2. Collin Morikawa – 5.6% 3. Cameron Smith – 5.1% 4. Jordan Spieth – 5.1% 5. Patrick Cantlay – 4.6% According to the odds, Rory McIlroy is the second favorite at +1100 but he was only pulling in 3.8% of the tickets and 3.1% of the handle. Collin Morikawa (+2000) is BetMGM’s biggest liability. He’s had some success at Muirfield Village as a runner-up last year while he also won the Workday Charity Open, which was held at the course in 2020 during the COVID-19 affected schedule. Last year’s winner, Patrick Cantlay, has tightened from +1800 to +1600, but the FedExCup champion is coming off a missed cut at the PGA Championship. * Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. BetMGM is available in AZ, CO, DC, IA, IN, IL, LA, MI, MS, NJ, NV, NY, PA, TN, VA, WV, or WY only. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Paid in free bets. Free bets expire in 7 days from issuance. Minimum deposit required. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO, DC, LA, NV, WY, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (IN, NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA) or call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), call or text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN) or call 1-888-777-9696 (MS). Sports betting is void where prohibited. Promotional offers not available in Nevada.

Click here to read the full article…