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2019 U.S. Open: Plenty of coastal-colored scripting at Pebble Beach
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 11 June 2019 07:00
In what is often referred to as the greatest meeting of land and sea, a handful of the game's top players are bringing out coastal-colored outfits this week at Pebble Beach. Here's a look at some of the scripting for the 119th U.S. Open:
Brooks Koepka
Tiger Woods
Dustin Johnson
Rickie Fowler
Sergio Garcia
Justin Thomas
Rory McIlroy
Jordan Spieth
Xander Schauffele
Bryson DeChambeau
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PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Fueled to the top of the world by various slights and signs of disrespect, Brooks Koepka didn’t need to look far for an extra bit of motivation this week.
Koepka said that a few fans tagged him on social media after watching one of Fox’s U.S. Open promos and noticing something strange – that the two-time defending champion didn’t appear.
“We’re amazed that I wasn’t in it,” Koepka said Tuesday at Pebble Beach, where he’s looking to become the first player in more than a century to capture three consecutive U.S. Open titles.
“Just kind of shocked. They’ve had over a year to put it out. So I don’t know. Somebody probably got fired over it ... or should.”
It wasn’t clear which promo Koepka was referring to; there are Koepka-specific promos that currently appear on Fox Sports’ social channels.
In any case, it’s another example of how Koepka has spent the past few years piling chips onto his muscled shoulders, whether it’s because no reporters wanted to talk to him after a major round, or that he was left off the notables page at the 2018 U.S. Open, or a comment that he hadn’t yet proven that he was “tough enough.”
“There’s a couple of things where it’s just mind-boggling – it’s, like, really? How do you forget that?” he said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”
Koepka also couldn’t resist a subtle jab at Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee, with whom he has sparred on a few occasions this year. Responding to a question about how often he consumes golf-related news, Koepka intentionally left out Chamblee’s name when he said: “At night when we’re done we’ll flip on the Golf Channel for a little bit and see what they’re talking about at the end of the day, what Frank [Nobilo] and David [Duval] and Rich [Lerner] are talking about.” Then he cracked a wry smile.
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Koepka on player complaints: 'They're not playing good enough'
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 11 June 2019 07:42
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – There hasn’t been much for Brooks Koepka to complain about over the past few years, but the last thing he’d gripe about is the course setup.
That, of course, puts him in the minority of players at the U.S. Open.
“Everybody’s got to play the same golf course,” he said Tuesday. “So it really doesn’t make a difference. It doesn’t make a difference if you put it in the fairway and you hit every green. There’s really no problem, is there? So obviously they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do. They’re not playing good enough.”
Growing up, Koepka was known to run hot on the course, but his outbursts were always performance related. The way he now handles any on-course adversity or treacherous setup makes him a sports psychologist’s dream.
“I’ve just never been one to complain, make excuses,” he said. “Nobody wants to hear anybody’s excuse. I find it annoying even when I play with guys and they’re dropping clubs or throwing them or complaining, like telling me how bad the golf course is, how bad this is. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me.
“It’s just something we’ve all got to deal with. If you play good enough, you shouldn’t have a problem.”
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Fifteen amateurs will tee it up in the 119th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, including Viktor Hovland and Stewart Hagestad. Here is a closer look at each of them (all tee times local):
Devon Bling
Age: 19
Hometown: Ridgecrest, Calif.
College: UCLA (junior)
How he qualified: U.S. Amateur runner-up
Thursday tee time: 2:58 p.m. (10th tee)
Friday tee time: 9:13 a.m. (1st tee)
Bling, who lost to Viktor Hovland, 6 and 5, in last summer’s U.S. Amateur final at Pebble Beach, makes his second major start this year. He finished 55th at the Masters. When Bling was 13 years old, his mother, Sara, died from a stroke at age 44.
Chandler Eaton
Age: 21
Hometown: Alpharetta, Ga.
College: Duke (senior)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 3:31 p.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 9:46 a.m. (10)
Eaton is making his first start in a pro event. He was an All-ACC selection last season. His parents both also played college golf, his mom at Iowa State and dad at Texas-Arlington.
Austin Eckroat
Age: 20
Hometown: Edmond, Okla.
College: Oklahoma State (junior)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 2:03 p.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 8:18 a.m. (10)
Eckroat posted six top-10s, including one victory, during his sophomore season. He went 2-0 in match play this year at the NCAA Championship. This will be his first pro start. He has Oklahoma State assistant coach Donnie Darr as his caddie this week. Darr is battling colorectal cancer.
Stewart Hagestad
Age: 28
Hometown: Newport Beach, Calif.
College: USC (graduated)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 2:14 p.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 8:29 a.m. (10)
Hagestad is playing in his third straight U.S. Open, the first amateur to do so since Jay Sigel in 1983-85. He missed cuts at Erin Hills and Shinnecock Hills. Hagestad won the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur and competed in the 2017 Walker Cup. He was the low amateur at the 2017 Masters, tying for 36th.
Daniel Hillier
Age: 20
Hometown: Wellington, New Zealand
College: None
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 3:31 p.m. (10)
Friday tee time: 9:46 a.m. (1)
Led the U.S. Amateur last summer after one round of stroke play. Lost in the second round of match play at Pebble Beach. He won the New Zealand Amateur in 2015 and ’17.
Viktor Hovland
Age: 21
Hometown: Oslo, Norway
College: Oklahoma State (turning pro this summer)
How he qualified: U.S. Amateur champion
Thursday tee time: 2:47 p.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 9:02 a.m. (10)
Hovland earned his ticket to the U.S. Open by beating Devon Bling, 6 and 5, in the U.S. Amateur final at Pebble Beach. He is coming off being the low amateur at the Masters, where he tied for 32nd. He also tied for 40th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He won the Ben Hogan Award this year and won three times as a sophomore at Oklahoma State, which advanced to the NCAA semifinals last month. He plans to turn pro next week at the Travelers Championship and will be four straight weeks on Tour. He is grouped with Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari for the first two rounds at Pebble. He has Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton on the bag.
Noah Norton
Age: 20
Hometown: Chico, Calif.
College: Georgia Tech (junior)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 9:57 a.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 2:42 p.m. (10)
Norton had three top-10s last season as a sophomore for the Yellow Jackets. He is a two-time All-ACC selection. He is making his first pro start.
Kevin O’Connell
Age: 30
Hometown: Jacksonville, Fla.
College: North Carolina (graduated)
How he qualified: U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Thursday tee time: 8:18 a.m. (10)
Friday tee time: 2:03 p.m. (1)
O’Connell beat Brett Boner, 4 and 3, in the 2018 U.S. Mid-Amateur final at Charlotte Country Club to earn his U.S. Open ticket. He missed the cut at the Masters. He turned pro after college but regain his amateur status after failing to get through Q-School several times. He was the 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year.
Matt Parziale
Age: 32
Hometown: Brockton, Mass.
College: Southeastern (Fla.)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 8:18 a.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 2:03 p.m. (10)
Parziale, the 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, was co-low amateur with Luis Gagne at last year’s U.S. Open, where he was T-48. He works as a firefighter in Brockton. He played two years of pro golf on mini-tours before regaining his amateur status.
Jovan Rebula
Age: 21
Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa
College: Auburn (senior)
How he qualified: British Amateur champion
Thursday tee time: 8:29 a.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 2:14 p.m. (10)
Rebula is coming off a junior season where he notched five top-10s, including winning the SEC Championship in a playoff. He won the 2018 British Amateur by beating Robin Dawson, 3 and 2. He missed cuts at last year’s Open Championship and this year’s Masters. His uncle is four-time major winner Ernie Els.
Michael Thorbjornsen
Age: 17
Hometown: Wellesley, Mass.
College: Stanford (2020 commit)
How he qualified: U.S. Junior Amateur champion
Thursday tee time: 2:03 p.m. (10)
Friday tee time: 8:18 a.m. (1)
Thorbjornsen punched his ticket to Pebble Beach by beating Akshay Bhatia, 1 up, in the U.S. Junior final at Baltusrol. He attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He is making his first pro start.
Spencer Tibbits
Age: 20
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
College: Oregon State (junior)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 3:42 p.m. (10)
Friday tee time: 9:57 a.m. (1)
Tibbits was an honorable-mention All-Pac 12 selection last season as a sophomore. He won the Oregon State Junior Match Play and Junior Stroke Play in 2016.
Brandon Wu
Age: 22
Hometown: Danville, Calif.
College: Stanford (graduated)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 9:35 a.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 3:20 p.m. (10)
Wu is coming off winning an NCAA team title last month. He went 3-0 in match play. He plans to remain amateur this summer for a chance to make the U.S. Walker Cup team. He won New England championships in golf and swimming at Deerfield (Mass.) Prep.
Cameron Young
Age: 22
Hometown: Scarborough, N.Y.
College: Wake Forest (graduate)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 1:41 p.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 7:56 a.m. (10)
Young won three times as a senior last season at Wake. He medaled at the Purchase, N.Y., sectional. He won the 2017 New York State Open at Bethpage. His dad, David, is the head pro at Sleepy Hollow Country Club. His mom is on the bag this week.
Chun An Yu
Age: 20
Hometown: Taoyuan, Taiwan
College: Arizona State (senior)
How he qualified: Sectional qualifying
Thursday tee time: 7:56 a.m. (1)
Friday tee time: 1:41 p.m. (10)
Yu, also known as Kevin, was a first-team All-American as a junior for the Sun Devils last season. He won the Australian Master of the Amateurs last winter. He is coming off a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
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Mickelson laser focused on claiming elusive U.S. Open, career Grand Slam
Published in
Golf
Tuesday, 11 June 2019 09:50
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Phil Mickelson’s Grand Slam quest has reached the Pacific coast.
Mickelson will make his fifth attempt to snag the fourth and final leg this week at the U.S. Open, having finished no better than a T-28 at Pinehurst in 2014 since closing out the career Grand Slam has been on the table. Last year’s T-48 finish at Shinnecock Hills was merely a footnote to the larger story, as Lefty ignited weeks’ worth of controversy when he purposefully hit a moving ball on the 13th green during the third round and was penalized but not disqualified.
Mickelson has finished runner-up at this event a record six times, most recently in 2013, and it was here at Pebble Beach that he made his professional debut en route to a missed cut at the 1992 U.S. Open. His record at Pebble during the PGA Tour’s annual AT&T event is much more decorated, having won the tournament five times including earlier this year.
Renewing the chase for the title that has most eluded him, Mickelson played the front nine in a Tuesday practice session that also included former Arizona State products Jon Rahm and Chun An-Yu, as well as Australian Brett Drewitt. While Mickelson is known for his competitive Tuesday practice sessions, this was a more laid-back affair that featured multiple shots from some tees and fairways and plenty of chipping practice from the thick rough around the greens.
Mickelson is not scheduled to hold a formal pre-tournament interview, and he declined an interview request after completing his practice round. He tees off at 11:13 a.m. ET Thursday alongside two men who have both lifted the trophy he covets the most, Dustin Johnson and Graeme McDowell.
Mickelson turns 49 on Sunday and would likely love nothing more than to celebrate with a sixth major title. In addition to his missed cut in 1992, he also finished T-16 at Pebble in 2000 and tied for fourth in 2010.
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Second division FC Juarez will be play in Liga MX starting from the 2019 Apertura, after it bought first division club Lobos BUAP, Liga MX confirmed on Tuesday.
"The situation is like this: Juarez will participate in Liga MX next season in place of Lobos BUAP," Liga MX president Enrique Bonilla said at a press conference in Cancun on Tuesday. "It's done. It's been agreed by the assembly and from this moment we'll work on the schedule."
Lobos BUAP have a spot in the second division, but its future is as yet unknown, with their registration "frozen" until they present a new project to the league, according to Bonilla. Only 14 teams are set to compete in the second division next season, which had agreed a system of four points per away win in part due to the odd number of teams in the league.
- Liga MX season review: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
- Club America, Chivas, Boca Juniors, River Plate to play matches
Atletico San Luis had won promotion to Liga MX last month via the Ascenso MX playoff, with Veracruz -- technically relegated from the top flight -- were able to pay a $6 million penalty to remain in the first division to keep it at 19 teams, despite the team finishing with zero points in the Liga MX Clausura season.
The deal to take Puebla-based Lobos BUAP to the northern border town of Juarez was widely rumored to take place last month.
Mexico's relegation system is worked out on an average points-per-game tally over the past six short seasons (three European seasons) with one team promoted and one relegated, but this isn't the first time there has been alternative means of pro/rel. In 2013, La Piedad won promotion and was uprooted to Veracruz, while San Luis was moved to Tuxtla Gutierrez and relabeled Chiapas Futbol Club. La Piedad was left without a team.
After the 2018 Clausura, Lobos BUAP was relegated, but was allowed to pay the penalty to stay in the first division because promoted side Cafetaleros de Tapachula didn't meet Liga MX requirements to take their place in the league.
Liga MX president Bonilla has previously said that the goal is for Liga MX to expand to 20 teams.
The 2019 Apertura tournament is due to start on July 19, giving Juarez just over a month to prepare.
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Alex Morgan scored a record-tying five goals as the U.S. opened its Women's World Cup campaign with a tournament record 13-0 win over Thailand in Group F on Tuesday.
The pre-tournament favorites and defending champions took it right to Thailand in the opening minutes, with Morgan seeing a goal ruled out for offside inside of 10 minutes.
Minutes later, Morgan's second strike would stand up when she found space in between two Thai defenders and headed home a Kelley O'Hara cross to put the U.S. up 1-0.
Rose Lavelle doubled the lead for the Americans before the 20-minute mark, picking up the ball just inside the attacking third, dribbling to the top of the penalty area and smashing a swerving shot past Thailand keeper Sukanya Chor Charoenying.
A set piece led to the third goal for the U.S. just past 30 minutes as Lindsey Horan hit her close-range shot into the roof of the net and Thailand was lucky to not concede another before the break with Jill Ellis' team continuing to dominate the match and keep their opponents under constant pressure.
"We really just came into this game and really wanted to showcase ourselves and what we've been preparing for and what we've been working on," Morgan said after the match. "I think we did that. Every goal matters in this tournament and that's what we were working on this game."
The U.S. picked up right where it left off in the first half and then some after the break, scoring four goals in just over 10 minutes.
Sam Mewis, who started in midfield after Becky Sauerbrunn was held out for precautionary reasons with an injury, started things off in the 50th minute before Morgan and Lavelle added their second apiece and Julie Ertz scored soon after to make it 7-0.
Morgan completed her third and fourth as the match approached full-time and Megan Rapinoe added another on the counter-attack in between to put the U.S. up 10-0.
Substitute Mallory Pugh then scored to put the U.S. up 11-0 and Morgan added her fifth goal of the night to join countrywoman Michelle Akers as the only two women to score five in a single match at the World Cup.
Veteran Carli Lloyd then added a 13th goal of the night for the U.S. to reach the final scoreline and give the Americans a record for both margin of victory and goals scored, surpassing Germany in 2007 who beat Argentina 11-0.
The group-leading U.S., who had a 39-2 shot advantage to improve to 6-0-2 all-time in World Cup openers, next faces Chile before playing Sweden in its last match before the knockout rounds begin.
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Mistrial declared on 8 counts in Winslow Jr. trial
Published in
Breaking News
Tuesday, 11 June 2019 13:18
VISTA, Calif. -- A California jury that convicted former NFL player Kellen Winslow Jr. of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman was unable to break a deadlock on eight other counts Tuesday and a judge declared a mistrial on those charges.
The judge earlier denied a defense motion to dismiss the undecided charges involving the alleged rapes of a 54-year-old hitchhiker and an unconscious teen.
Prosecutors did not immediately say whether they would retry those charges. Winslow currently faces up to nine years in prison. Conviction on all charges could bring a life sentence.
The San Diego County Superior Court jury on Monday found Winslow guilty of an attack last year on the homeless woman in Encinitas, north of San Diego. The jury also found the 35-year-old former tight end guilty of indecent exposure and lewd conduct involving two other women, but jurors found him not guilty of one count of a lewd act.
The jury told the court Monday that it was deadlocked on the other charges, but the judge had ordered them to resume deliberations on Tuesday.
All five women testified during the nine-day trial. Winslow, who played for Cleveland, Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Jets, did not take the stand.
Defense attorneys pointed out inconsistencies in the accusers' testimonies and argued the women invented the allegations to prey on the wealth of Winslow, who reportedly earned over $40 million during his 10 seasons in the NFL.
The five women testified that they didn't know Winslow was famous when they met him.
Prosecutors said Winslow -- the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow -- felt empowered by his fame to abuse the most vulnerable. Prosecutor Dan Owens told the jury of eight men and four women that Winslow is a "wolf in sheep's clothing.''
The homeless woman in Encinitas testified that Winslow befriended her and attacked her next to his vehicle after inviting her for a coffee in May 2018.
The 54-year-old hitchhiker said he drove her to an Encinitas shopping center parking lot and raped her in his Hummer in March 2018.
A 57-year-old woman said he exposed himself to her while she tended to her garden in May 2018. The jury found him guilty of that charge Monday.
After news of the attacks broke, a woman came forward and said Winslow had raped her when she was a 17-year-old high school student in 2003. He was 19 at the time and had come home from college for the summer.
A 77-year-old woman who went to the same gym as Winslow in the nearby beach community of Carlsbad said he committed lewd acts in front of her, including touching himself, while Winslow was free on $2 million bail in February. The jury found him guilty of touching himself in front of the woman while she exercised, but not guilty of committing a lewd act in front of her on a separate occasion in the gym's hot tub.
Defense attorney Marc Carlos questioned the credibility of the women's claims, saying they had lied, misconstrued things or were unable to initially identify Winslow correctly. Defense lawyers also said the sex was consensual and that Winslow had cheated on his wife repeatedly with no-strings-attached sex.
Prosecutors said the crux of the women's accusations didn't change and that evidence included traces of Winslow's DNA on one of the accuser's pants and GPS locations placing him where the women said the assaults occurred.
Jurors on Friday sent a note to the judge indicating they were struggling to reach agreement.
"The jurors could benefit from an explanation as to what being under oath means," the note said. "Additionally, how we should follow the law and not what we think the law means."
The judge told jurors that being under oath means telling the whole truth and that they should follow the law how it is written.
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NEW YORK -- Hall of Famer Jim Thome and former pitcher Dennis Martinez will be the managers in a revamped All-Star Futures Game at Cleveland on July 7.
In its 21st year, the game is switching formats and will match American League prospects against National League prospects. Previously, a world team faced U.S. players.
In addition, the game is being shortened from nine innings to seven, which was the length in the initial Futures Game in 1999.
The commissioner's office said Wednesday that Thome will lead the AL team and Martinez the NL. Both are former Indians players.
The U.S. has won 13 of 20 Futures Games, including eight of the last nine.
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MIAMI -- St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina has been activated from the 10-day injured list, and the team optioned rookie catcher Andrew Knizner to Triple-A Memphis.
The moves were made before Tuesday night's game at Miami.
Molina missed 11 games after being sidelined May 29 with a strained right thumb tendon. At the time of his injury, Molina led all major league catchers in games, innings caught, RBIs and hits.
He collected his 1,900th career hit May 25.
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