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NEW YORK -- The Rangers have agreed to terms with defenseman Adam Fox on an entry-level contract.
New York acquired Fox on Tuesday in a trade with Carolina for its second-round pick this year and a conditional third-round choice next year.
Fox played in 33 games for Harvard this past season, collecting nine goals and 39 assists. He ranked second in points among NCAA defensemen, trailing Hobey Baker Award winner Cale Makar (49). The 21-year-old from Jericho, New York, helped the United States win a bronze medal at the 2018 world junior championship.
Fox was originally selected by Calgary in the third round of the 2016 draft. He was acquired by Carolina in a trade with the Flames in June 2018.
TORONTO -- Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews underwent a procedure Thursday to remove hardware from a 2014 surgery.
The team said the procedure won't affect Matthews' offseason training.
The Maple Leafs did not give further details on why Matthews required surgery in 2014, but he had a broken femur in 2013 while playing with USA Hockey's under-17 team.
Matthews had 37 goals and 73 points in 68 games this season, his third in the NHL. He added five goals and an assist in seven playoff games.
NHL coach and GM carousel: Who's hired, what's open
As the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs roll on, the business of hockey continues with the teams that finished out of the money. Some of them have found new head coaches. Some of them are still looking. One needs a general manager. Two just kicked their GMs upstairs to add to (or maintain) their brain trust.
Here's a look the vacancies and the recently filled jobs in the NHL, and what we're hearing about them.
Filled coaching jobs
Florida Panthers
Former coach: Bob Boughner
New coach: Joel Quenneville
Analysis: What a coup for the Cats. The second-winningest coach in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman, and the winner of three Stanley Cups, Quenneville was captivated by living in South Florida -- golf, horse racing and Dale Tallon, the guy who hired him in Chicago and is the current Panthers GM. The multiyear deal pays him around $6 million annually, and it's hard not to think it's a solid investment: Quenneville has missed the playoffs only three times in coaching 1,636 career games.
His presence makes the Panthers a potential player destination (hello, Artemi Panarin) and gives the franchise a legitimacy it has lacked for decades. Greg Cote of the Miami Herald called him, "the most accomplished man and proven winner in his profession to join a local team since the Heat got Pat Riley in 1995."
News story: Panthers move fast, hire Quenneville as coach
Los Angeles Kings
Former coach: Willie Desjardins
New coach: Todd McLellan
Analysis: GM Rob Blake convinced his former coach in San Jose to take over the Kings with an "extensive" plan to get back on a path to success ... which will probably have more to do with Blake flipping the aged roster into something younger than it does McLellan's coaching, but we digress. The interesting phrase that McLellan used in his introductory news conference was owing the fans "entertainment value," which one assumes means the Kings might get a more offensive style for the first time in nearly a decade.
News story: McLellan agrees to multiyear deal to coach Kings
Philadelphia Flyers
Former coach: Scott Gordon
New coach: Alain Vigneault
Analysis: A "win now" move for both the franchise and the former New York Rangers coach, who signed on because he thinks the Flyers are close. "On my bucket list, I need one more thing: I need to win a Stanley Cup. I've come close twice," Vigneault said when he was hired. "When I look at and analyze the parts we have here in Philly, when I look at and analyze the options that we have in improving this team, it gets a check mark from me."
If nothing else, Vigneault takes over a team with a star in his prime (Claude Giroux), several good young players (including goalie Carter Hart), around $30 million in cap space next summer and, of course, Gritty.
News story: Flyers announce Vigneault as team's new coach
Open coaching jobs
Anaheim Ducks
Former coach: Bob Murray
Rumor 'n' innuendo: True to form, Murray is playing it close to the vest for his next head coach. (Please recall Murray took over behind the Ducks' bench after firing Randy Carlyle this season but has no interest in returning as head coach.) We know he's looking for a coach who can connect with younger players. Dallas Eakins has been impressive as head coach of San Diego Gulls in the AHL, as they advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. There are a lot of dots that connect with Eakins, but we've been told he's not a slam dunk.
One wonders if AHL coaches Pascal Vincent (Manitoba) or Mike Vellucci (Charlotte) could get a look. If it's a former NHL bench boss, Mike Yeo has interviewed with Murray before. The wild card: Rikard Gronborg, the Swedish national team coach. He has coached Hampus Lindholm, Jakob Silfverberg and Rickard Rakell before, and he's itching to come to the NHL.
Buffalo Sabres
Former coach: Phil Housley
Rumor 'n' innuendo: It's no secret GM Jason Botterill is seeking a bench boss with head NHL coaching experience after previously hiring a former assistant in Housley. Alas, some of the bigger names already hopped off the coaching carousel, but two familiar names have interviewed with the Sabres: Dave Tippett, the former Arizona Coyotes coach who apparently still has the itch (or was informed what his role, or lack thereof, in Seattle was to be); and Jacques Martin, the former Senators and Panthers head coach whom Botterill has a connection with through their days in Pittsburgh together.
Lightning assistant Todd Richards, another Pittsburgh connection, was the former head coach of the Wild and Blue Jackets. Chris Taylor, head coach at AHL Rochester, could be in the mix. Gronborg and Botterill are expected to connect during the upcoming IIHF world championship.
Edmonton Oilers
Former/current coach: Ken Hitchcock
Rumor 'n' innuendo: There's still a chance the next general manager of the Oilers asks Hitch to hang around as head coach, and that Hitch accepts the offer. But most likely, it'll be a new face with some history with the new GM. It would be the eighth coach in 11 years for the Oilers, which we guess is consistency, in a weird way.
Ottawa Senators
Former/current coach: Marc Crawford
Rumor 'n' innuendo: Crawford went 7-10-1 as interim head coach for Ottawa, which was good enough to put in consideration for the gig. Jacques Martin, who coached there for nine seasons, is in the mix as is Belleville Senators coach Troy Mann (although speculation is he could be elevated as an assistant coach). According to Sportsnet, Ottawa has asked Toronto for permission to speak to assistant coach D.J. Smith. From the college hockey ranks, Providence coach Nate Leaman is under consideration.
But the rising star might be Brad Shaw, an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has a great reputation as coach of defensemen and instructed the Jackets' league-best penalty kill. He was also interviewed by Sens GM Pierre Dorion in 2016 before they hired Guy Boucher. Oh, and he was the alternate captain of the 1992 expansion Senators, too.
Filled GM jobs
Detroit Red Wings
Former GM: Ken Holland
New GM: Steve Yzerman
Analysis: From the moment he stepped away from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the speculation was that Yzerman would ride in and replace Holland, so this was no surprise. Holland remains the senior vice president of hockey operations -- for now -- while Yzerman takes over as general manager. To no one's surprise, Yzerman preached patience as the Red Wings go young and build through the draft. To the surprise of many, he not only said he'd honor coach Jeff Blashill's two-year contract extension but offered vocal support for the coach.
News story: Stevie GM: Wings tab Yzerman to replace Holland
Vegas Golden Knights
Former GM: George McPhee
New GM: Kelly McCrimmon
Analysis: What, you didn't realize the Golden Knights needed a new general manager? McPhee did, apparently. He started formulating a plan to "keep the band together" in Vegas, fully knowing that opportunities would present themselves to highly regarded assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon this offseason. His solution? To remain atop the Golden Knights' player personnel chain of command as president of hockey operations, with McCrimmon moving up to general manager.
The two will continue their "co-managing" setup that has been in place since McCrimmon was hired. Most importantly, it keeps an instantly successful brain trust together for a franchise that's just a piece or two away from another trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
"I don't know if I would have done this for anyone else. But it's easy to do when it's the right thing. This was the right thing for the Golden Knights. I'm proud to do this. Kelly's going to be terrific at it. And we just keep rolling along here," McPhee said.
News story: Golden Knights elevate McCrimmon to GM role
Open GM jobs
Edmonton Oilers
Former/current GM: Keith Gretzky
Rumor 'n' innuendo: You didn't need an electron microscope to read between the lines at the Golden Knights' news conference. The Oilers were asking about McCrimmon, and the opportunity was such that George McPhee bumped himself upstairs to keep the Vegas brain trust together. So where does that leave the Oilers, as their search narrows?
According to TSN's Ryan Rishaug, interim GM Keith Gretzky and former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant GM Mark Hunter are down to the wire for the opening, with former Team Canada GM Sean Burke also in the mix. There's still a chance Holland could be convinced to take over the Oilers, but that's a long shot at this point. Gretzky has cultivated a lot of support from the local punditry in Edmonton. Also, his name is Keith Gretzky.
Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily: Bruins, Avalanche get even
Three of the four series in the second round are now deadlocked, as the Boston Bruins tied things up with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Colorado Avalanche did likewise with their win against the San Jose Sharks.
Here's what happened in the NHL last night (check out replays of every playoff game on ESPN+) and what to watch for, in today's edition of ESPN Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily:
Jump ahead: Last night's games | Three stars
Play of the night | Today's games | Social post of the day
About last night ...
Game 4: Boston Bruins 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 1 (series tied 2-2). The Bruins needed their big names to step up and even this series. So Patrice Bergeron scored two goals on seven shots. David Pastrnak had a goal and an assist. And Tuukka Rask bettered Sergei Bobrovsky with a brilliant 39-save effort. The Bruins also kept the Jackets off the board on the power play, going 4-for-4 on the kill, which was also the formula they had in Game 1. A physical, nasty game that the Bruins conquered, and we're 2-2 headed back to Boston. The Bruins' 46 shots tonight were their most in a non-OT playoff game since they had 56 vs. Chicago on April 11, 1975.
Game 4: Colorado Avalanche 3, San Jose Sharks 0 (series tied 2-2). Nathan MacKinnon had the game-winner in the second period, Mikko Rantanen had two assists for the Avs and Philipp Grubauer did the rest with a 32-save shutout to even their series against the Sharks.
MacKinnon, Wilson knock in goals as Avalanche even series
Nathan MacKinnon and Colin Wilson each score as the Avalanche beat the Sharks 3-0 and even the series at 2-2.
Three Stars
1. Philipp Grubauer, G, Colorado Avalanche
Ah, there's the Philipp Grubauer we remember from the first round. The Avalanche goalie made 32 saves, turning back every prime Sharks chance in posting his first career playoff shutout.
2. Tuukka Rask, G, Boston Bruins
Tough night for the hypercritical Boston fans who blame a career .921 goalie for any of the team's foibles. His 39 saves were his most in the playoffs since 2017. His save percentage has steadily increased as the series has gone on as well. He also stopped a penalty shot in Game 4.
3. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado star was all over the ice in Game 4 and scored what turned out to be the game-winner in the second period. MacKinnon has at least a point in eight straight games. It's the longest streak by an Avalanche player in the postseason since Peter Forsberg had a point in eight straight in 2002.
Play of the Night
.@tuukkarask>#StanleyCup>pic.twitter.com/36pG7b5daR - NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) May 2, 2019
This was a key moment in Game 4 between the Bruins and Blue Jackets. Boone Jenner had a chance to tie Game 1 just 3:19 after the Bruins took the lead, and Rask made the stop. That was the fourth penalty shot of this postseason and the second save. Tuukka Rask has faced two penalty shots this postseason, stopping Jenner here after allowing a goal to Mitch Marner in Game 1 of the first round vs. the Maple Leafs.
Dud of the Night
Here it is: Conclusive evidence that the puck hit the netting before CBJ's goal. pic.twitter.com/OSwd2zE4Oc - Sean Tierney (@ChartingHockey) May 3, 2019
Playoff officiating strikes again. Another night, another titanic goof by the on-ice officials in a playoff game that dramatically altered the game. Down 2-0 to the Bruins, Artemi Panarin scored his fifth of the playoffs at 8:46 of the first period. One problem: The on-ice officials all missed the puck going off the netting above the Bruins goal. Then, when Oliver Bjorkstrand played the puck before Panarin scored, it nullified any video review due to an archaic rule. Ugly all around. Well, except for the Jackets.
On the schedule
New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes, Game 4, 7 p.m. ET (Hurricanes lead series 3-0). Officially, PNC Arena has prohibited fans from bringing brooms to Game 4, but we imagine we'll see a few in the stands as the "Bunch of Jerks" go for the sweep. It should be Curtis McElhinney again in goal for Carolina, with Petr Mrazek doubtful for Game 4.
Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues, Game 5, 9:30 p.m. ET (series tied 2-2). This series found its nasty edge in Game 4 with a second period fracas that saw Blues goalie Jordan Binnington slash both Jamie Benn and Ben Bishop. "Just a bunch of grown men being donkeys out there," said Benn. All eyes will be on Binnington, who has only lost two straight decisions one other time this season -- in the first round against the Jets.
Social post of the day
Our new kitten discovered hockey tonight. @nhl>@NHLonNBCSports>@Avalanche>@SanJoseSharks>pic.twitter.com/RkyUE9ykeC - x - Fabbri's Hair (@FabbrisHair) May 3, 2019
Nothing like a kitten discovering the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time.
Quotable
"We prided ourselves on being disciplined. That's the most disappointing part. That's the hard part about the game tonight." -- John Tortorella, Blue Jackets coach, on his team's six minor penalties in Game 4
Quail Hollow still not 'Rory-proof' as McIlroy fires 66
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Something about Quail Hollow really seems to fit Rory McIlroy's eye.
In 2010, a baby-faced, 20-year-old McIlroy marched into Charlotte and took down the likes of Phil Mickelson, fresh off a win at Augusta National, and Angel Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, to claim his first PGA Tour victory. Five years later, McIlroy again stood in the winner's circle at Quail Hollow, capturing the 2015 title on new greens (changed from bentgrass to MiniVerde bermudagrass) and a redesigned 16th hole.
"[The golf course] went through different iterations since we started coming here, but every time they tweak something here or there, you know, it's still sort of the same place and it really fits my eye," McIlroy said following his opening-round, 5-under 66 Thursday at Quail Hollow.
Even major-championship changes for the 2017 PGA Championship, where the first and second holes were used to create a new dogleg-right par 4 and the par-5 fifth was shortened to par 4, the course still wasn't quite 'Rory-proof.' (McIlroy tied for 22nd that week, but did mange to shoot 68 in the final round.)
"I think it's the purest golf course we play all year in terms of preparation and how manicured it is. It just has a really nice feel about it," McIlroy said. "I've always felt comfortable here. I've obviously got good memories."
McIlroy can add Thursday's round to that list of good memories, despite saying he didn't feel like he played his best.
A birdie on the par-4 second hole was washed away with a dropped shot at the par-5 seventh, and McIlroy made the turn at even par. Then McIlroy caught fire.
With birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, McIlroy moved to two-under and just two back of the lead. He added three more birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 16 and burned the edge for birdie on the last. But it was his approach shot on the 466-yard, par-4 12th that seemed to keep his hot hand alive.
McIlroy took a 3-wood off the tee, just trying to put himself in position to attack the back pin location. His drive sailed right a touch, and nestled behind a tree. He had 154 yards to the pin and took aim at the left greenside bunker, thinking he could get up-and-down from there. As it turned out, even McIlroy was surprised at his sorcery of a shot.
Even @McIlroyRory can't believe what he just did. ?
What. A. Shot.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/dCdKuMG9N1
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 2, 2019
McIlroy missed the 4-foot birdie putt, but it didn't take away what McIlroy was able to do from his position. In fact, it was the epitome of his day. The Players champion is widely known as one of the Tour's best drivers of the ball, but on a day where that wasn't the case, hitting just six of 14 fairways, his iron play carried the load.
"Maybe just a little more dialed in with the irons. The iron play was actually pretty good, but I felt like I hung in there," McIlroy said. "I've done a little bit of work on my swing over the last two weeks and it still doesn't feel quite natural, but it's started to bed in. It felt pretty good in the practice rounds around here and I had a decent warm-up today and I carried that into the play on the course."
It was a hot start for McIlroy on Thursday. But a hot start is just that: a start.
Still, at a place where McIlroy has found so much comfort and success, with two wins and six top-10s, there's no reason to believe that start won't continue for the rest of the week.
Co-leader Van Dam has got the power, but she wants more
DALY CITY, Calif. – Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands is a rookie, but she’s already the must-see show on the driving range at LPGA events.
She’s one of those players that other tour pros pause to watch when she pulls out her driver.
“When you’re walking down the range, she definitely stands out,” Sweden’s Pernilla Lindberg said. “She hits it like a guy more than any other girl out here. Her power, for sure, sets her apart, but her swing is impressive. It just looks like she gets in all the textbook positions.”
Van Dam, 23, might have taken her first step to being more than a star on the range at LPGA events.
With a 5-under 67 Thursday, she moved into a share of the lead at the Mediheal Championship. She rolled in a 45-foot putt for birdie at the 14th hole, a 35-footer for birdie at the 17th and a 10-foot birdie at the 18th to tie U.S. Women’s Open winners So Yeon Ryu and Eun Hee Ji atop the leaderboard.
Full-field scores from the LPGA Mediheal Championship
Van Dam has already won four times on the Ladies European Tour, but Thursday marked the first time she has ever led or shared the lead in an LPGA event. Impressively, she did so at Lake Merced Golf Club, a venerable Bay Area course known as a ball-striker’s workshop, a place without overly generous fairways and with thick, penal rough. The women weren’t supposed to be able to play bomb-and-gouge this week.
Van Dam did.
But here’s the thing about the Dutch rookie: While she loves putting on a good fireworks show with her driver, she’s eager to prove she’s the real deal, a complete player who has the tools to win against the best players in the world.
She is eager to do it this year.
“I know deep down, I can play really good golf,” Van Dam said. “It doesn’t matter what golf course. I have a lot of confidence. So, every week I go out, I have a chance to win, but then, on the other hand, I have told myself to be very realistic [as a rookie]. I learned that from my first year in Europe. I learned it from a couple Symetra Tour events I played last year.
“For me, it takes a bit of time to get used to the rhythms and everything around [tour golf].”
Van Dam stands 5 feet, 10 inches. She is lean and sinewy, with a powerful move to the ball. She is already the longest hitter in the LPGA ranks, surpassing Angel Yin, Sung Hyun Park, Lexi Thompson and Brittany Lincicome. She’s averaging 289.1 yards per drive, 5 yards longer than Yin, 7 yards longer than Park and 14 yards longer than Thompson.
Again, Van Dam wants to be known for more than those numbers.
“It drives me a lot, to have people tell me, 'You are a good putter,’ or 'Your short game is good,’ or 'You hit your wedges good,’” Van Dam said. “So, yeah, I work on that.
“I don’t work on my driving that much anymore. It’s so automatic. That’s where I put in so much time during this off season, on my shots 150 yards and in. Because that’s where I have pretty much all my shots.”
Van Dam says she has worked from those distances to be able to hit draws and fades, low shots and high shots.
“I’m working very hard on that,” she said.
With two LET titles last year and one this year, Van Dam holds the top spot on the LET Solheim Cup points rankings. This week marks her sixth LPGA start as a rookie. She has missed two cuts, with her best finish a T-28 at the Kia Classic, another course that doesn’t seem to favor big hitters.
“I haven’t gotten off to the best start I hoped for, but I’ve learned a lot in the first few events,” Van Dam said. “As long as I keep doing that, I think it’s going to be a good year.”
Van Dam showed some poise rebounding from a rough start Thursday. She bogeyed two of the first four holes and then played the final 14 holes in 7 under. She hit a 300-yard bomb at the eighth hole and then sunk an 80-yard wedge for eagle. She said she hit “a lot” of drivers.
“The first time I saw her play, I was paired with her at Kingsbarns in the first two rounds of the Women’s British Open,” Lindberg said. “I saw enough in her swing and ball-striking to be impressed that if she worked on her course management, she could compete at the highest level.”
DALY CITY, Calif. — Long-hitting Anne van Dam two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th for a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead with So Yeon Ryu and Eun-Hee Ji in the LPGA Mediheal Championship.
Van Dam bogeyed two of the first four holes in her afternoon round at Lake Merced. The 23-year-old Dutchwoman rallied with an eagle on the par-4 eighth and five birdies to match morning starters Ryu and Ji.
“Hit two poor irons, actually, three poor irons in my first five holes,” van Dam said. “I wasn’t really swinging that freely. So I just said to myself, ‘Go on and play golf, hit shots, and don’t try to think too much about technique, just play your shots.’”
Van Dam has struggled in her first season on the LPGA Tour, breaking 70 for only the fifth time in 17 rounds. She has four victories on the Ladies European Tour, winning in early March in Australia, and leads the LET Solheim Cup points list.
“It’s nice to finally get off to a good start in the first round,” van Dam said. “I feel like I have been close, but just a few bad holes every week I had so far, a few like doubles and triples, which out here you fall back 20 spots.”
Full-field scores from the LPGA Mediheal Championship
She’s comfortable at Lake Merced.
“I feel like this golf course is set up perfect for me,” van Dam said. “I can hit long drivers and can be aggressive with my short irons. So, I really enjoyed the course.”
Ryu closed with a bogey on the par-5 ninth. The South Korean had seven birdies and two bogeys.
“Not really easy golf course,” Ryu said. “You have to drive the ball really well. Everything has to be really great to shoot the low score.”
Ryu has six LPGA Tour victories, winning major titles in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open and 2017 ANA Inspiration. She’s trying to be easier on herself on the course
“It’s really tough, because when you’re dedicated to make your game better and better, and then when you cannot really see the result right away, it can be really easy to get frustrated.” Ryu said. “The thing is, it’s just golf. Nothing’s really guaranteed.”
Ji had six birdies and a bogey.
“It’s a really nice golf course,” the South Korean said. “It’s really challenging on every hole, especially on tee shot. We have to make the fairway for next shot. If not, get into trouble. Tee shot is really important. Greens are really tough out there. We have to read perfect lines.”
The 2009 U.S. Women’s Open champion won the season-opening Diamonds Resorts Tournament of Champions for her fifth LPGA Tour victory. After offseason swing changes, she has four top-seven finishes in eight events this year.
“Especially, on my backswing,” Ji said. “I’m flatter a little bit and smaller backswing, so makes me more compact. That makes a lot different.”
Celine Boutier, Amy Yang and Peiyun Chien were a stroke back at 68. Boutier had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch on her final nine. Yang birdied five of her last six holes.
In Gee Chun, Charley Hull, Azahara Munoz and Moriya Jutanugarn topped the group at 69.
Defending champion Lydia Ko had four bogeys in a 75. She also won at Lake Merced in 2014 and 2015 when it hosted the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.
Brooke Henderson, the winner two weeks ago in Hawaii, bogeyed the 18th for a 72. Playing partner Minjee Lee, coming off a victory Sunday in Los Angeles that moved her to No. 2 in the world, had six bogeys in a 76.
Americans Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Jessica Korda also struggled. Thompson had five bogeys in a 73, Lewis had a double bogey and three bogeys in a 76, and Korda had a triple bogey, a double bogey and three bogeys in a 79.
Dahmen 'only idiot in the world' who didn't watch Tiger win Masters
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Unlike the vast majority of golf fans, Joel Dahmen spent Masters Sunday on the golf course, largely unaware of Tiger Woods’ historic march to his 15th major championship.
“I was the only idiot in the world who didn't watch it,” Dahmen laughed on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he’s tied for the lead after an opening 66.
It turns out Dahmen has his own April tradition, an event he and his friends in Scottsdale, Ariz., call the “HackMasters.”
The event, which is played at McCormick Ranch Golf Club, features about 60 two-man teams playing best-ball on Day 1 and a scramble format on Sunday. The winners get green jackets.
Full-field scores from the Wells Fargo Championship
Wells Fargo Championship: Articles, photos and videos
Although Dahmen’s team won the scramble portion of the competition by shooting 59, the event also includes a twist. Teams pick two players who are playing the actual Masters and those players' weekend scores are added to the teams' HackMasters totals.
“I went with the homer pick of Keith Mitchell, who totally let me down. Way to go, buddy,” Dahmen laughed. “And I picked [Tony] Finau, who played great. So I was there, I just needed Keith to do something great on the weekend and he didn't.”
Dahmen has been a fixture in the HackMasters for six years, but as he continues to trend toward his first PGA Tour victory he has considered what will happen if he ever earns his first trip to the proper Masters.
“There's a lot of discussion about that,” he said. “Pat Perez has always played in the HackMasters because I think he's only won once until like two or three years ago, and it's like, ‘Where's Pat, where's Pat?’ He's kind of the man of this whole event. So it was kind of funny because everybody gets mad when Pat plays well so he can't play at the HackMasters. It's a pretty big deal in Scottsdale.”
Munoz (69) continues to build toward Solheim Cup return
DALY CITY, Calif. – Azahara Munoz continues to find the game and confidence that made her an LPGA winner, Solheim Cup stalwart and NCAA individual champion.
With a 3-under 69 Thursday, she moved into early contention at the Mediheal Championship, two shots off the lead.
Munoz, who endured hard times working through hand surgery and a thyroid malady the last few years, has already recorded four finishes of T-6 or better this season.
She was sharp again Thursday, hitting all but two fairways and all but three greens in regulation.
“Even my caddie thought it was the best golf I’ve played in I don’t know how long,” Munoz said. “I hit like every shot flush, on the number. It was really stress free. I wish I could have made more putts, but the greens are tricky out here.”
Full-field scores from the LPGA Mediheal Championship
Munoz, a Spanish veteran of three Solheim Cups, didn’t make the European team that lost to the Americans in Iowa two years ago. She said it motivated her to make the team going to Scotland this year.
“It was very difficult, and it hurt a lot,” Munoz said. “Everybody was like, 'You should be a pick,’ but nobody should be a pick. You either qualify, or it’s up the captain. If you don’t qualify, I don’t think anyone has the right to say 'I should have been picked.’
“I really wanted to be there, but everything happens for a reason. I worked harder.”
Munoz is second on the European Solheim Cup world rankings list.
“I want to have the attitude that I will be there,” she said. “I want to believe I will be there. Obviously, if I do the right things, I will be there. That’s the goal, but I don’t want to obsess over Solheim. I want to take things day by day. If things keep going the way they are going, I will be in Scotland.
Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita will miss the rest of the season and the Africa Cup of Nations after being ruled out for two months with a groin injury, Jurgen Klopp said on Friday.
The Guinea international had to be substituted during the first half of Liverpool's 3-0 defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday after going down following a challenge from Ivan Rakitic.
Keita, whose debut season at Anfield has been disrupted by injuries, was beginning to find form and had scored three goals in his previous five appearances for Liverpool.
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"It's bad news," Klopp said at a news conference. "It's a high grade abductor injury. The tendon is ruptured which keeps him out for at least I would say two months. So bad news for us, but bad news for Guinea as well because the African Cup of Nations are coming up.
"He was in a really good moment, a really good moment but it happened. Football and life are sometimes not too nice, but yeah very serious."
Keita, 24, has made 35 international appearances for Guinea and was a key part of the team that qualified for the biennial tournament for the first time since 2015. The tournament, held this year in Egypt, gets underway June 21, with Guinea drawn alongside Nigeria, Madagascar and Burundi in Group B.
Liverpool travel to Newcastle United on Saturday and will return to the top of the Premier League with a win at St. James' Park. The title remains in Manchester City's hands, however, and Pep Guardiola's side will win the league if they win their final two games -- at home to Leicester on Monday and away to Brighton on the final day.
Defeat in Barcelona also left Liverpool's Champions League aspirations hanging by a thread, with the Reds needing a big comeback at Anfield next week to turn the tie around.
Asked about how his side were dealing with the blow of losing heavily to Barcelona, Klopp said: "We didn't need to pick players up in Barcelona and give them a hug. It's in us. If you want to win in football you have to accept that you can lose. I had more positive thoughts about the game than negative because of what we did on the pitch.
"The boys are completely on fire. When you're in the race, you don't get tired. We are ambitious like hell. All we can do is beat Newcastle and that's unbelievably difficult, what other teams do on Monday night isn't our problem."
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