Local sports schedule
TODAY MHAL BASEBALL Highland at Roosevelt, 4:15 p.m. Spackenkill at Dover, 4:15 p.m. Marlboro at Saugerties, 4:15 p.m. Ellenville at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. MHAL SOFTBALL Highland at Roosevelt, 4:15 p.m. Spackenkill at Dover, 4:15 p.m. Marlboro at Saugerties, 4:15 p.m. Ellenville at Onteora, 4:15 p.m. MHAL BOYS TENNIS Ellenville at Coleman Catholic, 3:30 p.m. Marlboro at Saugerties, 4:15 p.m. Red Hook at New Paltz, 4:15 p.m. Rondout at Pine Plains, 4:15 p.m. OCIAA BASEBALL Monroe-Woodbury at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA SOFTBALL Newburgh at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA BOYS GOLF Monroe-Woodbury at Kingston, 4 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS GOLF Kingston at Valley Central, 3 p.m. Ellenville, Marlboro at Onteora, 3 p.m. OCIAA BOYS LACROSSE Kingston at Warwick, 4 p.m. Newburgh at Roosevelt, 4:30 p.m. Rhinebeck at O’Neill, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS LACROSSE Highland at Saugerties, 4 p.m. Warwick at Roosevelt, 5 p.m. OCIAA BOYS TENNIS Cornwall at Kingston, 4 p.m. SCHOLASTIC TRACK & FIELD Louck Games at White Plains, 5 p.m. NON-LEAGUE BASEBALL New Paltz at Webutuck, 4:15 p.m. Red Hook at Wallkill, 4:15 p.m. NON-LEAGUE SOFTBALL Goshen at Wallkill, 4:15 p.m. COLLEGIATE GOLF Mid-Hudson Conference match at Sullivan, 1 p.m. FRIDAY MHAL BASEBALL Webutuck at Ellenville, 4:15 p.m. Millbrook at Rhinebeck, 4:15 p.m. MHAL SOFTBALL Highland at Roosevelt, 4:15 p.m. Webutuck at Ellenville, 4:15 p.m. Millbrook at Rhinebeck, 4:15 p.m. MHAL BOYS TENNIS Pine Plains at New Paltz, 4:15 p.m. OCIAA BASEBALL Kingston at Valley Central (resumption of May 3 suspended game), 4:30 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS GOLF New Paltz at Highland, p.m. Marlboro at Dover, 4 p.m. OCIAA BOYS LACROSSE New Paltz at Burke Catholic, 4 p.m. Highland at Rhinebeck, 4:30 p.m. Red Hook at Millbrook, 4:30 p.m. Washingtonville at Wallkill, 6 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS LACROSSE Kingston at Goshen, 4 p.m. Red Hook at New Paltz, 4:30 p.m. Roosevelt at O’Neill, 5 p.m. SCHOLASTIC TRACK & FIELD The Shen Invitational, 4 p.m. Pine Bush Invitational Relays, 5 p.m. NON-LEAGUE BASEBALL O’Neill at Wallkill, 4:30 p.m. SATURDAY NPSL MEN’S SOCCER Rhode Island Reds vs. Kingston Stockade FC at Dietz Stadium, 6 p.m. MHAL BASEBALL Conference finals at Cantine & Lorenz Field, Saugerties, 10 a.m. Championship at Cantine Field, 1 p.m. MHAL SOFTBALL Conference finals at Highland, 10 a.m. Championship at Tony Williams Park, Highland, noon OCIAA BOYS LACROSSE Kingston at Cornwall, 10 a.m. Wallkill at Newburgh, 4:30 p.m. SCHOLASTIC TRACK & FIELD Middletown Invitational, 9 a.m. Royal Comet Invitational at Rush-Henrietta, 10 a.m. Parkhurst Invitational at Union Endicott, noon NON-LEAGUE BASEBALL Arlington at Roosevelt, 11 a.m. NON-LEAGUE SOFTBALL Onteora at Monticello Tournament, 10 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. NON-LEAGUE BOYS LACROSSE Glens Falls at Rondout, 1 p.m. Haldane at Roosevelt, 3 p.m. SUNDAY No events scheduled. MONDAY MHAL BASEBALL Webutuck at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. MHAL SOFTBALL Webutuck at Millbrook, 4:15 p.m. Spackenkill at Highland, 4:15 p.m. MHAL BOYS TENNIS Championship tournament at Bard, 9 a.m. OCIAA BASEBALL Warwick at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA SOFTBALL Middletown at Kingston, 4:30 p.m. OCIAA GIRLS GOLF Liberty at Marlboro, 3 p.m. Monroe-Woodbury at Kingston, 4 p.m.
PGA Rickie Fowler is back at the site of his greatest victory, the one that was supposed to catapult his career.
He returns to the Players Championship with just one PGA Tour win since that dramatic closing performance on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in 2015.
He finished birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie to force a playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner, and then won on the fourth extra hole. Fowler showed the kind of back-nine resolve that’s been missing too often during his young career.
The 29-year-old Fowler flashed it again during the final round at the Masters last month, making five birdies over the final 11 holes and putting pressure on winner Patrick Reed. But, once again, Fowler came up oh-so short.
“I feel like we’ve had some good chances,” Fowler said Tuesday. “It would have been nice to have a few better finishes . ... I feel like we’re in a great spot. Just get a couple things straightened out, minor tweaks, and it will be a fun week.”
Fowler will try to become the seventh to win the Players multiple times, joining Jack Nicklaus, Fred Couples, Steve Elkington, Hal Sutton, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods. Those six all have something Fowler is still chasing: A major.
“To be talked about as one of the best players or however you want to put it without a major, I think it’s a compliment,” Fowler said. “Obviously I have some work to do to get off that list. I think we’ve done a great job this year of showing that I’m ready to go win a major . ...
“I’m ready to go out there and be the last man standing. I think this is a year we have some great chances.”
Between the links-style setup at Shinnecock Hills (U.S. Open) in New York and the always-challenging Carnoustie (British Open) in Scotland, Fowler’s stellar ball-striking should make him one of the favorites.
“It’s time to get myself off that list,” Fowler said.
Close friend and contemporary, Jordan Spieth, a three-time major winner at age 24, believes Fowler’s breakthrough is near.
“If you win here, you can win anywhere else,” said Spieth, who has missed three consecutive cuts at the Players. “There is no added thing that any other tournament brings that this tournament doesn’t have. Therefore, guys like Rickie, who kind of catches some slack for having not won a major yet, essentially he’s won what’s harder to win than a major: The Players.”
The most daunting part of Fowler’s challenge might be his early round grouping.
Fowler will play Thursday and Friday alongside fan favorites Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods , creating a mega group that will garner massive galleries and far more attention than any other. The tight layout of the Stadium Course could create even more chaos.