Fowler, Day keep hopes of extending their season
Rickie Fowler and Jason Day faced enough stress just to make sure they got into the PGA Tour's postseason. Now that they're here, they want to keep going.
Fowler had a change of caddies and putters and finally started to see some putts fall, though still not enough to his liking. Day recovered from a spiked fever and burning sensation in his eyes and played bogey-free Thursday at the TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn. Both had a 5-under 65.
That wasn't good enough to lead the FedEx St. Jude Championship, only to hope.
Si Woo Kim holed out from 167 yards in the 18th fairway for eagle to cap off a superb finish of 6-under par on his last six holes, giving him a 62 and a share of the lead with J.J. Spaun.
Sahith Theegala, who could make a strong case for PGA Tour rookie of the year, holed a 30-foot putt on his final hole for a 63. Among those another shot back was Tony Finau, coming off two straight victories. It was Finau's 10th consecutive round at 68 or lower.
But as the FedEx Cup playoffs begin, the emphasis is as much on who advances. Only the top 70 from the 125 players who qualified advance to the BMW Championship next week, and then the top 30 move on to the finale at East Lake.
Fowler made it on the number — No. 125 — and needs his best golf of the last two years to get through to the next round.
“Nothing to lose,” Fowler said. “Being 125, obviously need to play well just to make it to next week, but it would be a big bonus if we can do that and move on. Kind of leave it all out there, see what happens, but definitely happy with the start.”
Day and Fowler were outside the top 125 three weeks ago until the PGA Tour decided that players suspended for going over to Saudi-funded LIV Golf should not count in the standings. That improved them nine spots, and Day also was helped by a 66 on the final day in Detroit to tie for 17th and secure his spot in the postseason.
That was a good thing, too, because last week he opened with a 67 and then had to withdraw with an illness. He knew he was in trouble when he fell asleep at breakfast before the next round. His eyes were burning. His fever spiked. Day wasn't sure how bad the fever was, but he checked his temperature the next day when he felt much better and it was 101 degrees.
The big takeaway was that he felt he was trending in the right direction, and the game felt that way on a soft, muggy morning that feature occasional light rain.
Day and Fowler were in a tie for eighth, not quite enough for either to advance on a day when the average score was 68.6. There's a long way to go.
Kim and Spaun are both assured of playing next week. Spaun began the postseason at No. 25 on the strength of his first PGA Tour title at the Valero Texas Open.
• Scotland's Ewen Ferguson set the course record with a 9-under 61 to open a four-shot lead after the first round of the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Ballymena, Nothern Ireland.
Ferguson chipped in for eagle on the 10th and 18th and added five birdies in his flawless opening day at Galgorm Castle Golf Club, one of two courses used for the event that features men's and women's tournaments taking place simultaneously.
The tournament is trisanctioned with the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour. The men and women play from different tees and compete separately, with two equal prize funds of $1.5 million each.
Players will complete 18 holes at Galgorm Castle and 18 at Massereene Golf Club before a halfway cut — to the top 60 and ties — is made in each tournament, with a further cut after 54 holes to the top 35 players and ties.
Amanda Doherty of the United States led the women's tournament after a 6-under 67 that included seven birdies and a single bogey at Galgorm Castle.
Michigan State's Izzo gets extension, raise
Michigan State signed coach Tom Izzo to a new deal valued at $6.2 million per season, giving him about $2 million more each year.
The school announced the deal, saying that the five-year rollover contract will need to be approved by its board next month.
Izzo, 67, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016, won a national championship in 2000 and leads all active coaches with eight Final Four appearances. He led Michigan State to a Big Tenrecord 24th straight NCAA Tournament last season. He has won the Big Ten title 10 times in the regular season and six conference tournament championships.
Diggins-Smith to miss Phoenix's last 2 games
Skylar Diggins-Smith will miss Phoenix's final two regular-season games due to personal reasons, putting the Mercury's playoff bid in jeopardy.
Diggins-Smith leads the Mercury with 19.7 points and 5.5 assists per game as they try to gain one of the final two WNBA playoff spots.
Phoenix lost former league MVP Diana Taurasi for the rest of the season to a quad strain last week and has played all year without center Brittney Griner, who has been detained on drug charges in Russia.
Ducks' McTavish stars in world juniors
Captain Mason McTavish, an Anaheim Ducks prospect, had four goals and two assists and Canada routed Slovakia 11-1 to improve to 2-0 in the world junior hockey championship in Edmonton, Alberta.
McTavish, 19, matched the Canadian record for goals in a game in the tournament. Other players who have accomplished the feat include Mario Lemieux (1984), Brayden Schenn (2011) and Maxime Comtois (2019).
• Vegas Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner will require hip surgery and is expected to miss the upcoming season, the team said. Lehner started 44 games for the Golden Knights last season and finished 23-172. He has a 152–141–49 record and .917 save percentage over his NHL career.
• Tenth-seeded Coco Gauff outlasted sixthseeded Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4) to reach the National Bank Open tennis tournament quarterfinals in Toronto. Gauff will face Romania's Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.
• Fourth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway advanced to the National Bank Open quarterfinals in Montreal, beating No. 14 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4.
La Verne girls survive in World Series
The La Verne all-star team beat the Northwest Region champion from Issaquah, Wash., 7-1, Thursday, earning the right to play another game at the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, N.C.
La Verne, the West Region champion, broke a 1-1 tie with six runs in the sixth and final inning. La Verne took advantage of two errors and an intentional walk in the rally.
Laney Sweeney hit into a fielder's choice to drive in the tie-breaking run for La Verne. Sofia Ayaberrano hit into another fielder's choice, scoring another run. Zoey Coburn followed with a pinch-hit, two-run single to break the game open.
Katie Coldiron pitched a complete game for La Verne, allowing three hits and striking out four.
La Verne will play at 7a.m. (PT) today against host North Carolina, which beat Latin America on Thursday, 8-0. La Verne beat North Carolina in its opening game, 9-2.