Russell, 15, gets invite to make PGA Tour debut

Sometimes the biggest golf news comes courtesy of tennis. Such was the case at the U.S. Open on Wednesday night as Tiger Woods cheered on Serena Williams. The 23-time major champion Williams has announced her intention to “evolve” away from professional tennis but on this night defeated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. The cameras caught Woods clapping and throwing uppercuts with every thunderous winner, and afterward he wrote on social media, “It was a privilege to watch greatness.” Williams and Woods have been friends for a while, and when Woods came back from injuries to win the 2019 Masters, it was Williams who cheered him on, posting congratulations on social media. Now, though, the spotlight is on Williams, with Woods doing the cheering. That she is even playing at all owes partly to the 82-time PGA TOUR winner. In a first-person essay that ran in Vogue early last month, Williams announced she was headed toward retirement. “I don’t want it to be over,” she wrote, “but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.” She also cited Woods’ influence in her decision to return to the game last spring: “He’s Tiger, and he was adamant that I be a beast the same way he is!” Williams, 40, helped break a night-session record with 29,959 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium to catch her second-round match. In addition to Woods, celebrities in attendance included Zendaya, Spike Lee, Gladys Knight, Seal, Anthony Anderson, and Anna Wintour. It was Williams’ 103rd win at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the most of any player. She and her sister Venus are scheduled to play doubles Thursday night before Serena takes on Ajla Tomljanovic in a third-round singles match Friday.

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NASSAU, Bahamas – With players making moves all around him, 36-hole leader Patrick Reed was spinning his wheels with 10 straight pars in the third round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club. Then things got worse. Reed hit into a bad lie in an unraked portion of the waste area at the par-5 11th hole, and grounded his club with a sand wedge, which is legal. But in taking a few practice swings, he brushed the sand away from behind the ball, seeming to improve his lie as NBC Golf Channel’s cameras captured and replayed the entire sequence. “He not only did it once,â€� Dan Hicks said from the broadcast booth, “he did it twice.â€� Related: Leaderboard “That is a way better lie than he had,â€� Paul Azinger added. All that was left was for Rules officials to review the footage and assess a penalty, or not. Reed birdied three of the final five holes to salvage an even-par 72 before being told he would in fact be penalized. With two strokes added to his score, it became a 74 as he went from 12 under and a shot off the lead to 10 under and three back going into Saturday’s final round.  After being shown the tape, Reed called it something “I didn’t intentionally do.â€� He said it took four or five minutes to review the incident with Rules officials. He was ultimately penalized for improving the line of play. “You cannot remove or press down loose soil or sand, that’s the bottom line,â€� said PGA TOUR Vice President of Rules and Competitions Slugger White.  Reed took the news well, White said. “Intent would not matter here,â€� he added. “After seeing the video,” Reed said, “it’s a two-stroke penalty. I accept that.”

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