Schauffele recovers from COVID-19, optimistic about new year
Schauffele is among 16 players in the Tournament of Champions who didn't win last year. His girlfriend came down with COVID-19 in the middle of December, and a few days later, Schauffele tested positive and eventually had minor symptoms. Schauffele is among 16 players at Kapalua who failed to win an official event, though he did have the lowest 72-hole score at the Tour Championship. The winners-only field is including players who reached the Tour Championship because golf was shut down for three months due to the pandemic. Schauffele already has played four times in the new season, which began in September, and that includes two majors.
Amid anguish of pandemic, sports offered memorable moments
With the kick, Fuller became the first female to play in a Southeastern Conference football game. Fuller, a senior, became the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game with a kickoff against Missouri on Nov. 28. Her gender-breaking accomplishment was a glimmer of inspiration amid the darkness of a pandemic. The Los Angeles Dodgers kept the trend going at the end of a pandemic-shortened baseball season, earning their first World Series title since 1988. “We never stopped," World Series MVP Corey Seager said.
DeChambeau blasts his way to 62 and lead in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS – Bryson DeChambeau put on another power display Thursday and it worked just as well as when he won the U.S. Open. “I was not happy it didn't go in, but I'll take a 62,” said DeChambeau, who won this tournament two years ago. It was the perfect recipe for Las Vegas, with the warm desert air and barely a breath of wind. This is the only tournament DeChambeau plans to play ahead of the Masters on Nov. 12-15, which means skipping a pair of big-purse, no-cut fields in Las Vegas and California the next two weeks. DeChambeau played alongside two other big hitters, U.S. Open runner-up Matthew Wolff and Cameron Champ, who hits it as far as DeChambeau without looking as though he's trying as hard.
Sport-by-sport snapshot of racial injustice protests
NBA referees march in support of players seeking an end to racial injustice in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Black men, Black women, Black kids. The two other playoff games for that day were also postponed, as were the three games set for Thursday. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Seven games were postponed Thursday, a day after three games were called off. The MLS had no games scheduled for Thursday.
Champ speaks out on racial injustice with shoes and words
Then, with powerful words about a desire to find a solution to racial injustice. Champ is one of four players of Black heritage on the PGA Tour, and one of only two -- the other is Tiger Woods -- who reached the second of three events in the FedEx Cup postseason. When people say all lives matter, yes, all lives matter, but so do Black lives, Champ said. He had a gallery Thursday at an event with no specators, including PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan for the last few holes of his opening nine holes. The PGA Tour supports them and any of our own members standing up for issues they believe in, the statement said.
Morikawa quickly goes from college grad to major champion
Collin Morikawa poses with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in San Francisco. Since then, he has played 28 tournaments around the world and already has three victories on the PGA Tour, one of them a major championship. That alone puts him among the elite, except that Morikawa didn't need to win the PGA Championship to feel that way. When I woke up today, I was like, This is meant to be. This is where I feel very comfortable, Morikawa said. Rare is Sunday at a major with so many possibilities at the beginning, at the turn and down the stretch.
Dustin Johnson emerges from a pack to lead PGA Championship
Dustin Johnson hits from the fairway on the 18th hole during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)SAN FRANCISCO Dustin Johnson lost his yardage book and still found his way through an enormous crowd of contenders Saturday, making eight birdies at Harding Park for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead in the PGA Championship. Even that might not have stopped Johnson from making his most birdies in any round of a major. Johnson didn't have smooth sailing, either, especially when he couldn't find his yardage book. Johnson shot 65 even with a double bogey on the ninth hole.
Li at his best and builds early lead at PGA Championship
Li Haotong of China, hits from the fairway on the 10th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in San Francisco. He also played a World Golf Championship last week with middling results, but he found his form in San Francisco. Brendon Todd, who shared the 18-hole lead with Day, settled for a 70 and joined them at 135. Li, who primarily plays the European Tour, went back to China in March when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf. If the lead holds, Li would be the first player from China to hold the lead after any round of a major.
Swinging hard lifts Champ into contention in PGA
Cameron Champ hits from the fairway on the 18th hole during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at TPC Harding Park Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)John Daly famously won a PGA Championship 29 years ago by swinging as hard as he could every time he got on the tee. Swinging hard comes naturally to Champ. Before Bryson DeChambeau bulked up and began crushing drives this year, the 25-year-old was the gold standard on the PGA Tour when it came to swing speed and distance. Two negative tests days after that prompted the PGA Tour to change its guidelines and he was playing in Detroit the next week.
Still testing positive, Frittelli among 3 back to work
And then they tested positive again. Felt like Walter Hagen, just walked straight on to the driving range.The tour last week updated its policy for asymptomatic positive tests, like Cameron Champ. What we have learned along the way is that in some instances, individuals can continue to test positive for weeks beyond when their illness started," he said. McCarthy tested positive on June 26 before the second round at the Travelers Championship, while Frittelli tested positive that weekend. Even so, Frittelli said he could sense a buzz around Muirfield Village from players on edge about someone testing positive still in the field.
Champ can play under tour's latest coronavirus policy change
Champ is among six players and two caddies on the PGA Tour who have tested positive. Ricky Elliott, the caddie for Brooks Koepka, tested positive before the Travelers Championship last week in Connecticut, and then had a negative test. Previously, the tour relied on time-based protocols that required those who test positive to self-isolate for at least 10 days. Champ tested positive on June 23 and withdrew from the Travelers Championship. They would be eligible to play next week if they have two negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Watney bored in isolation, nervous about how he got virus
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)Monday marked the 10th day of self-isolation for Nick Watney, the minimum required for PGA Tour players who test positive for the new coronavirus. Harris English tested positive Monday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. Watney laughed at the notion he might be responsible for PGA Tour players all getting a WHOOP strap, which can provide early indications of the virus. Since the positive test, Watney has been in his room. 123 in the FedEx Cup standings, and the positive test cost him at least a month of competition.
Todd matches Johnson's 61 to take the lead at Travelers
Both golfers shot bogey-free rounds, with Todd making five birdies on the front nine and Johnson five on the back. Todd said the round became a game of whatever you can do, I can do just as well. Its hard to miss the leader boards obviously, so (Johnson's) name was up there from a pretty early point, Todd said. Mackenzie Hughes, who led after a 60 on Thursday, shot his second straight 68 for sole possession of fourth place. Nick Watney withdrew just before the second round of last weeks RBC Heritage Championship.
Positive COVID test leads to more withdrawals from Travelers
McCarthy became the third PGA Tour player to test positive for the virus since its restart and the second this week, joining Cameron Champ who withdrew on Tuesday. Gordon, a 23-year-old Vanderbilt graduate playing his fourth PGA Tour event on a sponsor's exemption, is 12-under 128 after 36 holes. The Travelers field continued to shrink after Denny McCarthy tested positive for the coronavirus. McCarthy, who shot an opening-round 67, said he began began feeling sick Thursday night and tested positive for the virus on Friday morning. McDowell and Brooks Koepkas caddies both tested positive.
Mackenzie Hughes shoots 60 to take early lead at Travelers
Jim Furyk shot a 12-under 58 on the same par-70 TPC River Highlands course four years ago, the lowest score in a tour event. I kind of joked walking off there that 59 wasn't even the record because of Jim's 58, Hughes said. Phil Mickelson, paired with McIlroy in his first competitive round since turning 50, was one of five players to shoot 64. Patrick Cantlay also shot 60 at TPC River Highlands as an amateur in 2011. The Travelers is the third event on the tour calendar since golf resumed.
McDowell withdraws from Travelers as tour await test results
Cameron Champ tested positive when he arrived Tuesday and took his mandatory test at TPC River HIghlands. McDowell told Golfweek that his caddie, Ken Comboy, tested positive. The alarm bells have started to ring now that Kenny has failed this test, McDowell told Golfweek. Nick Watney was the first player to test positive, on Friday at the RBC Heritage. He told Golfweek he tested negative at the Travelers Championship on Monday, and he would decide when he reached home whether he should quarantine from his family.