NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball has suspended Yankees manager Aaron Boone one game for his recent conduct toward umpires.

Boone will serve his suspension Friday night against the San Diego Padres. Carlos Mendoza took over as manager in his place.

On Thursday, Boone, who was fined an undisclosed amount as well, got ejected for the fourth time this season and the second time in four days.

He most famously got tossed in 2019 while going on his famous "Savages in the Box" rant.

Speaking before the suspension was announced Friday, Boone said he knows he's earning a reputation for arguing with umpires, but he does not think it has changed the way umpires are treating him.

"I think I've earned that reputation," Boone said. "Do I think it's leading to a quick hook? Not necessarily. I think last night was quick, but that could be a one-off. Maybe I'm delusional and that I did more than I think."

Boone was tossed in the middle of the third inning of the Yankees' game against the Baltimore Orioles by umpire Edwin Moscoso while arguing about the strike zone. The Yankees' skipper indicated he thought the umpire missed four calls, holding up four fingers to indicate his displeasure.

While his ejections are accumulating, Boone does not think it has affected how umpires call a game when the Yankees are involved.

"I think they come in for the most part with a blank slate," Boone said. "I do think there is probably the occasional bias that exists. We're human beings and I'm sure certain people don't like hearing from me or whatever."

His desire to voice his opinion, however, does not mean Boone goes into games wanting to get ejected.

"It's happened a few times this week and I'd like to not get ejected, and hopefully I can start a long streak of not getting ejected," Boone said. "I'm not necessarily afraid to, but no, it's not my intent to get ejected, and I don't want to, and hopefully I won't for a while."

Boone added that reliever Tommy Kahnle could return to the team for its series next weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers after making rehab outings on Sunday and Tuesday.

So far in three rehab outings, Kahnle has not allowed a run or a hit, striking out two while walking one. The righty has yet to pitch this season after starting the season on the injured list with biceps tendinitis.

On Friday, the Yankees also released Aaron Hicks. The veteran outfielder spent the past eight years in New York but was designated for assignment last week. Hicks has 2½ years and over $27 million left on a seven-year, $70 million deal he signed in 2019.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen vs Yared Nuguse at the Diamond League in Rabat is just one of a number of exciting athletics events around the world this weekend

The much-anticipated sprint showdown between world 100m champion Fred Kerley and Olympic gold medallist Marcell Jacobs at the Diamond League in Rabat on Sunday may have disintegrated due to Jacobs’ sustaining an injury, but there is still plenty to look forward to in a power-packed weekend of athletics.

If you thought last weekend was busy with the Night of the 10,000m PBs, Great Manchester Run and Loughborough International, the next couple of days see the action ramped up several notches with lots of top athletes opening their season and hundreds of leading Brits in action at home and abroad.

The highlight is the second Diamond League meeting of the summer in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday. Jacobs might be out of the men’s 100m, but there is still a great line-up with Kerley, fellow American Trayvon Bromell and in-form Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala.

There is also an intriguing men’s 1500m with Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway making his 2023 outdoor debut against rising American star Yared Nuguse plus Australia’s Commonwealth champion Olli Hoare.

Elsewhere world champions Shericka Jackson, Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Grant Holloway are in action.

Soufiane El Bakkali will enjoy home support as he takes on Getnet Wale of Ethiopia and Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya in the 3000m steeplechase.

Brits in action include high jumper Morgan Lake, discus man Lawrence Okoye and 400m sprinters Matt Hudson-Smith and Alex Haydock-Wilson.

For viewers in the UK the meeting is on BBC Three with timetable and start lists here.

Warner, Vetter and KJT in Götzis

Damian Warner and Anouk Vetter return to defend their Hypomeeting titles at the world’s No.1 combined events meeting in Austria on Saturday and Sunday (May 27-28).

After her promising early-season results at the Loughborough International last weekend, Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be in action too with fellow Brit Jade O’Dowda.

READ MORE: KJT confident ahead of Götzis

The star-studded heptathlon and decathlon line-ups include not only Olympic champion Warner of Canada and Olympic silver medallist Vetter of the Netherlands but also fellow Dutch heptathlete Emma Oosterwegel, Carolin Schafer of Germany, Anna Hall and Annie Kunz of the United States, Adriana Sulek of Poland, world under-20 champion Saga Vanninen from Finland, Pierce LePage of Canada, Lindon Victor from Grenada and Simon Ehammer from Switzerland.

Warner will be going for his eighth victory in Götzis, whereas Johnson-Thompson won there in 2014 and 2019 and the meeting is due to be shown here.

Duplantis, Richardson, Crouser in LA

With Los Angeles gearing up to stage the Olympics in 2028, top-class athletics comes to the city on Friday and Saturday with the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.

The event is also part of the Continental Tour Gold series and will be held at the Drake Stadium over two days.

On Friday night (May 26) there is British interest with miler Neil Gourley testing his stamina in the 5000m along with Jack Rowe, whereas Katie Snowden runs the 1500m, Zak Seddon the 3000m steeplechase and Thomas Staines the 800m.

On Saturday (May 27) Mondo Duplantis opens his outdoor season and takes on Sam Kendricks, the American returning from injury, plus fellow US athlete Chris Nilsen, whereas Katie Moon and Sandi Morris square off in the women’s pole vault.

Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya faces Americans Cooper Teare and Matt Centrowitz among others in the 1500m.

After her blistering start to the season in Doha and Nairobi, Sha’Carri Richardson is back on her home soil and facing Marie Josée Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast in the women’s 100m, while Christian Coleman runs the men’s 100m.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, world champion and world record-holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria runs against Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, the Olympic champion from Puerto Rico.

In what is being described as LA’s biggest athletics event for more than a decade, Ryan Crouser is in the men’s shot put along with fellow American Josh Awotunde and New Zealander Tom Walsh.

Results and start lists here with coverage live here on Friday and on Viaplay in the UK on Saturday.

Emsley Carr Mile at BMC GP Manchester

The highlight of the first British Milers’ Club Grand Prix meeting of the summer is the Emsley Carr Mile on Saturday (May 27).

The historic race was first held in 1953 and won by Gordon Pirie. Since then many of the sport’s best-known milers have won the event including Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Jim Ryun, Haile Gebrselassie and Hicham El Guerrouj – to name just a few.

The last time it was held in Manchester was 2007 when it was won by American Jon Rankin at Stretford in 3:54.24. This time the line-ups at nearby Sportcity include Piers Copeland and Adam Fogg, whereas the Millicent Fawcett Mile has been turned into a ‘metric mile’, or 1500m, for this meeting with Sarah McDonald and Abi Ives among the entries.

The 2022 Emsley Carr Mile incidentally was part of the Night of the 10,000m PBs and won by Matt Stonier (above) with a late charge.

Emile Cairess and European under-20 cross-country champ Will Barnicoat are entered in the men’s 5000m, whereas the women’s 800m includes Ciara Mageean, Lynsey Sharp, Australia’s Abbey Caldwell, Khai Mhlanga and Phoebe Gill.

The event has Continental Tour ‘Challenger’ status and the timetable and entries are here with live coverage from vincosport.com from 3.20pm.

Brits descend on Belgium and Germany

Well over 100 Brits are set to compete in the EA Challenger Meeting in Oordegem on Saturday with a live stream expected here, whereas middle-distance runners Elliot Giles, Matt Stonier, George Mills, Aimee Pratt, Ellie Baker, Ben Pattison and others are set to race in Rehlingen on Sunday.

The above is just a snapshot of what is happening in the world of athletics this weekend too.

Mayar Sherif says people told her to her face that it is "impossible to be a good tennis player from Egypt".

"I use that negative energy, it gives me a motivation," she told BBC Sport.

"I'm going to prove you wrong, I'm going to show you that I can."

The 27-year-old, who was born in Cairo, made history in 2020 when she became the first Egyptian woman to reach the first round of a Grand Slam, winning the first set of her debut match at the French Open before ultimately losing to number two seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Her performance even caught the eye of Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who praised her on Twitter.

Three years later, Sherif is gearing up for another first round match at Roland Garros, this time against American Madison Brengle.

"I have loved the French (Open) since I was young," she said.

"This is the tournament where it just (first) caught my eye."

A family 'obsession'

Sherif's career trajectory has seen slow but steady improvement.

In 2021, she became the first Egyptian woman to win a match at a Grand Slam, beating France's Chloe Paquet at the Australian Open, and also entered the world's top 100 for the first time.

A year later she won her first match at the French Open before defeating Greece's Maria Sakkari to win a first WTA Tour title at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Italy - all impressive achievements for someone from humble beginnings in Africa.

"We didn't have much to work with (growing up). We didn't have money, we didn't have any financial support."

What she did have was the committed backing of her tennis-mad family.

"My parents just love tennis. They made us watch tennis since we were really young.

"My older sister started when she was five - and that's how I started, with her as well.

"But yeah, my parents are pretty much obsessed."

That older sister, Rana Sherif Ahmed, is also now a professional player, so it is hardly surprising that the obsession was passed on to Sherif, who left home at 15 to train in Spain.

"It was very difficult back then, obviously I was a child. I didn't know much," she admitted.

"I was crazy and obsessed about being a professional tennis player.

"That helped me mature much faster than people my age. It shaped the way I practiced, the way I worked and the way I wanted to be on the court.

"(There are) still things that I learned coming to Spain as a 15-year-old. I still have it today."

But the move to Europe also had its downsides because the teenage Sherif was only able to see her family a couple of times a year.

"It's a huge sacrifice, but I chose to do it for the obsession. You want to get better and you want to win more matches.

"It was a chance to get good practice, to work with professionals because, in Egypt, it was very hard to get that.

"We don't have a system. So we don't have good fitness coaches, good tennis coaches, good physios."

The Egyptian went on to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, emerging with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Medicine.

"(At Pepperdine) it's a very, very diverse community that shaped my personality. It improved me, improved who I am as a tennis player and I took that transition to the tour.

"It was a good experience for me to see college life because once you start on the tour you're stuck there. You don't really get to see the other experiences in the world when we're travelling all the time."

Career highs and Jabeur's influence

Sherif recently achieved a career-high ranking of 43 when she defeated Caroline Garcia of France and Belgium's Elise Mertens, 5th and 24th seeds respectively, on her way to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open, another first for an Egyptian woman, underlining her improvement on clay.

A positive showing on the same surface at the French Open, which begins on Sunday, could see her move even higher, possibly into the world top 20.

Sherif is hoping that will inspire more young Egyptians to play her sport, something she claims is already happening.

"People are seeing tennis in Egypt much better than before. That's a huge opportunity that we would have, with a little bit of financial support, for the next five to 10 years.

"This can give a push for many different players to be at least within the top 300."

When it comes to other African players in Paris, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, the seventh seed, will face Lucia Bronzetti of Italy.

Sherif is a long-time friend of the current world number seven, who previously reached number two in the standings - the highest ranking for an African and Arab player in women's singles history.

"We have respect for each other," she revealed.

"She's very helpful for me. I've known her from such a young age so we're good friends."

With an improving record and friendships with Grand Slam finalists, it is clear that Sherif's obsession has carried her a long way.

Not bad for someone who was told her tennis dream was impossible.

For the first time in almost 20 years, the French Open will begin this weekend with an added layer of intrigue.

Nadal's absence for the first time in 19 years will be keenly felt by organisers and fans, but his withdrawal has further opened up the men's draw and gives a host of players extra encouragement they can win.

And an injury scare for Swiatek, whose position as the WTA world number one has been challenged by Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, also leaves that draw open.

Cameron Norrie, seeded 14th, leads the British charge at a venue where the nation's players have had limited success this century. Neither Andy Murray nor Emma Raducanu will be appearing at Roland Garros and no British women have qualified for the singles.

The clay-court tournament starts on 28 May, concluding with the finals on 10 and 11 June.

Alcaraz to take Nadal's crown? Or Djokovic to win record 23rd title?

While nothing in sport is ever certain, Nadal lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires has been as close as anything.

Not this year. Nadal, who has lost only three of his 115 career matches at Roland Garros and is known as the 'King of Clay', is out with a long-term hip injury.

Before last week's announcement that the 36-year-old would not be able to play, Nadal had already slipped behind Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz and Serbia's 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic as the favourite in the eyes of many observers.

Following a dominant start to the season, Alcaraz is heavily tipped to be only the fifth man since 2005 to claim the title.

After missing the Australian Open with an injury, the 20-year-old US Open champion returned to win four of his next six tournaments - Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona and Madrid, while also reaching the Rio de Janeiro final and Miami semi-finals.

Back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid helped extend Alcaraz's record to 20 wins from his 21 matches on clay this season. Then came an unexpected twist in Rome.

Alcaraz lost to Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the Italian Open last 32 and showed a fallibility not seen in the preceding weeks.

Djokovic has won five of the past seven Grand Slam tournaments he has played in and knows a third victory at Roland Garros will put him ahead of Nadal in terms of most major men's singles titles.

But his preparations have been far from smooth.

The 36-year-old, who celebrated his birthday this week, missed the Madrid Open with an elbow injury and did not look entirely comfortable in Rome before losing in the quarter-finals.

Nevertheless, Djokovic has the pedigree, experience and history of winning the biggest titles - even in the face of adversity.

Who could challenge Alcaraz and Djokovic?

Russia's Daniil Medvedev has jumped above Djokovic to be seeded second after winning the first clay-court title of his career in Rome.

Medvedev, 27, has long been seen as a hard-court specialist and few thought he would ever enjoy success on a surface he once described as only being suitable for "dogs playing in the dirt".

Danish youngster Holger Rune, who beat Djokovic in Rome before losing to Medvedev, has further showcased his talent in an impressive clay-court season and the 20-year-old world number six is being tipped to go far in Paris.

Norway's Casper Ruud, who lost to Nadal in last year's final, put a poor start to the season behind him to reach the Rome semi-finals, while 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas is also expected to challenge again.

Norrie, 27, has never gone past the third round, while 24th seed Dan Evans and Jack Draper are the other Britons in the draw.

Murray, 36, withdrew at the weekend to prioritise the grass-court season in the build-up to Wimbledon.

Are we seeing the start of a new 'Big Three'?

For a number of years, ever since Serena Williams was in her pomp, the women's game has seen a revolving door of major champions.

In the past year, Swiatek has emerged as the dominant force, taking over as the world number one when Australian Ashleigh Barty retired, then winning the Roland Garros and US Open titles.

The 21-year-old from Poland is enjoying another successful season while - understandably - not reaching the same heights as last year when she won 37 matches in a row.

Swiatek has won two titles so far in 2023 - Doha and Stuttgart - but is coming under increasing pressure from Belarus' Sabalenka and Kazakhstan's Rybakina.

With Sabalenka claiming her first major title at the Australian Open in January, and Rybakina winning the Wimbledon title between Swiatek's two major victories last year, the trio are fast becoming the WTA's new 'Big Three'.

Sabalenka, having complemented her natural power with improvements in her movement, has won more titles (three) and reached more finals (five) than anyone else this season.

On clay, the world number two lost in the Stuttgart final to Swiatek before avenging that loss by beating her to win the Madrid trophy.

However, she suffered a shock early exit in Rome which led to her saying she was "exhausted".

Meanwhile, Rybakina has elevated herself to the third favourite behind Swiatek and Sabalenka after winning the biggest clay-court title of her career in Rome.

The triumph came in peculiar circumstances, however, having seen three of her six opponents retire through injury.

That included Swiatek when the deciding set of their quarter-final was still on serve and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina when Rybakina was leading 6-4 1-0 in Saturday's final.

Rybakina had not previously been considered a force on the red dirt, but insists she always felt she could "play good on clay" and put her Rome success down to "experience and better preparation".

The victory lifted her to fourth in the world - although she would be in the top three alongside Swiatek and Sabalenka if ranking points had been awarded at Wimbledon - and means she is not able to face one of the top two until the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

Who else could challenge?

While Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina have each won one of the three biggest clay-court tournaments leading into Roland Garros, as well as the past four Grand Slams between them, several French Open champions have emerged from the shadows in recent years.

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko was one of the them in 2017 as an unseeded 20-year-old and her run to the Rome semi-finals was a reminder of how successful her game can be on the surface.

American teenager Coco Gauff lost to Swiatek in last year's final but the sixth seed has not managed to string together back-to-back wins on the European clay, while third seed Jessica Pegula - also Gauff's doubles partner - has maintained her consistency this year.

Fifth seed Caroline Garcia is aiming to become the first French singles champion since Mary Pierce in 2000, but has only reached the quarter-finals once, in 2017, and also lost in the last 32 in both Madrid and Rome.

From a British perspective, Raducanu is out injured following surgeries on her wrists and ankle, and seven other women failed to come through qualifying, leaving the nation without representation in the women's singles at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2009 US Open.

Munster have recalled Conor Murray for Saturday's United Rugby Championship Grand Final against holders Stormers in Cape Town.

Fit-again Murray replaces Craig Casey with Calvin Nash and Malakai Fekitoa also drafted into the backs as Keith Earls and Ben Healy drop to the bench.

Fekitoa's inclusion sees Jack Crowley switch to fly-half in place of Healy.

Murray, Nash and Fekitoa were all unavailable for the dramatic semi-final victory over Leinster after sustaining head knocks in the last-eight win over Glasgow.

Munster's pack is unchanged from the semi-final as captain Peter O'Mahony and his fellow Ireland regular Tadhg Beirne are included.

Injury-plagued Springboks star RG Snyman is named in the Munster replacements.

Stormers, who have home advantage for the decider, make two changes from their 43-25 semi-final win over Connacht as Marvin Orie and Deon Fourie are drafted into the pack after recovering from injury.

Orie replaces Ben-Jason Dixon in the second row with veteran South Africa flanker Fourie taking over from Willie Engelbrecht, who like Dixon is named on the bench.

The holders select an all-Springboks front row of Ulster-bound loose-head Steven Kitschoff, Joseph Dweba and Frans Malherbe.

An unchanged backline includes half-backs Herschel Jantjies and Manie Libbok, who scored 23 points last time out against Connacht.

Springboks wing Seabelo Senatla remains unavailable following his recent car crash but South Africa international Damian Willemse is named at full-back.

Munster were 26-24 winners when the sides met in Cape Town last month but the defending champions show five changes from the team which started that day with Fourie, Jantjies, Angelo Davids, Leolin Zas and Evan Roos all named in Saturday's line-up.

Stormers: Willemse; Davids, Nel, Du Plessis, Zas; Libbok, Jantjies; Kitshoff (capt), Dweba, Malherbe, Orie, Van Heerden; Fourie, Dayimani, Roos.

Replacements: Kotze, Vermaak, Fouche, Dixon, Engelbrecht, Theunissen, De Wet, Blommetjies.

Munster: Haley; Nash, Frisch, Fekitoa, Daly; Crowley, Murray; Loughman, Barron, Archer; Kleyn, Beirne; O'Mahony (capt), Hodnett, Coombes.

Replacements: N Scannell, J Wycherley, Salanoa, Snyman, Kendellen, Casey, Healy, Earls.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

Saracens and Sale Sharks have both made one change from their respective semi-final sides for the Premiership final at Twickenham on Saturday.

Owen Farrell will be aiming to captain the north London side to their sixth league title, and a first since 2019.

Jono Ross leads the Sharks in their first Premiership final since 2006.

Vunipola drops to the Saracens bench, while Aled Davies comes in among the replacements in the only other change from their semi-final win over Northampton Saints.

Daniel du Preez was also injured as Sale beat Leicester Tigers in the other semi-final, and Tom Ellis comes in for the South African among the Sharks substitutes as director of rugby Alex Sanderson aims to add to their sole Premiership title, which was secured 17 years ago.

Sarries are in their second consecutive final after returning to the league last season following relegation in 2019-20 for breaches of the league's salary cap.

Mark McCall's side were beaten 15-12 by Leicester last June as Freddie Burns scored a late drop-goal to win the game.

Saracens: Goode; Malins, Lozowski, Tompkins, Maitland; Farrell (capt), Van Zyl; Mawi, George, Riccioni, Itoje, Tizard, Isiekwe, Earl, Wray.

Replacements: Dan, M Vunipola, Judge, Hunter-Hill, Knight, De Haas, Taylor, Daly.

Sale Sharks: Carpenter; Roebuck, R Du Preez, Tuilagi, Reed; Ford, Warr; McIntyre, Van der Merwe, Schonert, J-L Du Preez, Hill, T Curry, Dugdale, Ross (capt).

Replacements: Ashman, Rodd, Oosthuizen, Beaumont, Ellis, Quirke, James, O'Flaherty.

Referee: Luke Pearce.

The final will see Saracens captain Owen Farrell and Sale's George Ford, who have 106 and 81 England caps respectively, face off at fly-half for the second consecutive year.

Ford, then at Leicester, was injured in the first half of last season's final and only returned to action for Sale in February.

"It was unfortunate the way that happened but this year is a completely different game," Ford, 30, told BBC Sport.

"I'm at a new club, so I'm really focused on doing my job as well as I can for my new team."

Lock Maro Itoje is aiming to win his fifth Premiership title with Sarries, having been part of their triumphs in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

"Last year we fell short and it's been a few years now since we've won the Premiership," the 28-year-old England international said.

"We've had a lot of experience in these big games and these scenarios. It's about who puts themselves on the front foot, who stands up and is counted on the day.

"We do have experience, but the challenge is to make that experience count."

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rachel Heck knows a thing or two about success. As a freshman at Stanford, Heck won six times in one semester, including all three postseason championships, just the third player at the time to ever do so.

Of course, that was before Rose Zhang.

Since joining a talented Cardinal roster two seasons ago, all Zhang has done is obliterate her competition. At the college level, she’s the only two-time NCAA individual champion in history while racking up 12 individual victories, including eight this season as a sophomore to tie Lorena Ochoa’s NCAA record for wins in a single season. In the amateur arena, her name is on each of the big four trophies as a winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur, U.S. Girls’ Junior, World Amateur Team Championship and most recently the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. And on the professional stage, Zhang has missed just three cuts in 15 starts, been low amateur at two different major championships and finished runner-up in an Epson Tour event as a high-school senior.

“The level of domination is mind-blowing,” Heck said. “No one’s her. I haven’t seen anything like this in my lifetime – not on the men’s amateur side, the LPGA, the PGA Tour. No matter what level you’re at, it’s hard to keep winning. I don’t care if it’s junior golf or amateur golf, she just keeps winning. … She’s too good for this.”

Last Monday, Zhang matched Heck in sweeping conference, regional and national championships, completing the third leg in come-from-behind fashion at Grayhawk. A day later, Zhang routed her NCAA quarterfinal opponent, Pepperdine’s Reese Guzman, but in an afternoon semifinal bout with USC’s Brianna Navarrosa, Zhang looked very much human. She lost the match, the decider in a Trojan upset of the top-ranked Cardinal, and just like that, Zhang’s college career was over.

If the tears in her and her teammates’ eyes that Tuesday evening in Scottsdale, Arizona, weren’t a dead giveaway, Zhang, who had kept her plans under wraps from the public for months, made things official Friday morning by announcing that she’d be foregoing her final two seasons of eligibility and, after a record 141 weeks spent as the No. 1 amateur in the world, turning professional. She will make her pro debut at next week’s LPGA event, the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National.

Hello, world.

Goodbye, greatest women's amateur career of all-time?

One could certainly make the argument that Zhang jumps to the play-for-pay ranks with G.O.A.T. status in tow. Not that there aren’t several predecessors with arguments:

• Glenna Collett-Vare won a record six U.S. Women’s Amateurs and at one point between 1928 and 1931 reeled off 16 consecutive tournament victories.

• JoAnne Carner claimed five U.S. Women’s Amateur titles and won an LPGA event as an amateur in 1969.

• Juli Inkster didn’t just capture three U.S. Women’s Amateurs, but she also won 17 times at San Jose State. Amy Olson, while at North Dakota State, later broke Inkster’s NCAA record for career wins with 20.

But the standard, at least up until Zhang’s arrival, has been Ochoa, who in two seasons at Arizona won 12 of 20 tournaments and as a sophomore went 933-2-3 against her competition, a head-to-head mark that may never be topped. (To compare, Zhang was 691-15-1 this season.)

In many ways, Zhang is Ochoa two decades later – and that’s why it’s so hard to give one the edge in the best-ever debate. Zhang’s college coach, Anne Walker, who while at Cal played against Ochoa, sees many parallels between the two superstars – extremely gifted, humble, generous, universally loved.

“Everyone wanted to play with Lorena because she was a joy to play with,” Walker said. “She was so fun, and you left the round feeling like you were one of her best friends. That’s how I remember feeling playing with Lorena. I feel that same sense from other teams that they really want to play with Rose.”

When Ochoa turned pro, she delivered hand-written thank-you letters to those affiliated with the Arizona women’s golf program or who played a part in her career. Then there’s the legendary story of Ochoa hanging out with the grounds crew at tournaments and even cooking breakfast for the staff at Mission Hills the year she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship, in 2008.

Walker doesn’t fancy Zhang as good a chef as Ochoa, but that doesn’t diminish Zhang’s love and appreciation for people. While Zhang was inking NIL deals with big companies such as Callaway and Adidas, she was also signing up as a volunteer driver on her church's carpool list.

“For the kids who don’t have cars and need a ride, she picks them up,” Walker said.

Walker also recalls a moment from the 2002 NCAA Championship, one of two events that Ochoa lost as a sophomore. She and her fellow Bears were departing for their early-morning tee times, the sun not yet up, when, much to their astonishment, they saw Ochoa returning from a run.

“She had just finished a 3-mile loop,” Walker said, “and here we are like, Ugh, we have to go play golf this early.”

Fast forward to the morning of Zhang’s final stroke-play round. While her teammates slept in, Zhang was awake by 6 a.m., more than six hours before she was to tee off and begin her pursuit of USC’s Catherine Park, who started the day four shots ahead. Zhang ate breakfast, got a workout in, and later posted a bogey-free, 5-under 67 while missing just one green in regulation.

Back on campus, Walker says it’s near impossible to beat Zhang to the team’s practice facility each day, and she’s usually the one shutting off the lights, too.

“I just enjoy the grind,” Zhang said. “I sacrifice a lot of sleep and a lot of rest, and it’s because I enjoy the process.”

A masterful blend of hard work and God-given talent, Zhang has been tabbed by a few college coaches as a top-25 player in the world the moment she hits her first shot as a professional, though she’ll start her pro career ranked just inside the top 500 in the Rolex Rankings.

USC head coach Justin Silverstein, who as a Pac-12 rival has had a front-row seat to the Rose Show, marvels at Zhang’s golf skills, from her precise driving ability to her elite wedge play and short game to a putter that is close to tour elite. But the most impressive weapon in Zhang’s arsenal, Silverstein says, is her brain.

“It’s her ability to get herself back to neutral every time,” Silverstein said. “No one I’ve seen can do that like her.”

Arizona head coach Laura Ianello, a college teammate of Ochoa’s, is familiar with that type of mental advantage. “Lorena, every tournament, she expected to win,” Ianello said.

But asked to definitively say who had the greater amateur career, Ianello took the safe play, “They’re both Hall of Famers in my book.”

Still, Ianello agrees that women’s amateur golf, especially at the college level, is “way deeper” than when she and Ochoa were in school. Perhaps that’s the tiebreaker, as the numbers certainly back up that assessment. According to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, Zhang (67.56 power rating) was 1.41 shots per round better than the No. 2 player this season, Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez, and she was 3.57 shots per round better than No. 50. Ochoa, during her dominant sophomore campaign, was 1.33 shots per round better than No. 2, Tulsa’s Stacy Prammanasudh, but 5.11 shots better than No. 50.

So, not only was Zhang slightly better than her closest competition, but Zhang’s competition throughout the field was stouter.

Zhang also won two notable tournaments that eluded Ochoa, Pac-12s and NCAAs (twice), while finishing with the lowest career scoring average by a female college player, 69.24.

Plus, Ochoa didn’t have nearly the demand for her time as Zhang. In addition to her tireless work ethic on the golf course, Zhang holds a 3.86 G.P.A. – she's planning to continuing pursuing her communications degree as a pro. She also fields an exponentially larger number of media requests than any other college golfer, including current men’s stars such as Gordon Sargent and Ludvig Aberg. That doesn’t even include her sponsorship obligations. And yet, she still has time to be a college kid – making lots of friends, going to dinners and getting her nails done with teammates, attending sporting events.

“There’s a lot on her plate,” Walker said. “I never really wrap my head around how Rose does it.”

Zhang doesn’t have an elaborate explanation, either: “These are all things that I choose to do. I could very much choose to not do anything, but I just like it. I think it's as simple as that.”

Even as she fielded questions, holding a second NCAA individual trophy, Zhang shied away from the G.O.A.T. talk. In her mind, “I’m just a regular person.”

“I don't think about it at all, to be fair, because the people around me don't make me a big deal,” Zhang said. “I still have to go back to school, take my finals. I still have other responsibilities and have to complete all of them, same as my teammates and my classmates. … I'm not – I'm not special in any regard.”

Zhang, of course, is being modest – much like Ochoa some two decades ago when during a class discussion, while her peers took turns bragging about things they did over spring break, Ochoa chose to talk about her “OK” top-40 finish in an LPGA event over a tournament that she had won the week before in her native Mexico.

And if Zhang isn’t special, then how else could Heck explain the feeling of watching Zhang putt out on Grayhawk’s par-5 closing hole to win yet another landmark championship? Or every other big victory – after all, since the beginning of 2019, Zhang has won a whopping 22 times.

“Honestly, I feel like the luckiest person to get to be by her side through it all, from last year’s national championship to last summer to Augusta to now” Heck said. “She’s one of my best friends in the whole world, and I spend 24/7 with her, but sometimes I even take a step back myself and look at it objectively like, how lucky am I to get to be by her side as she writes history?”

Walker would argue extremely.

You see, in Zhang’s coach’s opinion, there is no comparison: Zhang is the G.O.A.T.

“It's pretty easy to wrap up,” Walker said in the moments after Zhang’s final college triumph. “Before this week, I felt like she was already solidified as the best amateur of all-time. And what she did today, that’s just like, that’s it. That’s the period on the end of the sentence because no one’s ever done this before, and it’s so hard to do, and … yeah, she’s Rose Zhang.”

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp struck a sombre note on Friday after it was confirmed that the club could not finish in the Premier League's top four but said he was optimistic as they rebuild for next season.

Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League ended when Manchester United thrashed Chelsea 4-1 on Thursday to guarantee a top-four finish and ensure Klopp's side would end the campaign in fifth place.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

After narrowly missing out on an unprecedented quadruple last season, winning two domestic cups, Liverpool will not feature in the Champions League for the first time under Klopp since his first full season in 2016-17.

Klopp said he was "very self-critical" after they struggled to match the standards they set last season despite a late resurgence that earned them a spot in the second-tier Europa League.

"This has not been a historically good season. We're absolutely not happy with it, we made mistakes and were not consistent enough," Klopp told reporters ahead of their final game of the season, away at Southampton.

"After Dubai since we were in training camp after the World Cup, not everything was great but the amount of points we collected since then is pretty good. If we could have done that all season, we'd be in a different place.

"So of course there are reasons for optimism... The atmosphere our people created in the last home game, the way the club said farewell to the players who are leaving... all of these things are the basis for a fantastic future."

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah said he was devastated after the club failed to qualify for the Champions League and although Klopp agreed with his Egypt international, he said the squad was still united.

"The dressing room is not in a bad mood, we learned to deal with the situation," Klopp added.

"We didn't get divided in one moment between manager and team which is super helpful, we didn't point fingers at each other -- it's all good.

"If you don't qualify for the Champions League the best possible place you can end up is fifth, so that's what we did. If you'd asked me that 10 games ago I'd have said, 'no.'"

Liverpool will need to strengthen their squad with the departures of key figures such as Roberto Firmino and James Milner in the close season.

When asked if the lack of Champions League football would be a stumbling block in the transfer window, Klopp said: "I don't think so, but we will see.

"It is always possible and probably likely that things won't go as big as you want because the better the player, the less the desire of the other club to let him go.

"We are prepared for that. It's a long break and long pre-season, we have time."

Bruno Fernandes has said this season has not been a success for Manchester United despite winning a trophy and securing a return to the Champions League.

United have lifted the Carabao Cup in Erik ten Hag's first season in charge -- with a chance to win the FA Cup in next month's final against Manchester City -- and on Thursday they earned a top-four finish with a 4-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Fernandes accepts the campaign has been a step forward after finishing sixth last season but said it cannot be classed as a success for a club of United's size.

"It's a positive season, not successful because success is different for this club and for us players it has to be too," Fernandes said.

"We did win a trophy. We got into the top four. Now we have another final but whatever happened in that final will not change anything about the season we have done.

"After we couldn't fight anymore for the league title we had to fight for our top four and we did it. We are really happy to be in the Champions League next season. But obviously, it's kind of an obligation for this club to be in these positions."

Speaking after the win over Chelsea, Ten Hag said the season has been a success but admitted his aim is to challenge for the Premier League title as soon as possible.

United are 17 points behind champions City with one game to play and the Dutch coach said his team have a lot of catching up to do.

"It's tough here, there are really good teams, especially this season," Ten Hag said. "Manchester City are playing really outstanding football. We have a way to go, we are in the right direction, we have work to do, so a work in progress.

"Now we are far away, so we have a lot of work to do, we've made progress with this team, with this squad but we need better players if we want to compete for the highest."

Ten Hag is aiming to bring in at least a striker and a midfielder in the summer transfer window. Harry Kane and Mason Mount are among the top targets, but the United boss has also called on his current squad to step up next season.

"The other [element] is progress from the current squad and players," Ten Hag said.

"That is the job I have to do with my coaching staff. We made huge progress. Many individuals made progress. Now we have a good base. I think there is still a lot of room for improvement with this squad.

"But when you get the right players it will help and give you more depth and better standard and level."