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It was good while it lasted.

For just over 24 hours, Wales were ranked unofficially the best side in the world following Australia's 47-26 victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

But Warren Gatland's men failed to make it an official crowning after losing 33-19 to England at Twickenham in Sunday's World Cup warm-up game.

This means the All Blacks stay top of the official World Rugby rankings when they are published on Monday and continue their 10-year dominance.

Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson said he felt that number one tag had weighed on Wales at Twickenham.

Wales certainly demonstrated they still have some work to do to be considered the world's best side as they produced a disjointed performance.

Gatland insists, though, that being number one only matters after the Rugby World Cup final on 2 November in Japan.

"I think some people mentioned it [being ranked number one] yesterday," said Gatland.

"It's a nice accolade but the biggest prize is a couple of months away in Japan. Whoever wins the World Cup is the number one in the world. Everyone's writing off the All Blacks, but you do at your peril."

Fully loaded

The first of four pre-season matches produced an injury concern, with fly-half Gareth Anscombe limping off in the first half.

Cue cries from people asking why Wales were playing so many warm-up games before the World Cup.

There will be no let up, with Gatland saying he intends to name a "fully loaded" side for the return fixture against England in Cardiff next Saturday.

That will not please people who want Wales' top stars safeguarded.

They had already lost British and Irish Lions back-rower Taulupe Faletau (collarbone) to a training ground accident while Cardiff Blues scrum-half Tomos Williams will also have a scan on a shoulder problem.

Wales have a bit more time to name their squad - they unveil their 31-man party at the beginning of September while England name theirs on 12 August.

"I wouldn't want to be naming my squad on Monday, I can tell you that," said Gatland.

"We've got a few more games together and a few more weeks of training."

England coach Eddie Jones had his own agenda after the game, suggesting Wales could have had two players sent off during the match for high tackles.

Jones refused to identify which incidents and perpetrators he was referring to, his outburst coming after the controversial red card issued to New Zealand second-row Scott Barrett in the defeat by Australia on Saturday.

Controversies aside, England ended Wales' 14-match unbeaten run, stretching over 18 months, with a powerful performance.

This was despite Wales having the favourites tag after being at full strength against a second-string English side.

Gatland was disappointed with the defeat but acknowledged that in the long run it is what happens in Japan that matters. After all, no importance will be placed on the score of a pre-season warm-up game in August. Even it is England v Wales.

"It's disappointing, but it's not something that we'll dwell on," said Gatland.

"It's all about what happens in the middle of September, it's what we are building for.

"It's a warm-up game for the World Cup. Any loss is disappointing but it's not competition phase.

"You have to take that opportunity, look at the negatives but also the positives.

"It's about what we take out of today, the things to work on and address."

Bright sparks

There were bright sparks with a brilliant Gareth Davies try that Gareth Edwards would have been proud of, while George North and Jonathan Davies looked dangerous in attack.

But a slow start cost Gatland's side dear, as the Wales defence was too passive initially and handling errors were committed when chances were created.

Lineout mistakes and scrum weaknesses were also concerning as England's tight forwards strangled Wales in the second half.

These are all matters to be addressed before England visit Cardiff.

"We went into the Six Nations with a strategy against England and we implemented that well and were effective," added Gatland.

"Today we played differently and tried to work things out. England did what they're good at.

"Their scrum was excellent, they drove the lineouts well and they were direct in the way they played.

"We've got some things to tidy up on to negate that. They've scored a try from our errors.

"We need to be more accurate in attack. We addressed a few things and I thought we were a lot better in the second half.

"We think those things are pretty fixable. To stop them getting momentum at driven line-outs is something we'll work on along with the scrum.

"Overall it looked like a pre-season game for us and we will definitely be better next week."

Wales know they will have to be.

There is no need to panic quite yet but a return to winning ways against Wales' greatest rivals next weekend will help regain that World Cup momentum which can contribute to the overall prize of being ranked number one in the world - when it matters.

L.P. Dumoulin Claims Emotional GP3R Triumph

Published in Racing
Sunday, 11 August 2019 15:15

TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec – In the 50th running of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, and the 50th year of Dumoulin family racing, hometown hero L.P. Dumoulin grabbed perhaps the biggest win of his career on Sunday with the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.

To make it even sweeter, he was surrounded by his family from start to finish.

Prior to the race, family patriarch Richard Dumoulin paced the field in the car he raced during the first GP3R. At the end, J.F. Dumoulin finished third, joining L.P. on the podium for the first time in their Pinty’s Series careers.

“There’s no way to describe the feeling,” L.P. Dumoulin said. “I’m on the podium with my brother J.F. in front of all our family and friends.”

Dumoulin’s No.47 Weathertech Canada/Bellemare Dodge was locked in a fierce, late-race battle with Alex Tagliani with the laps winding down.

The two-time champion needed help, and it came when T.J. Rinomato spun with five laps to go, causing Tagliani to run wide and allowing Dumoulin to steal the lead.

“It’s perfect. My team has worked so hard to give me a great car all season long and we proved once again that we are capable of winning on both ovals and road courses,” L.P. Dumoulin said. “In the end, we caught a little bit of traffic and that helped me pass Tagliani, we set some quick laps and we won.”

It was the second win for Dumoulin at his home track, and ninth of his career.

Tagliani, who was in prime position to score his third straight at GP3R win, finished second. The Lachanaie, Quebec driver took the lead on lap 20 after Andrew Ranger came down to pit, going on to lead 25 laps en route to his second podium of the season.

“It was a great finish for our sponsors,” Tagliani said. “Unfortunately, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was a spin and we took evasive action through the marbles and second place was able to take advantage of it.”

The elder Dumoulin, J.F., mounted a hard charge late in the race to catch the leaders. His No. 04 Spectra Premium Dodge, which was shifted to a part-time schedule in 2019, had this race circled on the calendar.

In the end, the Trois-Rivères, Quebec driver ultimately ties his best career finish in third, scoring his third career podium in the process.

“It’s awesome. It’s our first podium at Trois-Rivières in the Pinty’s Series,” he said. “I’ve been fourth a lot of times, so I’m really excited to be up on the podium with my brother. It’s a great day for us and our sponsors.”

Kevin Lacroix came into Les 50 Tours Hotel Le Concorde trailing Ranger by 18 points. Lacroix started from the outside of the front row and would lead the first 15 laps, before being hit with a penalty after taking his fuel can out of the pit box.

Lacroix’s No. 74 eventually fought way all the way up to fourth. D.J. Kennington completed the top five finishers.

Jason Hathaway and Raphael Lessard were sixth and seventh, respectively.

After leading four laps, Ranger ended up finishing eighth. Ranger will now carry a 14-point lead over Lacroix heading into Riverside next week.

Simon Dion-Viens and Donald Theetge rounded out the rest of the top 10.

The finish:

L.P. Dumoulin, Alex Tagliani, J.F. Dumoulin, Kevin Lacroix, D.J. Kennington, Jason Hathaway, Raphael Lessard, Andrew Ranger, Simon Dion-Viens, Donald Theetge, Alex Guenette, Mark Dilley, Raymond Guay, David Michaud, Larry Jackson, J.F. Laberge, T.J. Rinomato, Marc-Antoine Camirand, Alex Labbe, Anthony Simone, Jocelyn Fecteau.

Harvick’s Fuel Mileage Produces Michigan Victory

Published in Racing
Sunday, 11 August 2019 15:30

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Kevin Harvick stretched his fuel all the way to the end of Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan Int’l Speedway, and it was enough to put him in victory lane.

On a day when many of his closest pursuers had to make splash-and-go pit stops in the final laps, Harvick kept his foot on the gas and motored home to his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season, as well as his second in a row in the August race at the two-mile Michigan oval.

After the sixth and final caution of the day waved with 52 laps left, when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun in turn four, all the frontrunners pitted for fuel on lap 150 and set up for an economy run to the finish.

Green-flag conditions resumed with 48 to go, and Harvick found himself fifth behind a trio of Team Penske Ford drivers – Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski – as well as the Penske-affiliated Wood Brothers entry of Paul Menard.

However, slowly but surely, Harvick began picking his way to the front as those ahead of him had to focus on saving fuel.

With 45 to go, Harvick dispatched Menard for fourth, and then he rode there for the next 16 circuits before turning up the wick and driving past Keselowski to move into the third position.

The next time by, Blaney dropped back to try and conserve additional fuel, elevating Harvick to second. From there, Harvick drove up onto the back bumper of defending Michigan winner Logano and ultimately made the decisive pass for the lead on lap 183 of 200.

Once Logano pitted for enough fuel to make it to the checkered flag, Harvick was unchallenged down the stretch, crossing the finish line in front of runner-up Denny Hamlin by 1.054 seconds.

Kevin Harvick (right) celebrates with son Keelan and Edsel Ford II in victory lane at Michigan Int’l Speedway. (HHP/Jim Fluharty photo)

“We just had a really fast car all weekend,” said Harvick, who rallied back from a flat tire under green in the opening stage. “Our car handled really well today, and with the multiple lanes, we were able to run all three lanes pretty well and make our way through traffic. I’m really proud of everybody on our Mobil 1 Ford team, and everybody back at the shop from Haas Automation and Stewart‑Haas Racing.

“We put a really fast car on the race track and were able to capitalize on it, and that’s always fun.”

Hamlin was philosophical afterward, admitting that “the fastest car won the race, speed-wise.”

“We didn’t have the best handling car when it was really hot and slick, but as the day went on and the track cooled off, the guys that had built more speed into their car … the conditions kind of handicapped it for them, so we were able to hang on to those Fords there at the end,” Hamlin noted. “The 4 (Harvick) was trying to save fuel there, I’m guessing, and then the 2 and the 22 peeled off. We were right there, though. We just didn’t have enough speed.

“It’s a balance. I feel like we had a great FedEx Camry today, but just came up one spot short again.”

Kyle Larson finished third for Chip Ganassi Racing, a much-needed shot in the arm after his Knoxville Nationals bid fell apart early in the week, with Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez following.

Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman completed the top 10.

Logano ended up 17th after having to duck to pit road with three to go, ruining his shot at victory.

“I needed more gas. The Shell car isn’t supposed to run out of gas,” quipped Logano. “The positive is that we were way better today than we were on Friday and Saturday. The negative is that we almost won the race, but ended up finishing 17th. You win some and you lose some, though. If the caution had come out, we would have been in good shape … but it stayed green, and that’s it. That’s the gamble.

“We took the gamble and it didn’t pay off,” he added. “At Pocono, we played it the other way and the caution came out. That’s two races now, and we just played it wrong both times.”

Keselowski and Blaney befell similar fuel-related fates, finishing 19th and 24th, respectively.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

Larson Shakes Off Knoxville Disappointment In Michigan

Published in Racing
Sunday, 11 August 2019 16:45

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Putting his disappointing Knoxville Nationals showing behind him, Kyle Larson went back to his day job on Sunday and captured a third-place finish at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

Larson copped a speeding penalty in the opening stage of the Consumers Energy 400, but stayed on the lead lap and rallied back for the remainder of the afternoon with his No. 42 McDonald’s Chevrolet.

He was the beneficiary of several drivers running out of fuel inside the final 15 laps, jumping up from the fringes of the top 10 to the podium by the time the checkered flag waved on lap 200.

“I guess if you’re going to get a speeding penalty, the first run of the race is the time to do it,” said Larson, who was sitting ninth with 12 to go. “I was surprised when they said I was speeding, because I hadn’t hit a red light at all until after leaving my pit stall. That was the only time I hit a red.

“I was conservative on my lights the rest of the day … and maybe we just misjudged a little bit, or maybe I just was a little too fast; I don’t know. But our race was good and our car handled really well, so I was happy about that. We definitely came back through there pretty nicely. The last I knew, I was ninth … so to end up third is a great day for us.”

It was a far cry from how Larson started the week on the dirt Wednesday night. He was never a factor during his Knoxville Nationals preliminary event with Silva Motorsports, failing to lock into the championship A-main and leading him to withdraw from the Saturday finale at Knoxville Raceway.

That ended a two-year string of finishing on the podium at the world’s biggest sprint car race, but Larson refused to give up as he returned back to stock cars and back to the asphalt.

Kyle Larson (42) battles Aric Almirola Sunday at Michigan Int’l Speedway. (HHP/Alan Marler photo)

Sunday afternoon, Larson had solid speed and ran toward the front for much of the day, particularly in the final stage. His end result continued a run of four top-10s in the last seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races.

“I feel like we’ve been showing a lot of speed here the last two to two and a half months now, so we contended for a win in Chicago and have had some good runs since then,” Larson noted. “We’ve made some mistakes that have put us in backup cars, but all in all we’ve done a good job to bring fast race cars to the track every week.  It just says a lot about our team and how we’re fighting through the season

“It’s a good time of year to get the speed and get some rhythm, so hopefully we can keep it going.”

With three races remaining before the playoff reset, Larson gained some breathing room over the cutoff line, leaving Michigan 71 markers clear of 17th-place Daniel Suarez.

That’s good news for the California driver, as he seeks to both make the postseason and snap a near two-year winless drought.

“We had a great points day,” Larson explained. “We saved just enough fuel there at the end to get to the finish line and now we’re well above the cut line. I’m happy about our day.

“We want that win, but we want to be able to chase a championship too.”

And as for those Nationals Larson is pursuing, there will be another year to claim that win.

Fortmann Gets First Stock Car Win At Dubuque

Published in Racing
Sunday, 11 August 2019 19:30

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The water flew and T.J. Fortmann reveled in the shower from his crew.

The Dubuque driver celebrated after he led all 15 laps of the Peosta Warehousing Logistics IMCA SportMod feature Sunday evening during Drew Cook & Sons Repair and Fluid Back to School Night at Dubuque Speedway.

“I can’t believe it. My first win in a stock car,” Fortmann said in C&W Trucking/Hoker Trucking/Kam Koncepts Victory Circle. “We continue the tradition of a Fortmann winning in the No. 32 at Dubuque.”

The hometown driver, who also serves in the military, took off from the front row and paced the green-to-checkered run.

“I got a thumbs up on the backstretch, so I knew I was clear on that final lap,” Fortmann added and laughed. “(I was) scared. I didn’t want to mess up.

Point leader Tyler Soppe and last week’s winner Jason Roth finally cleared traffic, but finished about a straightaway behind. Jake Murphy and Wes Digman rounded out the top five.

Point leader Bryce Garnhart launched from eighth, trusted the high groove and won the 20-lap Merfeld Brothers Automotive IMCA Modified main.

He took the lead on lap seven and held off several challenges and two-wide battles behind him with Matt Gansen, Timmy Current, a charging Tyler Madigan and Jason Schueller finishing next.

Several early top five drivers were victims of bad luck, including a late caution for Jed Freiburger and Mark Schulte.

Cole Mather took another K Motorsports IMCA Stock Car 12-lap main. Jarod Weepie, Jason Brimeyer, Chase Zaruba and Reece Norton followed.

Point leader Daniel Wauters passed Shane Oberbreckling about halfway through and won another Kinsella Concrete IMCA Hobby Stock 12-lap finale. Daryl Moss, Leah Wroten and Roger Winkers came next.

The teams of Austin Heacock/Justin Becker and Corey Rupp/Brandon Ehrisman put on a show in the visiting 2-Man Cruisers. The teams swapped the lead multiple times in the 12-lap feature, with Rupp/Ehrisman getting to the checkers first.

Kerry Davis/Cory Davis, Thomas Thompson/Dylan Elledge, and Justin Hansel/Paul Fleming completed the top five in an entertaining event.

Caleb Slouha visited from Newhall, Iowa for his first race in a year and won the 4 Cylinder feature. In only his second race ever on dirt, Slouha beat point leader Jacob Welter, visitor Rylie Mullin, Cody Brundage and Dylan Kuhl.

The event was called following the fifth caution in four laps for a Brundage rollover. Only three of the seven competitors made it to the finish line.

A total of 55 race teams hit the track for 15 total events, plus Back to School Night activities sponsored by Drew Cook & Sons Repair and Fluid at intermission.

Racing was completed about 9 p.m.

T-Mez Conquers Sun Prairie

Published in Racing
Monday, 12 August 2019 04:31

SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — Thomas Meseraull completed a clean sweep, winning Sunday night’s 25-lap Zimbrick Chevrolet of Sun Prairie Badger Midget Racing Series feature at Angell Park Speedway.

Earlier in the evening, Meseraull topped the 26-car field with a qualifying lap of 14.403 seconds and captured his eight-lap heat race.

Point leader Jack Routson took the lead at the start, with Meseraull passing four cars on the opening lap. Two laps later Meseraull passed Scott Hatton for second place. Meseraull cut into Routson’s lead and took over the top position on lap eight entering turn three.
Two laps later, Meseraull began lapping the back of the field. Meseruall held a 1.3 second lead over Justin Peck at the race’s midway. Two caution flags for spun out cars slowed the race on laps 14 and 16.
Peck challenged Meseruall for the lead on both restarts but couldn’t make a successful pass for the lead. Meseruall increased his lead to five car lengths with five laps remaining.
Meseruall, driving the RMS Racing owned Spike/Honda No. 7, finished 2.08 seconds ahead of Peck. Routson, Chase McDermand and Zach Boden.

“This was my kinda race track tonight, the car was fantastic, this team has worked hard the last few week’s I’m so happy to finally win a feature at Angell Park,” said Meseruall, who became the 165th different midget feature winner in the track’s 73-year history.
The finish:

Feature (25 laps): 1. Thomas Meseraull; 2. Justin Peck; 3. Jack Routson; 4. Chase McDermand; 5. Zach Boden; 6. Scott Hatton; 7. Jeff Zelinski; 8. Ryan Probst; 9. Mike Stroik; 10. Tristan Koenings; 11. Kevin Olson; 12. Jeremy Douglas; 13. Jim Fuerst; 14. Kyle Brinkmann; 15. Kevin Douglas; 16. Kurt Mayhew; 17. Harrison Kleven; 18. Denny Smith; 19. Shay Sassano; 20. Matt Rechek; 21. Jordan Mattson; 22. Kyle Koch. 

A breakdown of prize money and FedExCup points for winner Patrick Reed and the rest of the players who made the cut at The Northern Trust, where FEC points were quadrupled for the first playoff event.

Finish Player FedEx Earnings ($)
1 Patrick Reed 2,000.00 1,665,000.00
2 Abraham Ancer 1,200.00 999,000.00
T3 Jon Rahm 650.00 536,500.00
T3 Harold Varner III 650.00 536,500.00
5 Adam Scott 440.00 370,000.00
T6 Rory McIlroy 355.00 299,468.75
T6 Louis Oosthuizen 355.00 299,468.75
T6 Brandt Snedeker 355.00 299,468.75
T6 Jordan Spieth 355.00 299,468.75
T10 Ian Poulter 290.00 240,500.00
T10 Justin Rose 290.00 240,500.00
T12 Patrick Cantlay 227.33 175,750.00
T12 Kevin Kisner 227.33 175,750.00
T12 Jason Kokrak 227.33 175,750.00
T12 Troy Merritt 227.33 175,750.00
T12 Andrew Putnam 227.33 175,750.00
T12 Justin Thomas 227.33 175,750.00
T18 Wyndham Clark 188.00 129,500.00
T18 Ryan Moore 188.00 129,500.00
T18 Webb Simpson 188.00 129,500.00
T21 Cameron Champ 164.00 103,600.00
T21 Corey Conners 164.00 103,600.00
T21 Billy Horschel 164.00 103,600.00
T24 Bryson DeChambeau 133.00 74,925.00
T24 Dustin Johnson 133.00 74,925.00
T24 C.T. Pan 133.00 74,925.00
T24 Adam Schenk 133.00 74,925.00
T24 Kevin Tway 133.00 74,925.00
T24 Danny Willett 133.00 74,925.00
T30 Branden Grace 92.50 53,765.63
T30 Andrew Landry 92.50 53,765.63
T30 Joaquin Niemann 92.50 53,765.63
T30 Vaughn Taylor 92.50 53,765.63
T30 Tony Finau 92.50 53,765.62
T30 Matt Jones 92.50 53,765.62
T30 Brooks Koepka 92.50 53,765.62
T30 Hideki Matsuyama 92.50 53,765.62
T38 Byeong Hun An 64.00 39,775.00
T38 Max Homa 64.00 39,775.00
T38 Sungjae Im 64.00 39,775.00
T38 Chez Reavie 64.00 39,775.00
T38 Jhonattan Vegas 64.00 39,775.00
T43 Ryan Armour 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Tommy Fleetwood 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Dylan Frittelli 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Lucas Glover 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Chesson Hadley 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Adam Hadwin 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Sebastián Muñoz 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Rory Sabbatini 40.66 27,565.00
T43 Aaron Wise 40.66 27,565.00
T52 Brian Harman 25.02 21,354.29
T52 J.B. Holmes 25.02 21,354.29
T52 Collin Morikawa 25.02 21,354.29
T52 Gary Woodland 25.02 21,354.29
T52 Jim Furyk 25.02 21,354.28
T52 Shane Lowry 25.02 21,354.28
T52 Brian Stuard 25.02 21,354.28
T59 Tyrrell Hatton 19.20 20,165.00
T59 Russell Henley 19.20 20,165.00
T59 J.T. Poston 19.20 20,165.00
T59 Cameron Smith 19.20 20,165.00
T59 Nick Watney 19.20 20,165.00
T64 Keegan Bradley 16.00 19,425.00
T64 Keith Mitchell 16.00 19,425.00
T64 Roger Sloan 16.00 19,425.00
T67 Joel Dahmen 13.20 18,777.50
T67 Mackenzie Hughes 13.20 18,777.50
T67 Carlos Ortiz 13.20 18,777.50
T67 Scott Piercy 13.20 18,777.50
T71 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 10.80 17,945.00
T71 Talor Gooch 10.80 17,945.00
T71 Phil Mickelson 10.80 17,945.00
T71 Kyle Stanley 10.80 17,945.00
T71 Matthew Wolff 10.80 17,945.00
76 Scott Brown 9.60 17,390.00
T77 Charley Hoffman 8.60 16,927.50
T77 Luke List 8.60 16,927.50
T77 Kevin Na 8.60 16,927.50
T77 Ryan Palmer 8.60 16,927.50
81 Danny Lee 7.60 16,465.00
82 Francesco Molinari 7.20 16,280.00
83 Martin Laird 6.80 16,095.00
84 Si Woo Kim 6.40 15,910.00

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Following last year’s Ryder Cup, where Patrick Reed scorched a few U.S. team members and some of captain Jim Furyk’s leadership choices, it became difficult to imagine how the 29-year-old would ever fit back into the American team room.

For much of the summer Reed’s position on this year’s Presidents Cup team wasn’t really an issue as he struggled early in the season and he began this week’s The Northern Trust 17th on the U.S. points list, with next week’s deadline to finish inside the top 8 (Aug. 18) and automatically qualify looming.

Reed gave his title chances a boost with his victory Sunday at Liberty National but it was still only enough to move him to 12th on the points list, which means captain Tiger Woods may still have to decide whether to pick Reed for this year’s team.

“If I'm not inside the top 8, that means that I have until [WGC-HSBC Champions in November] to continue playing good golf, continue playing well,” Reed said. “If you continue playing good golf and you continue to have a chance to win on Sunday, then it's one of those things that it's going to be hard not to pick somebody.”

Woods will announce his four captain’s picks on Nov. 4.

Following last year’s Ryder Cup, Reed criticized Furyk for not pairing him with Jordan Spieth. “The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me. I don’t have any issue with Jordan. When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with or if the person likes me as long as it works,” Reed told the New York Times.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – With one fewer playoff event and more points available, this year’s postseason was billed as a more volatile version, and The Northern Trust didn’t disappoint.

In total, four players moved into the top 70 and advanced to next week’s BMW Championship led by Harold Varner III, who made the week’s biggest jump from 102nd on the points list to 29th.

“My second year on Tour [2017], I was in the same position where I had a hard chance of keeping my card and I got through the next one,” said Varner, who closed with a 68 to finish tied for third at The Northern Trust. “I've been playing really well this whole year. You stay patient and you keep doing the things that you believe and it paid off today.”

Troy Merritt (T-12), Wyndham Clark (T-18) and Joaquin Niemann (T-30) also moved into the top 70 and secured a spot in next week’s field; while on the other side of the bubble fell Sergio Garcia (MC), Danny Lee (81st), Matthew Wolff (T-71) and Kevin Streelman (MC) who dropped outside the top 70.

It marks the second consecutive year that Garcia failed to advance in the playoffs. Last season he finished 128th in points and didn’t qualify for the postseason.

Gabriela Ruffels made history Sunday in Mississippi, making birdie each of her final two holes to defeat Albane Valenzuela, 1 up, to become the first Australian winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

The moment left the rising USC junior nearly speechless.

“It’s been kind of a blur the last kind of 20 minutes,” Ruffels said. “But this is amazing. This is what you dream of as a kid when you start playing golf.”

Only Ruffels’ dream of achieving great heights initially began with another sport.

Tennis runs in Ruffels’ blood. Her father, Ray, was a three-time semifinalist at the Australian Open and reached the mixed-doubles finals of the U.S. Open and Wimbeldon. Her mother, Anna-Maria Fernandez, won a national singles title at USC in 1981. Gabriela played the sport competitively and became a top-ranked junior player in Australia, until she gave it up at age 14.

Shortly after, she turned her focus to golf. As if earning a scholarship to a premier program and playing a pivotal role last season for the top-ranked Trojans weren’t enough to validate her decision, Sunday’s triumph at Old Waverly Club left no question.

Ruffels rolled through the first three rounds of match play, never reaching the 16th hole, and then in the semifinals took down All-American Andrea Lee of Stanford to earn a finals matchup against Lee’s Cardinal teammate, Valenzuela.

The 21-year-old Valenzuela, who two years ago lost to Sophia Schubert in the final of this tournament, got out to an early 2-up lead after four holes. But neither player played particularly well in the morning portion. Ruffels won Nos. 8-11 to go 3 up, yet she let Valenzuela win holes with pars on the back nine to go into the break tied.

Valenzuela led 1 up for much of the second 18, including through 32 holes.

At that point, Ruffels’ caddie, USC head coach Justin Silverstein, had to relinquish his duties in order to get to the airport. (Silverstein had to fly home to California from Memphis on Sunday afternoon to attend a funeral on Monday.) Mississippi State junior Blair Stockett, who plays Old Waverly frequently, took over.

Ruffels birdied the next hole, the par-5 15th, to square the match. Two holes later, she took the lead with another birdie. And on the last, with Valenzuela facing a short birdie putt, Ruffels drained a 10-footer to halve the hole and clinch the match.

“Seeing that just drop in, probably the best feeling of my life,” Ruffels said.

She’s sure to have more, considering Ruffels’ victory earns her several perks. She receives exemptions into the U.S. Women’s Open, ANA Inspiration, Women’s British Open and Evian Championship next year, as well as the 2020 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

“Never. Been. Prouder,” Ruffels’ older brother, Ryan, a professional golfer, tweeted Sunday from Canada. “To step away from tennis five years ago because you wanted to pursue something you had more of a passion for is a very gutsy call for a 14-year-old to make. Hard work, and now look at you.”

Gabi Ruffels, USGA champion.

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2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

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Baseball

Yanks' Williams blows 4-run lead; ERA up to 9.00

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Sports Leagues

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    International Table Tennis Federation
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    Federation Internationale de Speedball

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