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Wales squad 'good enough' to win World Cup - Warren Gatland

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 01 September 2019 07:49

Wales coach Warren Gatland says they have the playing talent to win the Rugby World Cup after picking his squad for Japan.

On Sunday Gatland reduced his playing squad to a final 31 who will get on the plane to Japan.

Read more: Patchell & Hill get Wales World Cup spots

Seventh Heaven For Mike Bond In SBS Classic

Published in Racing
Sunday, 01 September 2019 13:15

OSWEGO, N.Y. – After taking the entire season off at Oswego Speedway, Mike Bond returned to the five-eighths-mile oval on Sunday with a singular goal in mind: take the trophy back home.

And in customary Bond style in the Bud Light SBS Classic, he did exactly that at the end of 75 laps.

Bond collected his fourth-straight win – and his seventh overall – in the crown-jewel race for Pathfinder Bank Small Block Supermodifieds with a dominant second-half run in his familiar No. 74.

The wily veteran stalked early dominator and reigning track champion Anthony Losurdo for nearly 20 circuits after taking the runner-up spot prior to the lap-30 benchmark, then finally made his bid for the victory with 28 laps left after a restart just past the halfway point of the small-block feature.

A lap-45 crash involving Jesse Bearup and Greg O’Connor in turn three, which set up the restart, put Bond right on Losurdo’s bumper after the latter had opened up a lead of more than a second earlier on.

When the green flag waved, Losurdo ducked out to a brief advantage from the inside groove, but Bond was ready to pounce and did so three laps later. He ducked to Losurdo’s inside in turns three and four, edged ahead by .005 seconds at the stripe and completing the pass on the turn-one end of the track.

From there, Bond raced away to a 4.211-second victory over Losurdo, adding to previous SBS Classic wins in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

He was calm, cool and collected in victory lane, with a faint smile displayed as he accepted the trophy.

“It was really pretty uneventful,” said Bond of his race. “We had a pretty awesome car; it was hooked up again. I can’t thank my guys enough for giving me such a great car to drive.

“Only coming here this one time … it was probably a little bit of an advantage, because the motor’s fresh, you know?” he added. “Maybe that’s the way we were looking at it. But we wanted to win this one and that’s exactly what we did.”

Bond took home a winner’s share of $2,200 for his efforts on Sunday afternoon.

Losurdo, who led a race-high 42 laps after moving into the top spot on the sixth revolution, was all smiles after coming as close as he ever has to a victory in Oswego’s premier small-block event.

“There’s no one I’d rather lose to,” said Losurdo of Bond. “That’s why he’s the GOAT (greatest of all time), you know? He was just better down the stretch than we were today. It’s not too bad a finish.”

Dave Cliff completed the podium, followed by polesitter Cameron Rowe, who paced the opening two laps. Two-time SBS Classic winner Andrew Schartner crossed the line in fifth.

Brad and Bryan Haynes were sixth and seventh, respectively, while Josh Sokolic finished eighth after leading three circuits in the early going. O’Connor rallied back to ninth and James Babcock was 10th.

The finish:

Mike Bond, Anthony Losurdo, Dave Cliff, Cameron Rowe, Andrew Schartner, Brad Haynes, Bryan Haynes, Josh Sokolic, Greg O’Connor, James Babcock, Dennis Richmond, Jesse Bearup, Russell Bartlett, A.J. Bernys, Mark Denny, Stephen Flack, Ken Moody, Ray Sand Jr., Dave Latulip, Tony Pisa, Mike Bruce, Steve Wood.

Schwartz Pads His TC Championship Lead

Published in Racing
Sunday, 01 September 2019 13:39

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – TC championship leader Johan Schwartz scored his sixth win of the season Sunday at Watkins Glen Int’l, part of the TC America weekend presented by CrowdStrike.

Schwartz’s teammate Steve Streimer finished second, while Saturday’s winner Paul Terry crossed the line in third.

Pole sitter Schwartz, in the No. 80 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M240iR Cup, led the field to the green to begin the 20-lap, 40-minute contest. Behind him teammate Streimer got a great jump and pushed into second from his third-on-the-grid starting position, while Jeff Ricca slotted back into third. Rearden Racing’s Terry slotted into fourth.

While Schwartz and Streimer settled in up front by lap two, action behind them was fierce as Cameron Evans charged up to pass Terry for fourth through turn one and then Ricca leading up to the bus stop complex. Lap three saw Terry execute a pass by Ricca through turn one. Terry then passed Evans later in the lap to move into third.

By lap 12, Schwartz and Streimer had pulled away from the pack, while Ricca closed on Terry for third and by lap 15 Ricca slid by Terry leading into the bus stop complex. Ricca then set his sights on closing in on the leaders while fending off any challenges from Terry.

On the white flag lap Terry closed on Ricca and through turn 10 executed a clean pass for third. At the line, Schwartz won over Streimer by .246 seconds, Terry crossed 3.3 seconds behind in third. Classic BMW driver Jacob Ruud and Evans rounded out the top five. Ricca ended the day in sixth.

“It was quite an interesting race being at the front in the beginning,” said Schwartz. “We (Streimer) were working together to pull away and then Steve started racing me at the end. I was a little between big picture racing and taking the win but I also knew he wasn’t going to push the issue too hard so obviously we’re in the championship hunt and points are the most important thing right now, so it’s good to have 25 (points for the win) but if I would’ve gotten 18 (for second place), that would’ve been okay too.”

It’s A Weekend Sweep Of TCR For McCann

Published in Racing
Sunday, 01 September 2019 13:50

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Michael McCann Jr. completed a weekend sweep of TCR competition on Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen Int’l.

TCR championship leader Michael Hurczyn led the TC America field to the green flag, with Saturday’s winner McCann and the No. 3 McCann Racing Audi RS3 LMS quickly moving past Nate Vincent for second.

James Walker would also slip by Mason Filippi’s No. 12 Copeland Motorsports Hyundai Veloster N for fourth. Filippi would need to pit for a mechanical issue a few minutes later, essentially ending his race.

With 27 minutes remaining, McCann would take the lead after slip-streaming past Hurczyn going into the bus stop and instantly gapping the field, pulling a 1.2 second lead.  McCann would go on to cruise to the overall victory, his second of the weekend.

“It was a really good weekend.  The Audi had really good pace, especially in a straight line.  The guys got the car ready and we made it happen,” said McCann.

In TCA, Mark Pombo and the No. 59 MINI Cooper JCW would lead from the start with Nate Norenberg in second, Tomas Mejia in third and Tyler Maxson in fourth.  Taylor Hagler, who spun on lap one and fell to the back of the grid, would fight her way back through the field and find herself fifth in class with 20 minutes remaining.

Maxson would get past Mejia for third with 19 minutes left on the clock and would start his pursuit of Norenberg for second.  With 11 minutes left in the race, Maxson would catch and pass Norenberg going into turn one while Mejia would get past Norenberg on the next lap.  Later in the lap both Norenberg and Halger would suffer flat tires and retire.

Mark Pombo would control the TCA field and go on to take the class win with Tyler Maxson second, and Tomas Mejia third.

“Early in the season we had some trouble with the MINIs, but the guys at LAP Motorsports have really found something with the car and this weekend has saved our season,” said Pombo.

PJ Groenke and Sally McNulty would round out the top-five.

TCR Cup saw the No. 41 TWOTh Autosport Audi RS3 LMS of Travis Hill grab his second win of the weekend with Stephen Vajda finishing second.

Jarett Andretti Delivers At The Glen

Published in Racing
Sunday, 01 September 2019 14:59

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Jarett Andretti raced to his first overall Pirelli GT4 America Sprint victory on Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen Int’l.

Gar Robinson got the jump on the start of the event, but Andretti’s No. 18 Andretti Autosport McLaren 570S GT4 stayed close. Andretti snatched the lead away from Robinson in the bus stop on lap one and never looked back.

“We were good on new tires, so I knew I had to get Gar early in the race,” said Andretti. “It was a really good run, but I spent the last three laps defending for my life!  It feels great to win here at the Glen.  This team and everything its about is great.  These guys did not go to the hotel last night, they stayed at the track all night, and I appreciate everything they’ve done.  It’s awesome, it means a lot.”

With 39 minutes remaining in the race, Shane Lewis would attempt a pass on Michael Cooper at the bus stop, but would make contact, forcing Lewis to fall down to 19th position, with Cooper’s car also suffering damage that slowly dropped him through the field.

At the same time, Spencer Pumpelly would inherit third position, with championship leader Ian James moving into fourth.

For the next 15 minutes, the top three overall leaders would run nose to tail – Andretti, Robinson and Pumpelly – with fourth-placed Ian James slowly reeling the trio in.  With 20 minutes remaining, a safety car would be called for an incident involving Jeff Burton’s No .91 Rearden Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4, grouping the field back together for a long caution period.

The race would get back under green with just more than seven minutes remaining with Andretti leading Robinson, Pumpelly, James and Jeff Courtney, who was leading the Am category.

On the last lap, James would make a run at Spencer Pumpelly for the final podium position, but bump him slightly at turn nine and allow both Courtney and Drew Staveley through to finish first and second in the Am class, third and fourth overall.  James would let Pumpelly back through to take third in the Pro class, fifth overall, while James would end up seventh overall and fourth in class.

Courtney would take the Am-class win with Drew Staveley second and Alan Brynjolfsson third.  Aristotle Balogh would finish fourth in class with Sean Quinlan fifth.

Szymczak & Fassnacht Collect SprintX Honors

Published in Racing
Sunday, 01 September 2019 15:15

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Christian Szymczak and Matthew Fassnacht were declared the winners of Sunday’s Pirelli GT4 America SprintX race from Watkins Glen Int’l after a late crash heavily damaged a barrier.

Karl Wittmer, aboard the No. 24 Ian Lacy Racing Ford Mustang, led the field to the green flag under cool and cloudy skies at Watkins Glen Int’l.

At turn one Trent Hindman swung around the outside of the No. 34 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG of Szymczak to go from fourth to third and would begin his pursuit of Jan Heylen.  At the same time, Heylen began reeling in the Wittmer-driven Mustang and would close to within two-tenths of a second of the leader.

With 40 minutes left on the clock, Heylen would power past Wittmer for the lead on the inside of turn 11 and instantly pull a gap of 2.2 seconds over his rivals.  Trent Hindman would then close on Wittmer and begin stalking as the clock ticked down closer to the pit window opening for driver changes.

As the pit window opened, Wittmer would see an issue with his car and fall from second to sixth overall in just a few turns. While that was happening Steven McAleer would slide past Hindman for second.

With 27 minutes remaining, the leading No. 37 RS1 Porsche of Jan Heylen would unexpectedly go wide at turn six and hit the tire barriers, ending his race.  Nearly the entire field would dive for the pits, expecting a safety car to be called with the #34 Murillo Racing Mercedes, now with Matthew Fassnacht driving, coming out in first.

A safety car would be called for a separate incident with 23 minutes remaining as Patrick Byrne and Randy Mueller had a massive incident at turn 10, with both cars getting into the armco barrier.

Due to armco repairs needed, race officials would call the race with eight minutes remaining, with the No. 34 Murillo Racing Mercedes AMG GT4 shared by Fassnacht and Szymczak taking the win.

“The end result was obviously good, but I would have liked more time in the car,” Fassnacht enthused. “I want to thank Murillo Racing for a great car this weekend and Christian [Szymczak] for driving a good, clean race.”

Trent Hindman and Alan Brynjolfsson were scored second, with Sean Quinlan and Gregory Liefooghe completing the podium.

A late rally wasn't quite enough for Rory McIlroy at the Omega European Masters, as the newly-minted FedExCup champ lost in a five-man playoff after an electric close to his final round.

McIlroy was well off the pace before a furious run of birdies, with makes on five of six holes from Nos. 12-17. It was that final birdie on No. 17 that truly opened the door for a possible win, as tournament leader Sebastian Soderberg followed McIlroy's make with a three-putt bogey from close range to create a logjam at the top.

McIlroy's antics weren't done, though, as he sprayed his final tee shot into the trees, just feet from a plaque commemorating a memorable escape in 1993 by Seve Ballesteros. The Ulsterman chipped out, nearly holed his lengthy third shot en route to a Ballesteros-like par save and ended up in a playoff at 14 under that also included Soderberg, Andres Romero, Lorenzo Gagli and Kalle Samooja.

One week after leaving East Lake with an extra $15 million in his account, McIlroy gave himself a chance for another win by hitting his approach on the first extra hole to within 15 feet. But after Soderberg made a putt from similar length, McIlroy was unable to match him.

"I made enough birdies, but I just didn't quite have it over the weekend," McIlroy said. "Obviously made a great run there on the back nine today. Hit one good shot there into 18 (in the playoff), and the putt just lacked a bit of speed. I felt like I started it on the right line, I just didn't hit it with the pace that I wanted."

When Samooja missed from inside 10 feet, Soderberg had his first career European Tour win during a week when he began with his 2020 status in jeopardy.

"I don't know what to do with this, really. Didn't play my best today, but my chipping and putting was unbelievable," said Soderberg, who carded five straight birdies from Nos. 10-14 to pull in front. "I thought it was exciting enough just to come out here and play with Rory. I can't really describe it right now. It hasn't really sunk in yet."

For McIlroy, it's another near-miss in the altitude of the Swiss Alps. He appeared in line for what would have been his first Euro Tour win when he made his tournament debut in 2008, only to miss a short par putt on the 72nd hole and lose in a playoff. Sunday marked a similar result for the world No. 2, who vaulted into contention with a second-round 63 and carded a 3-under 67 in the final round after a red-hot close.

While the PGA Tour remains in a two-week offseason, there's very little time to rest for McIlroy and other European stars. He's expected to skip the next two weeks before playing two events in a row, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth followed by the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland at the end of the month.

"This is my seventh event in eight weeks. I've played a lot of golf," McIlroy said. "I think just playing that much, sometimes those mental errors creep in here or there. The sloppy finish yesterday probably cost me, but I fought back today and I did my best. Just wasn't meant to be."

It may be the PGA Tour's first of two off weeks before the fall season starts, but there's plenty of other action going on around the world of golf. From Rory McIlroy capturing the season-ending Tour Championship to J.Y. Ko going bogey-free for 114 straight holes, here are this week's top quotes.

“It was really weird and hard teeing off on Thursday ahead of everybody. I don't know how everybody else feels, but I had a pretty hard time playing the normal way that I play. It's hard to just imagine everybody starts at zero when you don't. So that was tough.” - Justin Thomas on the debut of the staggered-scoring start at the Tour Championship following his T-3 finish after beginning the week with a two-shot lead

"It was one of those days where even on the range, I didn't feel very comfortable with the driver. I felt iron play was good. Just the driver, I just couldn't – it wasn't fading enough. Everything was kind of left, and it happens once in a while. … I mean, I can't bring it every day." - Brooks Koepka after coughing up the 54-hole lead at the Tour Championship where he finished T-3 at the season finale

“Some of the work that I've put in on the mental side of the game and some of the things I've been doing, I definitely think you're starting to see the fruition of that. Just a different approach, a little bit of a different attitude. That attitude and that consistency day in, day out, I think that's what you've seen over the course of this year.” - Rory McIlroy on his 2019 season that saw more consistency and three wins, including The Players, RBC Canadian Open and his second Tour Championship title

“When I got in [the locker room], the first thing I saw was another topless photo of Phil Mickelson, so that made my day." - Rory McIlroy on seeing another photo of the rising social media star during the weather delay at the Tour Championship

“A lot of stability, a lot of experience. Really, both Morgan [Pressel] and Stacy [Lewis], they filled what I needed. I have a lot of rookies. I have a lot of players who have played just one year. I needed a little veteran leadership, and I know I can rely on them to bring that to my team.” - Juli Inkster said on Golf Channel's Morning Drive of her two Solheim Cup captain's picks rounding out her squad that will head to Scotland

“It’s with a heavy heart that I say I won’t be going to the Solheim Cup. I hold no bad feelings for Captain Inkster or any of the team. At the end of the day, you want the USA to bring home the trophy, and I could have made the team outright over the last 2 years. I want to sincerely wish captain @juliinkster and Team USA the best of luck and want to say congratulations to my amazing friend @mpressel for making the team. You’ve worked so hard these past few years! I’m so very proud of you!! Go bring that cup back girls!!! USA ALL THE WAY . . ." - Cristie Kerr on Instagram after not being selected as one of the two captain's picks for the Solheim Cup

“I would like to thank Dr. Cooley and his team. I’m walking now and hope to resume practice in the next few weeks. I look forward to traveling and playing in Japan in October.” - Tiger Woods said in a statement following arthroscopic surgery to repair minor cartilage damage in his left knee

"I feel that if I keep doing the things I’m doing, sooner or later I’ll get another [major] and all this noise will then go away. However, if the narrative becomes that the majors are the only important thing in golf, then that’s dangerous because are fans not going to care for the other 48 weeks of the year? ... If they are spaced so closely together will fans only care from the second week of April to the third week in July? ... I’d like to see them spaced out like tennis does. With the Australian Open in January and the US Open going on now, they’ve a nice nine-month window of relevancy.” - Rory McIlroy said at the European Masters, questioning the spacing of the new PGA Tour schedule, especially how closely the majors are played

“Bogey-free is amazing round [for] 18 holes. I did 114 holes, and then done. It’s cool. ... Now it’s done. I’m free. So I want to do it again, 115 holes bogey-free.” - J.Y. Ko after her bogey-free run ended at 114 holes, passing Tiger Woods who previously held the record with 110 consecutive bogey-free holes

"Unfortunately had to withdraw from @tourchampulf to head back to Florida and evacuate the family. Cat-4 #HurricaneDorian2019 estimated to make landfall in 72hrs. See you all @PGATOUR in a couple of weeks. #familyfirst" - Anirban Lahiri on withdrawing from the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to return to Florida to help family evacuate ahead of Hurricane Dorian

Kevin Dougherty has been on the bubble a few times in the past two seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The Oklahoma State product nearly chipped in a year ago at the Portland Open and ended up missing his PGA Tour card by a shot. This year he was just outside the top 25 in points, at No. 26, before missing three straights cuts to end the regular season. He then entered this week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship at No. 21 in Finals points, needing to only finish among the top 25 to earn a card.

But a double bogey on his 36th hole, the par-4 18th at Victoria National, on Saturday ensured that Dougherty’s bubble would burst for a second time. The 28-year-old shot 1-over 73, missed the cut by one and will watch as he drops outside the magic number.

“I never wanted to feel Portland again and I’m kind of feeling that right now,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty, needed at least a two-way tie for 22nd to guarantee a card come Monday, was two shots inside the cut line when he stepped on the 18th tee on Saturday.

“The worst part was I hit a perfect drive on 18 and picked up my tee and somehow it went a lot further than we were expecting, which got me into some serious trouble,” he said, “and I was just trying to salvage a way to make a 5.”

Dougherty ended up making double-bogey 6, and he will be heading back to the Korn Ferry Tour next season after again failing to graduate to the PGA Tour.

“Right now, it hurts a lot,” Dougherty said. “[I’m] frustrated and angry and all this stuff, but it’s a long journey. It’s going to make me better and shows me that I’ve gotta get better. I don’t like being on the bubble.”

Tom Lewis fired another 6-under 66 Sunday at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to move closer to securing a PGA Tour card for the first time.

The 28-year-old Englishman, who made a last-minute decision to play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals finale at Victoria National, leads Lanto Griffin by two shots at 16 under. A victory would move Lewis to second in Finals points while anything solo-sixth and better would likely clinch a spot among the top 25 on that list, which would come with a card.

Griffin already has his card via the regular season but can improve his priority rank with his finish Monday. However, he can’t catch Scottie Scheffler, who is T-3, along with Grayson Murray and Fabian Gomez, and in great position to lock up fully-exempt status as the leading player in combined points.

Matthew NeSmith, who missed the cut at Victoria National, has already clinched a full card as the leading player in Finals points as just three other players in the top 10 on that list decided to tee it up this week.

Murray, who was the first player currently in the top 25 of Finals points to have not yet clinched his card, is projected to rise from 14th to seventh while Gomez is projected to climb from T-51 to 11th.

Chris Baker (T-6 on the leaderboard), D.J. Trahan (8th), Doug Ghim (T-9), Blayne Barber (T-9), Billy Hurley III (T-16) and Harris English (T-22) are the other players projected to move inside the top 25 according to their current position. Joseph Bramlett (T-35) is projected at the 26th player in Finals points at the moment, followed by Curtis Luck (MC), Richy Werenski (T-9), Julian Etulain (T-9) and Ben Martin (T-59).

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