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.
PGA TOUR-FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP
At TPC Southwind Memphis, Tenn. Purse:
Yardage:
First round
$15 million
7,243;
Par:
70
Si Woo Kim ............................... 34-28—62 -8 J.J. Spaun .................................. 32-30—62 -8 Sahith Theegala ....................... 31-32—63 -7 Tony Finau ................................ 32-32—64 -6 Kyoung-Hoon Lee .................... 30-34—64 -6 J.T. Poston ................................ 33-31—64 -6 Sepp Straka .............................. 32-32—64 -6 Sam Burns ................................ 32-33—65 -5 Jason Day ................................. 33-32—65 -5 Rickie Fowler ........................... 33-32—65 -5 Lucas Glover ............................ 35-30—65 -5 James Hahn .............................. 32-33—65 -5 Tyrrell Hatton .......................... 32-33—65 -5 Lee Hodges .............................. 32-33—65 -5 Troy Merritt .............................. 32-33—65 -5 Ryan Palmer ............................. 34-31—65 -5 Michael Thompson ................. 31-34—65 -5 Dylan Frittelli ........................... 34-32—66 -4 Brian Harman .......................... 34-32—66 -4 Max Homa ................................ 32-34—66 -4 Joohyung Kim .......................... 33-33—66 -4 Martin Laird ............................. 33-33—66 -4 Denny McCarthy ..................... 33-33—66 -4 Trey Mullinax ........................... 32-34—66 -4 Taylor Pendrith ........................ 31-35—66 -4 Andrew Putnam ...................... 33-33—66 -4 Adam Scott .............................. 31-35—66 -4 Adam Svensson ....................... 34-32—66 -4 Aaron Wise ............................... 32-34—66 -4 Patrick Cantlay ......................... 31-36—67 -3 Wyndham Clark ....................... 33-34—67 -3 Corey Conners ......................... 34-33—67 -3 Cameron Davis ........................ 34-33—67 -3 Emiliano Grillo ......................... 34-33—67 -3 Viktor Hovland ........................ 33-34—67 -3 Mackenzie Hughes ................. 33-34—67 -3 David Lipsky ............................. 34-33—67 -3 Maverick McNealy .................. 33-34—67 -3 Taylor Moore ............................ 34-33—67 -3 Collin Morikawa ...................... 35-32—67 -3 Mito Pereira ............................. 35-32—67 -3 Jon Rahm .................................. 35-32—67 -3 Chez Reavie .............................. 32-35—67 -3 Cameron Smith ....................... 33-34—67 -3 Robert Streb ............................ 35-32—67 -3 Justin Thomas ......................... 33-34—67 -3 Jhonattan Vegas ..................... 35-32—67 -3 Cameron Young ....................... 30-37—67 -3 Keegan Bradley ....................... 32-36—68 -2 Matt Fitzpatrick ...................... 33-35—68 -2 Russell Henley ......................... 36-32—68 -2 Billy Horschel ........................... 36-32—68 -2 Beau Hossler ............................ 34-34—68 -2 Shane Lowry ............................ 36-32—68 -2 Keith Mitchell .......................... 35-33—68 -2 Sebastian Munoz .................... 35-33—68 -2 Sam Ryder ................................ 36-32—68 -2 Xander Schauffele .................. 34-34—68 -2 Matthias Schwab ..................... 37-31—68 -2 Christiaan Bezuidenhout ....... 35-34—69 -1 Hayden Buckley ....................... 33-36—69 -1 Joel Dahmen .............................. 32-37—69 -1 Adam Hadwin .......................... 33-36—69 -1 Kevin Kisner .............................. 32-37—69 -1 Patton Kizzire .......................... 34-35—69 -1 Marc Leishman ......................... 38-31—69 -1 Max McGreevy ........................ 33-36—69 -1 Matthew NeSmith .................... 32-37—69 -1 Aaron Rai .................................. 36-33—69 -1 Davis Riley ................................. 37-32—69 -1 Brendon Todd .......................... 34-35—69 -1 Kevin Tway ............................... 35-34—69 -1 Harold Varner III ..................... 33-36—69 -1 Nick Watney ............................. 34-35—69 -1 Gary Woodland ........................ 35-34—69 -1 Brandon Wu ............................. 36-33—69 -1 Tyler Duncan .............................. 33-37—70 E Sungjae Im ................................. 35-35—70 E Kurt Kitayama ........................... 35-35—70 E Russell Knox ............................... 37-33—70 E Rory McIlroy .............................. 36-34—70 E Patrick Rodgers ......................... 34-36—70 E Greyson Sigg .............................. 34-36—70 E Jordan Spieth ............................. 33-37—70 E Kevin Streelman ........................ 37-33—70 E Ryan Brehm .............................. 37-34—71 +1 Mark Hubbard ........................ 36-35—71 +1 Stephan Jaeger ........................ 34-37—71 +1 Matt Kuchar ............................. 34-37—71 +1 Anirban Lahiri ......................... 36-35—71 +1 Luke List ................................... 34-37—71 +1 Peter Malnati .......................... 33-38—71 +1 Joaquin Niemann .................... 37-34—71 +1 Seamus Power ........................ 35-36—71 +1 Justin Rose .............................. 33-38—71 +1 Scottie Scheffler .................... 33-38—71 +1 Adam Schenk .......................... 35-36—71 +1 Webb Simpson ........................ 36-35—71 +1 Alex Smalley ........................... 33-38—71 +1 Scott Stallings ........................ 38-33—71 +1 Brendan Steele ....................... 35-36—71 +1 Will Zalatoris ........................... 37-34—71 +1 Stewart Cink ........................... 36-36—72 +2 Chesson Hadley ...................... 34-38—72 +2 Kramer Hickok ......................... 37-35—72 +2 Chris Kirk ................................. 36-36—72 +2 Danny Lee ................................. 35-37—72 +2 Callum Tarren ......................... 36-36—72 +2 Cameron Tringale ................... 37-35—72 +2 Vince Whaley .......................... 38-34—72 +2 Doug Ghim ................................ 37-36—73 +3 Lucas Herbert ......................... 38-35—73 +3 Tom Hoge ................................. 35-38—73 +3 John Huh ................................... 36-37—73 +3 Alex Noren ............................... 38-35—73 +3 C.T. Pan ..................................... 37-36—73 +3 Scott Piercy ............................ 35-39—74 +4 Chad Ramey ............................ 36-38—74 +4 Nick Taylor .............................. 38-36—74 +4 Adam Long .............................. 35-40—75 +5
Morgane Metraux .............. 37a-34a—71 -2 Dewi Weber ......................... 36a-35a—71 -2 Pajaree Anannarukarn ..... 35b-36b—71 -1 Nicole Broch Estrup .......... 34b-37b—71 -1 Allisen Corpuz ................... 33b-38b—71 -1 KarisDavidson ................... 35b-36b—71 -1 AllisonEmrey ..................... 35b-36b—71 -1 Celine Herbin ..................... 35b-36b—71 -1 Alice Hewson ..................... 36b-35b—71 -1 Caroline Inglis ................... 36b-35b—71 -1 RyannO’Toole .................... 34b-37b—71 -1 Ursula Wikstrom ............... 33b-38b—71 -1 Tiffany Chan ....................... 35a-37a—72 -1 Leonie Harm ........................ 37a-35a—72 -1 Nuria Iturrioz ...................... 35a-37a—72 -1 Christina Kim ..................... 38a-34a—72 -1 Su-Hyun Oh ........................ 36a-36a—72 -1 Katherine Perry-Hamski...35a-37a—72 -1 Agathe Sauzon .................. 38a-34a—72 -1 Mariajo Uribe ...................... 37a-35a—72 -1 Pia Babnik .......................... 37b-35b—72 E Emma Grechi ..................... 33b-39b—72 E Haylee Harford .................. 36b-36b—72 E Kylie Henry ......................... 34b-38b—72 E A Lim Kim ............................ 36b-36b—72 E Noora Komulainen ............ 35b-37b—72 E Mi Hyang Lee ..................... 39b-33b—72 E Lucy Li ................................. 36b-36b—72 E Sophie Witt ........................ 34b-38b—72 E Casandra Alexander ........ 35a-38a—73 E Gabriella Cowley ............... 35a-38a—73 E Diksha Dagar ..................... 38a-35a—73 E Hayley Davis ....................... 35a-38a—73 E Annabel Dimmock .............. 37a-36a—73 E Lauren HartlagE ................ 34a-39a—73 E Sarah Kemp ......................... 37a-36a—73 E Giulia Molinaro .................. 38a-35a—73 E Charlotte Thomas .............. 36a-37a—73 E Aditi Ashok ......................... 37b-36b—73 +1 Cydney Clanton ................. 33b-40b—73+1 Brianna Do .......................... 38b-35b—73+1 Frida Kinhult ...................... 35b-38b—73+1 Min Lee ............................... 36b-37b—73+1 Jana Melichova .................. 34b-39b—73+1 Becky Morgan ................... 38b-35b—73+1 Sanna Nuutinen ................. 36b-37b—73+1 Pornanong Phatlum .......... 35b-38b—73+1 Chloe Williams ................... 37b-36b—73+1 Casey Danielson ................. 38a-36a—74+1 Laura Davies ....................... 37a-37a—74+1 Muni He ................................ 39a-35a—74+1 Agathe Laisne ..................... 38a-36a—74 +1 Wichanee Meechai ............ 37a-37a—74+1 Marianne Skarpnord ......... 36a-38a—74+1 Billie-Jo Smith ..................... 37a-37a—74+1 Lina Boqvist ........................ 37b-37b—74+2 Jennifer Chang .................. 35b-39b—74+2 Lydia Hall ............................ 36b-38b—74+2 Whitney Hillier ................... 38b-36b—74+2 Tiia Koivisto ....................... 36b-38b—74+2 Alena Sharp ........................ 39b-35b—74+2 Angela Stanford ................ 35b-39b—74+2 Alana Uriell ......................... 35b-39b—74+2 Savannah Vilaubi ............... 37b-37b—74+2 Becky Brewerton ............... 41a-34a—75+2 Olivia Cowan ....................... 37a-38a—75+2 Nicole Garcia ...................... 38a-37a—75+2 Emma Talley ....................... 35a-40a—75+2 Ana Belac ............................ 40b-35b—75+3 Laura Beveridge ................ 38b-37b—75+3 Felicity Johnson .................. 7b-38b—75+3 Olivia Mehaffey ................. 36b-39b—75+3 Robynn Ree ........................ 35b-40b—75+3 Pauline Roussin ................. 37b-38b—75+3 Maria Hernandez ............... 37a-39a—76+3 Brooke Matthews .............. 39a-37a—76+3 Anne-Lise Caudal .............. 37b-39b—76+4 Maria Fassi ......................... 39b-37b—76+4 Fatima Fernandez Cano...36b-40b—76+4 Yaeeun Hong ...................... 38b-38b—76+4 Yu Liu ................................... 37b-39b—76+4 Stephanie Meadow ........... 39b-37b—76+4 Amy Olson .......................... 41b-35b—76+4 Rachel Rohanna Virgili ..... 38b-38b—76+4 M. Simmermacher ............ 37b-39b—76+4 Hannah Burke ..................... 41a-36a—77+4 Virginia Elena Carta ......... 38a-39a—77+4 Tvesa Malik ........................ 39a-38a—77+4 Ana Pelaez Trivino ............ 38a-39a—77+4 Jing Yan ............................... 36a-41a—77+4 Jenny Coleman .................. 36b-41b—77+5 Isi Gabsa ............................. 39b-38b—77+5 Michele Thomson ............. 37b-40b—77+5 Karolin Lampert ................. 41a-37a—78+5 Amelia Lewis ....................... 39a-39a—78+5 Paula Reto .......................... 38a-40a—78+5 Luna Sobron Galmes ........ 40a-39a—79+6 Julia Engstrom ................... 38b-41b—79+7 Kim Metraux ...................... 40a-40a—80+7 Kristyna Napoleaova ........ 37b-43b—80+8 Laura Fuenfstueck ............ 42a-40a—82+9
USGA-WOMEN’S
AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
At Chambers Bay Golf Course University Place, Washington Yardage: Par:
Round of 32
6,526;
73
Annabel Wilson, Ireland def. Julia Misemer, Overland Park, Kan. (64),
4 and 3; Katie Li, Basking Ridge, N.J. def. Han Hsuan Yu, Taipei (17), 7 and 5. Catherine Rao, Camarillo def. Sara
Im, Duluth, Ga. (25), 2 and 1. Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Ind. def. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Australia (9), 4 and 3. Kelsey Bennett, Australia def. Nika Ito, Japan (29), 5 and 4. Brianna Navarrosa, San Diego def. Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (52), 2 and 1. Julia Gregg, Farmers Branch, Texas def. Taylor Ledwein,
New Prague, Minn. (28), 2 and 1. Monet Chun, Canada def. Amanda Sambach, Pinehurst, N.C. (44), 1 up. Saki Baba, Japan def. Alice Ziyi Zhao, China (2), 3 and 1. Aneka Seumanutafa, Emmitsburg, Md. def. Leigha Devine, Windsor, Colo. , 3 and 2. Lauren Lehigh, Loveland, Colo. def. Anna Fang, San Diego, Calif. (58), 6 and 5. Mia Hammond, New Albany, Ohio def. Savannah Grewal, Canada (55), 1 up. Leigh Chien, Irvine, Calif. def. Laney Frye, Nicholasville, Ky. (3), 2 and 1. Rachel Kuehn, Asheville, N.C. def.. Brooke Seay, San Diego (19), 2 up. Amari Avery, Riverside def. Megan Yang, San Jose
(38), 6 and 5. Bailey Shoemaker, Dade City, Fla. def. Kynadie Adams, Nashville, Tenn. (22), 1 up.
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Favorite
San Diego at Miami at N.Y Mets at St. Louis at Colorado at San Fran.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Minnesota at Toronto at Chi. White Sox N.Y Yankees at Tampa Bay at Texas at Houston
INTERLEAGUE
Dodgers
BASEBALL
at Washington
Atlanta Philadelphia Milwaukee
Arizona Pittsburgh
at Kansas City
Major League Baseball National League Chicago Cubs:
Recalled INF Alfonso Rivas from Iowa (IL).
Transferred C Aramis Garcia from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Selected the contract of C Chuckie Robinson from Louisville (IL).
Reinstated INF Dominic Smith from the 10-day IL and optioned him to Syracuse (IL).
Cincinnati Reds:
New York Mets:
BASKETBALL
National Basketball Association San Antonio Spurs:
Signed G Jordan Hall to a two-way contract.
FOOTBALL
National Football League Carolina Panthers:
Signed TE Nate Becker and TE Ryan Izzo.
Announced RB
New England Patriots:
James White retired.
Signed CB Brian
New Orleans Saints:
Allen.
New York Jets:
Signed OT Duane Brown to a two-year contract.
Signed RB DeAndre Torrey. Waived WR Keric Wheatfall with an injury designation.
Signed WR Christian Blake. Waived WR Javon McKinley with an injury designation.
Philadelphia Eagles:
Pittsburgh Steelers:
HOCKEY
National Hockey League Detroit Red Wings:
Re-signed D Jake Walman to a one-year contract.
ATP-NATIONAL BANK OPEN
At Uniprix Stadium & Aviva Centre, Montreal Purse:
Surface:
$5,926,545
Hardcourt outdoor
SINGLES
Round of 16
Line
-225/+188 off -190/+160 -162/+136 -126/+108 -275/+225 -120/+102 -198/+164 -240/+198 -124/+106 off off -336/+270
-255/+210
Underdog
at Angels Cleveland
Detroit at Boston Baltimore
Seattle Oakland
Casper Ruud (4), Norway, def. Roberto Bautista Agut (14), Spain, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4. Hubert Hurkacz (8), Poland, def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Spain, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (3). Felix Auger-Aliassime (6), Canada, def. Cameron Norrie (9), Britain, 6-3, 6-4.
WTA-NATIONAL BANK OPEN
At Aviva Centre Stadium, Toronto Purse:
Surface:
$2,527,250
Hardcourt outdoor
SINGLES
Round of 16
Coco Gauff (10), United States, def. Aryna Sabalenka (6), Belarus, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (4). Simona Halep (15), Romania, def. Jil Teichmann, Switzerland, 6-2, 7-5. Jessica Pegula (7), United States, def. Camila Giorgi, Italy, 3-6, 6-0, 7-5. Beatriz Haddad Maia, Brazil, def. Iga Swiatek (1), Poland, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, def. Alison Riske-Amritraj, United States, 6-3, 7-5.
WTA-THOREAU TENNIS OPEN 125
At The Thoreau Club Concord, Mass.
Purse: surface:
$115,000;
SINGLES
Round of 16
Wang Qiang, China, def. Viktorija Golubic (5), Switzerland, 6-0, 0-6, 6-3. Katrina Scott, United States, def. Karolina; Muchova, Czech Republic, 6-3, 4-0, ret, Katie Volynets, United States, def. Harmony Tan, France, 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4).
WNBA
WESTERN CONFERENCE
x-Las Vegas x-Seattle x-Dallas Minnesota Phoenix Sparks
EASTERN CONFERENCE
x-Chicago x-Connecticut x-Washington
Atlanta
New York
Indiana x-clinched playoff spot
Thursday’s results
Hardcourt outdoor 25 10 .714 — 24 11 .686 1 20 14 .588 41⁄2 14 20 .412 101⁄2 14 20 .412 101⁄2
5 29 .147 191⁄2
Las Vegas 89, Chicago 78 Connecticut 93, Sparks 69
Today’s games
Washington at Indiana, 4 p.m. New York at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Seattle at Minnesota, 6 p.m. Dallas at Phoenix, 7 p.m.
Sun 97, Sparks 71 CONNECTICUT (97)
W
25 21 17 14 14 13
W
L
10 13 17 20 20 22
L
Pct GB
.714 — .618 31⁄2 .500 71⁄2 .412 101⁄2 .412 101⁄2 .371 12