San Jose's Romero captures U.S. Girls Junior golf title
San Jose native Kiara Romero won the U.S. Girls Junior golf championship on Saturday.
Romero, 17, sank a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole at the Air Force Academy's Eisenhower Golf Club Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to win the tightly contested 36-hole championship round over Rianne Malixi of the Philippines.
Neither golfer ever had a lead bigger than two holes on the other, and Romero ultimately won by just a single hole. She said in her post-match interview on Peacock that she was “shaking so much” as she lined up her would-be winning putt, but was able to drop in the putt to clinch the title.
With the win, Romero receives an automatic exception entry into the 2024 U.S. Women's Open at Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Country Club, the next two U.S. Women's Amateurs — including the 2023 tournament at Los Angeles' Bel-Air Country Club from Aug. 7-13 — and the 2024 Augusta National Women's Amateur.
A star on the junior and amateur circuit for years, Romero was ranked as the No. 1 high school golf recruit in the country by Golfweek this year. She'll begin her collegiate career at Oregon in the fall.
— Alex Simon KNIGHT, SZOKOL HOLD ON TO WIN LPGA'S LONE TEAM EVENT >> Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol held off Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan by a stroke to win the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour's lone team event.
Knight and Szokol closed with a 5-under 65 in better-ball play at Midland Country Club. They finished at 23 under, following a better-ball 61 in the second round Thursday with an alternate-shot 62 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round.
Castren and Tan shot a 63. They also finished second last year.
The 26-year-old Knight also won the 2019 Ascendant LPGA, while Szokol took her first LPGA Tour title. The U.S. duo tied for fourth last year after missing the cut in 2021.
Play was delayed for 1 hour, 40 minutes because of lightning with the leaders on the 13th hole.
The teams of Celine Boutier-Yuka Saso (62), Jodi Ewart Shadoff-Emma Talley (63) and Celine Borge-Polly Mack (63) tied for third at 20 under. Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi had a 63 to finish sixth at 19 under.
NFL
JETS FANS FLOCK TO PRACTICE TO SEE RODGERS >> The loud “Aaron! Rodgers!” chants started almost as soon as the New York Jets quarterback stepped on the practice field at the Jets' third practice of training camp, which marked the first session open to the public.
New York acquired Rodgers from Green Bay in April, and the fourtime NFL MVP wants to help end the league's longest playoff drought at 12 years.
And perhaps return the Jets to the Super Bowl, something they haven't been able to do since the glory days of Joe Namath in 1969.
College sports
CAL VOLLEYBALL COACH CROSSON RESIGNS >> Cal announced that Sam Crosson has resigned as head women's volleyball coach, just four weeks before the season begins.
Under Crosson, the Bears went 3578 in four seasons, but more than half of those wins came in his first season. In each of the past two seasons, Cal only won seven matches and lost all 20 Pac-12 contests.
Crissy Jones Schoonderwoerd has been named as interim head coach. She was hired as an assistant in February alongside Savannah Rennie, who are now the only two coaches on Cal's staff.
Jones Schoonderwoerd has no prior coaching experience at the collegiate level, but did play for three seasons on the Association of Volleyball Professionals beach volleyball tour. She also was only the second player in NCAA history to be an AllAmerican in both beach and indoor volleyball when she helped lead Cal Poly's beach program to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 after four seasons playing at Washington.
Cal will play San Francisco in an exhibition match at Haas Pavilion on Saturday, Aug. 19 before heading to West Point, New York, for the seasonopening Army Tournament.
FAMU BANS ITS FOOTBALL PLAYERS AFTER RAP VIDEO >> Florida A&M has banned its players from the team's facilities after a rap video featuring some Rattlers was shot in their locker room without proper permission being granted.
Coach Willie Simmons told The Associated Press on Saturday that the team facility, weight room and access to the stadium field were offlimits to all players until he and the administration could sort out who was involved in the video shoot. The only exception is players who need medical treatment from doctors and athletic trainers, he said.
Simmons said they planned to meet with players who were visible in the video over the weekend and a team meeting is scheduled for Monday. The players were not immediately identified.
The rapper in the video is Real Boston Richey, who is from Tallahassee, where Florida A&M's campus is located. Richey, whose real name is Jalen Foster, performed at Florida A&M's homecoming game last season.
Simmons said he was alerted Friday by the FAMU administration to the video posted on social media before announcing the suspension. He added that, while he is a proponent of free speech and all forms of musical expressions, the team has a responsibility to protect the university's image.
Soccer
D.C. UNITED FIRES TRAINER FOR DISCRIMINATORY GESTURE, PLACES 2
PLAYERS ON LEAVE FOR SEPARATE INCIDENT >> D.C. United fired head athletic trainer Reade Whitney on Friday night after the team said he made a discriminatory hand gesture in a photo that was posted on social media a day earlier.
The team and Major League Soccer also said late Friday that two players, Taxi Fountas and Nigel Robertha, have been placed on paid administrative leave while MLS investigates possible violations of league policy. There was no indication whether the investigation had anything to do with the circumstances of Whitney's dismissal.
The team did not name Whitney in its statement announcing his dismissal but said its athletic trainer had been fired effective immediately. Whitney held that position.
Separately, D.C. United informed the league about the two players' possible violation of league policy, and MLS began an investigation. Media reports indicate a verbal altercation occurred between the two players during the team's most recent match at the New England Revolution on July 15, with Robertha reportedly alleging Fountas used a racial slur.
Last year, the league investigated an allegation that Fountas used racially abusive language toward Miami defender Aimé Mabika during a match. The league said it found the allegation credible but could not find corroborating evidence, and Fountas was not disciplined.