Rahm makes 65-foot putt to win a thriller at BMW
Even with a pair of silver trophies in his possession, Jon Rahm still couldn’t believe what happened Sunday in the BMW Championship. And he only saw half of it.
Rahm was on the range on the other side of the Olympia Fields clubhouse, preparing for a playoff that no one really expected, when Dustin Johnson rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt down the ridge for birdie to force a playoff.
Moments later, Rahm faced a putt even longer and more difficult on the 18th — just outside 65 feet that he had to send at nearly a 90-degree angle to the top of the ridge. From there, it was a replay of Johnson’s putt as it headed down the slope, kissed off the pin and disappeared into the cup.
“I still can’t believe what just happened,” he said.
Neither could Johnson, going for his second straight victory. He could only laugh, at his putt and Rahm’s winner.
“I played an unbelievable putt, got in the playoff and then Jon made an even more ridiculous putt on top of me,” said Johnson, who at least kept his No. 1 ranking in the world and in the Fedex Cup.
The putts overshadowed a command performance by Rahm, who closed with a 66-64 weekend on an Olympia Fields course that played like the toughest test in golf. His only bogey on the weekend came on the fifth hole Saturday when he spaced out and picked up his golf ball from the green without marking it.
Rahm tore through the back nine Sunday on his way to a 64, the lowest round of the week, to finish at 4-under-par 276.
Johnson, a 54-hole leader for his third straight tournament and coming off an 11shot victory he previous week at the TPC Boston, birdied three of his opening four holes to open a three-shot lead, dropped a pair of shots around the turn and then delivered in the clutch with his 45-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 67.
Tiger Woods made double bogey on his 17th hole for a 71, making this the first time he was over par in all four rounds of a tournament since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2010. Woods failed to reach the Tour Championship for the second straight year.
Jaguars waive Fournette after failing to trade him
The Jaguars waived running back Leonard Fournette on Monday, a stunning decision many outsiders view as the latest in a series of head scratchers that could help Jacksonville tank the season and get the No. 1 draft pick.
The Jaguars spent months trying to trade Fournette, the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft who’s coming off a career year. He was on the block during the NFL draft and again over the summer.
So they dumped the 25-year-old former LSU star one day after trading former Pro Bowl defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2021 and a conditional fifth-rounder in 2020. Jacksonville also traded Jalen Ramsey, fellow cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Calais Campbell in the last 10 months.
Fournette is due $4.17 million in guaranteed salary this season if someone claims him. If he clears waivers, he would become a free agent.
Arizona linebacker transfers to Texas Tech to play this fall
Former Arizona linebacker Colin Schooler will be eligible to play immediately this fall at Texas Tech after leaving the Pac-12 team for which he started the past three seasons.
The Pac-12 has opted against playing football this fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Big 12 plans to play a reduced, 10-game schedule that starts Sept. 12.
New Albany’s Di Lorenzo suffers tough loss at US Open
Former Ohio State tennis player Francesca Di Lorenzo lost in the firstround of the U.S. Open on Monday. The New Albany resident was two points from victory in a second-set tiebreaker but lost 6-2, 6-7 (8-6), 6-0 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.
Di Lorenzo, ranked 129th in the world, advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open the past two years. Sasnovich is ranked 106th.
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Anhelina Kalinina.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber eliminated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, 6-4. Kerber won the 2016 U.S. Open but lost in the first round a year ago. She used to be ranked No. 1 and is seeded 17th in New York.
Ewan slaloms to sprint win; Alaphilippe leads Tour de France
Australian rider Caleb Ewan slalomed through the bunch to win a sprint finish and claim the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday.
Julian Alaphilippe of France held onto the yellow jersey that he claimed with a dramatic stage victory a day earlier.
With about 100 meters to go, Ewan trailed five other riders before slinging himself through a narrow slice of road near the advertising barriers. Then, after more than five hours in the saddle, Ewan darted to the left to overcome Sam Bennett and claim his fourth career stage win in the Tour by more than a wheel.
Alaphilippe crossed with the main pack and retained a four-second lead over Adam Yates, with Marc Hirschi still third overall, seven seconds behind.
The route featured four minor climbs before a flat finish suited to sprinters.
Morris leads Sounders past Los Angeles FC
Jordan Morris scored two goals less than a minute apart early in the second half, and Seattle rolled past Los Angeles FC 3-1 on Sunday night in the Sounders’
first home match in five months.
In another game Sunday night, Anibal Godoy scored his first goal in three years, Joe Willis had five saves, and host Nashville beat Inter Miami 1-0 in a matchup of expansion teams.
Sheldon Creed wins $100,000 bonus with Trucks victory
Sheldon Creed beat Sam Mayer on a restart with 13 laps to go Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, to win his third Truck Series race of the season and a $100,000 bonus.
Creed’s victory pushed his bonus earnings to $150,000 this year in the Triple Truck Challenge. He won two of three races in the challenge.
Brett Moffitt finished second and was followed by Austin Hill, Sam Mayer and Stewart Friesen.
Ernst shoots 63 to win LPGA event in Arkansas
Austin Ernst rallied to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour title, closing with an 8-under-par 63 for a two-stroke victory over Anna Nordqvist.
ASSOCIATED PRESS