Jaguars announce plans for 25 percent capacity
DUBLIN, Ohio — Among the lessons Collin Morikawa took away from missing his first cut as a pro was that his reliable cut shot had left him. He found at it Muirfield Village, and it sent him to a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Workday Charity Open.
Morikawa ran off four straight birdies after making the turn Friday, finished with another birdie after the first of two storm delays and shot 6under 66.
He was six shots ahead when he finished. He was four shots ahead over Sam Burns when his side of the field finished. And it was down to three after some remarkable play by Justin Thomas (66) and Kevin Streelman (64) in surprisingly strong gusts that followed the storm.
Morikawa was at 13-under 131, one off the 36-hole course record set by Jason Dufner in 2017 at the Memorial.
Thomas hasn’t made a bogey all week and finished his round with an 8-foot birdie putt. Streelman reached 11 under until a bogey on the par-3 eighth near the end of his round. They will be in the final group today, which will be played in threesomes because a
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jimmie Johnson is just as confused as everyone else about his plight with the coronavirus. A positive test caused the seven-time NASCAR champion to miss the first race of his career, and it was followed three days later by a negative test.
He never suffered any symptoms and was tested only after his wife, bothered by seasonal allergies, received a positive test.
Was it a false positive? Were he and wife, Chani, carrying the virus for some time before their tests?
He has no answers. “There’s a lot of speculation there,” Johnson said Friday, a full week after testing positive. “I’m the most frustrated person out there, especially living in a world of facts that we do. To not have the facts drives me bananas.”
Johnson sat out last Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which snapped his streak of 663 consecutive starts, longest among active drivers. But he tested negative Monday and Tuesday and was cleared by NASCAR to race again this weekend at Kentucky Speedway.
That first negative test sent his constantly changing emotions to a different level.
“My first response was just anger. I started cussing and used every cuss word that I knew of and I think invented a few new ones,” Johnson said Friday. “It was just so weird — the anger — because I’ve been pair of 75-minute delays from thunderstorms meant the second round didn’t finish.
That means Brooks Koepka has to wait to see if his big finish paid off.
Starting with a near ace on the 12th hole, Koepka birdied five of his last seven holes, closing with a 40-foot birdie putt for a 69. That put him at 1under 143, and he left in a tie for 68th with more than 30 players unable to finish.
“That’s what you’ve got to do. I never give up, never think you’re out of it, and you’ve just got to battle through it no matter what you’re doing,” Koepka said. asymptomatic. Anger hits. And then speculation in my mind. And then it’s, ‘Wait a second, there is nothing good that can come of this. No one knows. I don’t know. It’s just time to move on.’
“Then I got very excited and starting looking at the facts that I’ve only missed one race,” he added. “I feel like I am more on the optimistic side of things and out of the dark head space that I was in and moving in the right direction.”
Both and he and his wife isolated from their two young daughters as he waited to be tested again. He said Chani Johnson feels fine and, aside from some allergies, is asymptomatic.
He is certain he is fit to race, and tested himself in the Colorado mountains this week.
“I feel great. I’ve been at altitude this entire time,” Johnson said. “I rode up to 10,500
The top 65 and ties advance and, with morning conditions, the cut was likely to stay at 2 under. Koepka signed his card and then decided to play the Memorial next week. He is out of the top 150 in the FedEx Cup with five tournaments left.
Sam Burns birdied his last three holes for a 66 and joined Hideki Matsuyama (68) four shots behind. Right behind was Viktor Hovland, who took advantage of the tee being moved up on the par-4 14th. His tee shot nearly went in and he settled for a tap-in eagle on his way to a 67.
Morikawa, with 15 birdies and an eagle through two feet on a bicycle and felt perfectly fine.”
Johnson is scheduled to retire from full-time NASCAR racing at the end of this season and had never missed a race in his 19-year Cup career before sitting out the Brickyard 400. The 44-year-old was required to have two negative COVID19 tests in a 24-hour span and be cleared by a doctor to return to racing.
NASCAR approved him to return to the No. 48 Chevrolet on Wednesday. He is 15th in the Cup standings, just inside the playoff cutoff mark, and he received a waiver for the championship race should he qualify.
He’s eager to get back to work after a trying week with his family.
“Just emotional and a journey that you go through worrying about your safety, your family’s safety, watching a
rounds, is making his debut at the course Jack Nicklaus built, and perhaps it’s no coincidence that Nicklaus was famous for hitting a cut.
“I had heard from a lot of people before, this course was going to suit a left-to-right shot, anyway,” Morikawa said. “Obviously, Jack hit that, and I think it does. But I’ve been able to leave myself some really good numbers into approach shots. I’ve been keeping myself in the fairway for the most part, and that obviously helps.” race with somebody else in your race car and the emotion that goes with that,” Johnson said. “Coming to grips with the reality of all that has been challenging, but I’ve always subscribed to growing through these tough moments, and I feel like I’m a smarter, stronger person today experiencing all this.”
NASCAR is not testing for COVID-19. Participants must answer a health questionnaire before and after each event, and a temperature screening is required before entering the venue. NASCAR has put the responsibility on its participants to monitor their own health, which Johnson did after his wife tested positive.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps last weekend said the series believes its procedures are working, and the sanctioning body has not revealed any testing results. Two teams have confirmed positive tests among unidentified employees, but Johnson is the only known driver to seek a test.
He declined to give his opinion on NASCAR’s protocols.
“I don’t know how to add clarity or advice in what changes need to take place,” he said. “I unfortunately feel that there’s a lot to still be learned in the professional and medical field on this and I, like everyone else, are eagerly awaiting on that instruction and that knowledge, a vaccine, better testing, better screening.
“There’s just more questions than answers for a lot of us. I certainly don’t have the answers for everybody.”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars announced plans Friday to play home games in front of a significantly reduced capacity this fall, and fans in attendance will be required to wear face coverings.
The team released details in an email to season-ticket holders, saying it expects about 25 percent capacity at TIAA Bank Field in 2020 “in compliance with state and local authorities and following CDC social distancing guidelines.”
“Once the season begins, any future increase in capacity will depend on developments on the health and safety front,” the Jaguars said.
The stadium’s capacity is listed at over 67,000.
Baltimore was the first team to announce plans for reduced capacity, saying Wednesday it plans to allow fewer than 14,000 fans at home games at M&T Bank Stadium in 2020.
The Jaguars are working with Ticketmaster to develop a new seating chart that allows for 6 feet of distance between unaffiliated parties. In early August, a new season ticket plan for 2020 will be introduced to existing season ticket members first.
Guests who choose to attend games will have to cover their faces as required by current local guidelines. The stadium also will transition to cashless payment for most purchases, including merchandise and food. positive for COVID-19 and went to the hospital after a recommendation by his doctor. His condition has improved and he’s expected to be released this weekend.
The team believes the 55year-old Bidwill caught the virus while traveling and spending time on the East Coast for several weeks. He’s been working remotely since March and the team says he hasn’t had in-person contact with coaches or players.