‘Don't call it a grand slam': Why has the U.S. Open's new mixed doubles format been so controversial?
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Russell Henley birdies last 3 holes for a 61 to lead Tour Championship over Scheffler
Russell Henley walks on the first fairway during the first round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) ATLANTA — Russell Henley hardly missed a putt. Scottie Scheffler hardly missed a fairway. They led a parade of players who seized on the soft conditions at East Lake to begin the race for the Tour Championship and the season-ending FedEx Cup title. Henley one-putted six of his last seven holes and made three birdie putts from 40 feet or longer and, with three straight birdies at the end, had a 9-under 61 to build a two-shot lead over the world's No. 1 player. Scheffler didn't miss a beat from last week — really the last five months — and finished with a 25-foot par save on the 16th and two birdies for a 63. That's his lowest round by two shots in his six appearances at East Lake. The entertainment came from Rory McIlroy, who bladed a bunker shot on the par-5 18th hole over the green and off the grandstands, and then back onto the green. He made an 18-foot putt for a most unlikely birdie. Scheffler was rooting hard for McIlroy, not so much for the birdie but so they could avoid a length ruling to finish. Seconds after Scheffler holed his 4-foot birdie putt, the horn sounded to stop play because of approaching storms that led to East Lake being evacuated. Left behind was a leaderboard filled with red numbers in a tournament that has a US$40 million purse in official money for the top 30 players, all of them with an equal chance. Only two players were over par. Rain hammered East Lake on Wednesday — and again after the first round ended — leaving the course soft enough that players could lift, clean and place their golf balls in the short grass. 'I felt like with it being lift, clean and place and somewhat soft compared to last year when the greens were brand new, it was a little bit softer, so it was just a little bit more gettable,' Henley said. There was also that no-so-small matter of putting. Henley already has a great reputation with the putter, and on this day he holed some 207 feet worth of putts. 'Probably the most I've ever made,' he said. Three of the five players who got in at 64 was enough to wonder which cup was on their minds. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay all finished outside the top six who qualified for the Ryder Cup and have to wait on being one of six captain's picks. All three are seen as likely picks. 'I don't think you're ever comfortable until you get that call and you're on the team,' Morikawa said. 'Look, I hope I've done enough. We'll have to wait and see. But I think, yeah, my focus right now is to try and go out and win this golf tournament. I think if I do that, then hopefully that's enough, and we'll see how everything plays out.' Scheffler is coming off his fifth victory of the season last week at the BMW Championship and didn't miss a step. All that slowed him was some swirling wind as the storm approached, making it a little tougher to get close for birdie chances with a wedge in hand. The only fairway he missed — except for No. 18, in which the ball rolled through the middle into the first cut — was at the 16th, and that left him in his biggest predicament. From the rough he went down a deep swale to the right, the one place he knew to avoid. 'I knew going down there right of 16 was a huge penalty. We had talked about it in the practice rounds,' he said. 'And our job was just to get the ball back on the green, which I did, and it was nice to hole that long putt. But it was a reminder of how key it was to keep the ball in play. 'I missed one (fairway) on 16 and all of a sudden I'm almost playing for bogey,' he said. 'It's pretty important around this place.' Tommy Fleetwood, who keeps giving himself chances at his first win on the PGA Tour, also was at 66, along with BMW Championship runner-up Robert MacIntyre, who is ready for a return to Scotland given how hot has been in Memphis, Baltimore and Atlanta. 'I wear as much sun cream as I possibly can. I look like Casper the Ghost out there, to be honest. I get a lot of shouts about my sun cream,' MacIntyre said. It beats the shouts he got last week at Caves Valley when he lost a four-shot lead to Scheffler in the final round and was hearing from the pro-American crowd along the way. MacIntyre was as upset about how he handled the crowd as he was his golf, but figures it will be a great teaching moment for him at Bethpage Black for the Ryder Cup next month. 'There's a couple of things that I know that I'm going to change, but do you know what it's really going to help me for? Bethpage,' he said. 'I'm always going to be fiery, I'm always going to yell, swear, yell, get angry. 'But just the way I interacted with the crowd, I was trying to keep them out of the way, but instead of doing what I did on Saturday and bringing them into it.' Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 67, while Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., had 70 on the day. ___ Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Rising Canadian tennis star Victoria Mboko draws veteran Krejcikova at U.S. Open
Victoria Mboko of Canada kisses the trophy following her win over Naomi Osaka of Japan during finals tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi NEW YORK — Rising tennis star Victoria Mboko will face two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova in the opening round of the U.S. Open. Meanwhile, fellow Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime received favourable first-round matchups in Thursday's draw for the final Grand Slam of the season. Mboko, who turns 19 on Tuesday, enters the hardcourt major tournament as the top-ranked Canadian, seeded 22nd in the women's draw. The Toronto teen is coming off her first WTA tournament victory at the 1000-level National Bank Open in Montreal. She posted wins over top seed Coco Gauff, world No. 10 Elena Rybakina and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka. She will likely get another stiff test from Krejcikova. The 29-year-old from Czechia enters the U.S. Open with a world ranking of No. 61 and is not far removed from being one of the top players on the WTA Tour. She reached No. 2 in the world on Feb. 28, 2022 and her eight career titles includes wins at the 2021 French Open and Wimbledon in 2024. Elsewhere, Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime will both face a qualifier in the first round. Fernandez, the runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2021, is seeded 31st in the women's draw and is enjoying a resurgent season that includes a win at the Citi Open last month in Washington, D.C. Auger-Aliassime was a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2021, but was eliminated in the first round at the last two events. He has won two titles this year and is coming off a run to the quarterfinals earlier this month at the Masters-level Cincinnati Open. Denis Shapovalov, the men's 27th seed from Richmond Hill, Ont., opens against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, while 31st seed Gabriel Diallo of Montreal takes on Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Shapovalov, who is also having a bounce-back season with two titles in 2025, is looking to improve on his first-round exit at last year's U.S. Open. He made the quarterfinals in 2020 as part of a six-year run of advancing to at least the third round. Shapovalov and Fucsovics have split four previous meetings, with the Canadian winning most recently at the Belgrade Open last year. Diallo advanced to the third round in his U.S. Open main-draw debut last year. The six-foot-eight 23-year-old, who posted his first career victory this year at the Libema Open in the Netherlands, is facing Dzumhur for the first time. Vancouver's Rebecca Marino got one step closer to a women's main-draw berth Thursday with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 win over Japan's Mai Hontama. Marino will play in the third and final round of qualifying on Friday. Meanwhile, Toronto's Cadence Brace was ousted from second-round qualifying action with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Slovenia's Veronika Erjavec. Carol Zhao of Richmond Hill suffered the same fate with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Italy's Lucrezia Stefanini. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2025.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Canadian amateur Aphrodite Deng leads youth movement at CPKC Women's Open
MISSISSAUGA — Aphrodite Deng leaned on a club, cooly crossing a leg at the ankle as she stood on the 18th fairway of Mississaugua Golf and Country Club, waiting her turn to shoot with all the confidence of a seasoned LPGA Tour pro. Article content As soon as Deng was up, she strode directly to the ball, set her feet, and connected on her approach shot, seemingly with no doubt about her club selection or her target. Article content Article content It's hard to believe that the Canadian amateur is just 15 years old. Her score in the first round of the CPKC Women's Open was also hard to believe, as she finished her round tied for the clubhouse lead with Mexico's Gaby Lopez and Megan Khang of the United States at 5-under 66. Japan's Akie Iwai took over the lead with a mistake-free 7-under round in the afternoon, with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and Ireland's Leona Maguire tying Deng, Lopez and Khang two shots back. Article content Even Deng's answers when asked about her demeanour on the course give off a sense of effortless cool. Article content 'I'm trying to hit each shot and play in the fairway,' she said after submitting her scorecard. 'I don't really like playing slow because then I think too much.' Article content Deng was born in Calgary and her family lived in Montreal before moving to New Jersey for her dad's work. She mostly lives in Orlando now but remains a Canadian citizen and plays for Golf Canada's junior program. Article content For most of her first round at the Canadian national women's championship Deng was alone atop the leaderboard until Khang and Lopez caught up to her in their final holes. Although a little nervous about doing media on live TV, Deng was nonchalant about leading a professional golf tournament. Article content 'I did look at the leaderboard a few times, yeah,' she said. 'I thought it was pretty cool, but I just knew I had to keep the same game plan.' Article content Jeff MacDonald, head coach of Golf Canada's NextGen team, said that Deng's quick pace and unperturbed style of play is typical for her. Article content 'No matter how big the event is, she just handles herself the same way over and over again,' he said. 'Doesn't change anything, doesn't make too too much of the moment. Article content 'And with the quickness, she just gets that decision her head, and she knows what she wants to do, and she's committed to the shots. I think it's an asset to her.' Article content Article content Deng's strong showing in Thursday's opening round put her in the spotlight but she's actually just a part of Golf Canada's youth movement. There are 16 Canadians in the field at the Women's Open, 10 of them are amateurs and six of those amateurs are juniors. Article content Lauren Kim, a 20-year-old junior at the University of Texas, was the second lowest Canadian on Thursday. The Surrey, B.C., native shot a 1-under 70 to sit in a tie for 21st.
