Rain delay
Liberty National avoided the brunt of the wind from Hurricane Henri but not the rain that forced the final round of the Northern Trust to be postponed until today with Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith tied for the lead after the third round.
GOLF Northern Trust delayed a day
Liberty National avoided the brunt of the wind from Hurricane Henri but not the rain that forced the final round of the Northern Trust to finish today. That was the hope, anyway. Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith finished the third round Saturday tied for the lead at 16-under 197, one shot ahead of Erik van Rooyen in the FedEx Cup playoff opener. The PGA Tour decided before the third round even began that Henri posed too much danger for players, spectators and volunteers to be at Liberty National on Sunday. Officials came to the course along the Hudson River and found the course to be in reasonable shape. The tour released tee times for 6:30 a.m. (Central Time) today with threesomes starting on both sides.
Pampling wins Boeing Classic
Rod Pampling won the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash., on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions victory when Jim Furyk and Woody Austin failed to get up-and-down for birdie from greenside bunkers on the par-5 18th. Pampling, playing five groups ahead of Furyk and Austin at Snoqualmie Ridge, shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 12-under 204. The 51-year-old Australian won three times on the PGA Tour, the last in 2017 in Las Vegas, and has two PGA Tour of Australasia wins. Furyk dropped a stroke back with a bogey on the par-3 17th after hitting well short of the green and chipping 8 feet past. He hit left into a greenside bunker on 18, sent his third across the green nearly to the fringe and missed a 20-footer. Austin, the second-round leader, took two to get out of a right-side bunker and made a bogey to drop to 10 under. Furyk had a 70 to tie for second with Tim Herron (67) and Billy Mayfair (69). Austin’s closing 72 left him tied for fifth with Alex Cejka (66). Glen Day (Little Rock) struggled on Sunday, shooting a 76 that left him with a 4-under 212 for the tournament. Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) finished with a 71 on Sunday for a 2-under 214.
Sigg tops in Korn Ferry
Greyson Sigg won the Boise Open to open the Korn Ferry Tour finals, shooting a 6-under 65 for a one-stroke victory over J.J. Spaun and Aaron Rai. Already headed to the PGA Tour next season as a top25 finisher in the regular-season points race, Sigg finished at 19-under 265 at Hillcrest Country Club and earned $180,000. The 26-year old former Georgia player also won in Knoxville in May. Spaun closed with a 66, and Rai shot 67. Taylor Moore (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished in a tie for 10th at 15 under. Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Razorbacks) tied for 32nd at 10 under and David Lingmerth (Razorbacks) tied for 73rd at 4 under.
Veerman first at Czech Masters
Johannes Veerman won the Czech Masters for his first European Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a two-stroke victory. The 29-year-old American finished at 15-under 273 at Albatross Golf Resort near Prague. Fellow American Sean Crocker (70) and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen (72) tied for second.
TENNIS Barty, Zverev notch wins
Ashleigh Barty bounced back from a disappointing loss at the Tokyo Olympics. Gold medalist Alexander Zverev carried over his momentum from Tokyo. Both are in fine form heading into the U.S. Open, which begins a week from today in New York. The topranked Barty won her fifth title of the season, taking eight of the last nine games from wild card Jil Teichmann for a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the Western & Southern Open final on Sunday. Zverev, too, had a relatively easy time in the Cincinnati final, winning the first four games en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev. The match lasted 58 minutes, a wel- come result for Zverev after a gruel- ing three-set semifinal victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday.
BASEBALL Rays place Cruz on IL
The Tampa Bay Rays placed designated hitter Nelson Cruz on the covid-19 injured list on Sunday. The move was announced about one hour before the Rays’ 9-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox in a matchup of AL division leaders. Tampa Bay also lost starting pitcher Chris Archer and first baseman Ji-Man Choi during the first two innings of the victory. The AL East-leading Rays started the day with 16 players, including 15 pitchers, on the IL. The 41-year-old Cruz, acquired from Minnesota last month, is hitting .198 with 7 home runs and 18 RBI in 24 games with Tampa Bay. The slugger has a .270 batting average with 26 home runs and 68 RBI for the season.
FOOTBALL Falcons QB out for season
An MRI of AJ McCarron’s right knee confirmed that the Atlanta Falcons quarterback suffered a season-ending ACL injury Saturday against the Dolphins. McCarron will miss the 2021 season. With the Falcons down 14-3, the offense was on the move. McCarron broke loose for a 7-yard gain and was tackled hard by Miami linebacker Sam Eguavoen. McCarron stayed in for another play before walking to the sideline. The trainers attended to him and assessed him in the blue tent before announcing that he had suffered a knee injury and would not return. It was unclear if he was hurt on the tackle or if it was a non-contact injury after handing off the ball. McCarron completed 3 of 6 passes for 36 yards before the injury. Feleipe Franks (Arkansas Razorbacks) took over at quarterback for the Falcons. He completed 4 of 9 passes for 46 yards and was sacked four times, including once for a safety. He also was intercepted.
Titans coach positive for covid
Tennessee Titans Coach Mike Vrabel said Sunday he has tested positive for covid-19 and has quarantined pending further testing. Vrabel told reporters he woke up with a sore throat and an earache. He went to the team headquarters Sunday morning to be tested, and the result came back positive. Another rapid test also turned up positive, so Vrabel was given a PCR test, which he expects will return today as positive. “This isn’t the first time that we’ve gone through this, so whatever the protocols are we’ll follow them exactly how they’re laid out,” said Vrabel, who disclosed this spring that he was vaccinated. The Titans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-3 in a preseason game Saturday night. They traveled to Florida on Tuesday and practiced jointly with the Buccaneers on Wednesday and Thursday.