Watch: Madelyn Begert helps lead Northwest girls 3,200 realy to PAC-7 title
Check out the best shots of the day from Round 4 of the 2025 Truist Championship, featuring Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka, who claimed his second win of the season and his fourth win of his PGA TOUR career.
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USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
'I just did not see this coming at all': Paul Azinger said of winning Payne Stewart Award
ATLANTA – Paul Azinger and Payne Stewart loved to play practical jokes on each other. Take, for instance, the 1993 Tour Championship when it was played at The Olympic Club during an unusually warm week. Each time Stewart dug into the water cooler on the back nine, he only found empty bottles and a note….that someone had scribbled his John Hancock to it. "It couldn't have been anyone but Zinger," Stewart told the Orlando Sentinel. "Every can would have some mean message about why there wasn't any water on it. 'Bone dry.' 'Where's the water?' 'I'm dying of thirst.' And every single one had my name signed to it." All these years later, Azinger confesses he did this dirty deed. "He's just got a devious mind," Stewart said. "He's a kid at heart, but a kid with a devious mind." So, too, was Stewart. When Azinger stunned him with a hole-out bunker shot that trickled into the hole on the 18th green at Muirfield Village Golf Club to steal the 1993 Memorial Tournament, he made a bee line to Stewart while they were still standing on the 18th green. "Payne, I'm really sorry," Azinger said. Stewart had held the lead most of the day. "It's OK, bud," Stewart answered. "That's part of it. That's the game." Azinger tried to console him again as they signed their scorecards. During his victory speech, Azinger expressed mixed emotion for breaking the heart of one of his closest pals and wondered if Stewart was back at his locker, shattered and choking back tears. But it turned out Stewart wasn't too broken up. 'I knew he was OK when I got back to the locker room and there were bananas stuffed up in the toes of my shoes," Azinger recalled. Not long ago, Stewart, who died in a plane crash in 1999 during the week of the Tour Championship, went 1 up in their back-and-forth game of pranks when his widow, Tracy, and son, Aaron, surprised him with news that he had been named the recipient of this year's Payne Stewart Award, which is presented annually by the PGA Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart's steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship. 'I just did not see this coming at all,' Azinger said. 'Gosh, I don't get tricked very often.' Azinger and Stewart, an 11-time Tour winner and World Golf Hall of Fame member, met in Hattiesburg, Miss., at what is now the Sanderson Farms Championship in 1982. 'I thought he had earrings in his ear,' recalled Azinger, who later learned it was a form of acupuncture. 'I became a better player the second I shook his hand.' Azinger grew up the son of a career military man, who served as a navigator in the Air Force, a lieutenant colonel who flew missions in both Korea and Vietnam. His mother, Jean, won numerous state and regional golf tournaments. When she was seven months pregnant with him, she played an exhibition match with Patty Berg and chipped in three times that day. 'To this day, some people claim I inherited my golf talent from her through osmosis,' Azinger said in his autobiography, Zinger. But the truth was more simple: he fell in love with the game by watching his parents and playing with them. Azinger had a strong unorthodox grip but the two most influential instructors in his career – Jim Suttie and John Redman – both refused to change it. During his first year at Brevard Community College, he was the No. 3 man on the 'B' team. But he worked hard at this game and by the time he returned to school for his second year he was the No. 1 player on the team. He moved on to Florida State, where he helped lead the team to its best season in school history at the time. Azinger still needed a little seasoning before he became one of the game's fiercest competitors. In 1985, when he led a tournament for the first time, he became so nervous he told his wife, 'If I have to be this nervous to make a living, I think I'm going to give up golf and do something else.' Later, he asked veteran pro Bert Yancey about those butterflies. Yancey's reply was classic. 'He drawled, 'Son, you want to welcome that chance to be nervous. You want to be so nervous you can't spit. Because if you aren't nervous, you are playing in the middle of the pack. And that's not where you want to be,' ' Azinger recounted. Azinger won for the first time at the 1987 Phoenix Open and could hardly spit as he went on to collect 12 Tour titles, none bigger than the 1993 PGA Championship. To say he was nervous during the sudden-death playoff with Greg Norman with a major championship on the line would be like saying the Titanic took on a little water. He told CBS's Jim Nantz about the neon flashes going off in his eyes every time his heart took a beat. His breakthrough victory that shed the label of best player never to win a major was expected to open the floodgates for Azinger but he soon would face an even bigger foe. Whenever Azinger lifted the Wanamaker Trophy, he felt a dull, throbbing pain in his right shoulder. Doctors eventually diagnosed Azinger with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer he beat after six months of chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation. While he returned to the winner's circle post-cancer, Azinger's diagnosis afforded him the opportunity to work in television in 1995 during his recovery, and he has made a successful second career as a television analyst, working most recently for the PGA Tour Champions. It was Azinger who donned a tam-o'shanter cap, like the ones Stewart wore on the golf course, and tucked his pant legs into his socks, to replicate Stewart's famous knickers, when he gave a moving eulogy at Stewart's memorial service after a jet carrying Stewart and five others from Orlando to Texas crashed into a field in South Dakota. Having shared a few stories of Stewart, who he called 'the life of every party,' Azinger removed his cap, paused and said, 'To try to accept the magnitude of this tragedy is the most difficult thing I've ever had to do.' Azinger, who played on four U.S. Ryder Cup teams and was the winning captain in 2008, is a most fitting recipient of the Payne Stewart Award. The only question is, what took them so long to honor him? He joins the likes of award winners Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and most recently Brandt Snedeker. 'To be named the recipient of this award, representing my dearest friend, is one of the proudest moments in my life,' said Azinger. 'Payne displayed the ultimate character, sportsmanship and service to others throughout his career. He set the standard for how to represent the game of golf, so to be recognized for this award is truly humbling.' Back home in Florida's Bradenton-Sarasota area, Azinger and his wife, Toni, give back through the Azinger Family Compassion Center in Manatee County. Opened in 2021 on the campus of One More Child, the 12,000-square-foot facility, which aims to serve vulnerable and struggling families within Manatee County, continues to make a difference in the lives of hungry kids, sex-trafficked children and working families living paycheck to paycheck. Over the past year, Azinger's non-profit has distributed nearly $19 million worth of food, clothing, household items and other needed supplies, and supported more than 190 nonprofit partners from the surrounding area. In Azinger's book, Stewart described him as 'a great friend, who displays courage and faith that people should strive to imitate,' all qualities represented in the Stewart Award. But just as when it came to delivering practical jokes, Azinger one-upped Stewart with this perfect description of his dear friend: 'If golf were an art, Payne Stewart was the color," he said. "Payne Stewart had style.'
USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
BetMGM Bonus Code WIREBG150 - Grab $150 Bonus for NFL Odds & More Monday Night
Blessed with two of the NFL's best quarterbacks, the Cincinnati Bengals (Joe Burrow) and Washington Commanders (Jayden Daniels) both have high expectations this year. Their goal is to take another step toward setting their regular-season roster during tonight's game. And if your goal is to make some dough on this game or anything else happening in the sports world, then you should capitalize on the BetMGM bonus code WIREBG150 that grants you $150 in bonus bets just for winning a $10 first bet in select states. If you're a new customer in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or West Virginia, then BetMGM hands you three $50 bonus bets as soon as your $10 first bet wins. If you're a new bettor playing in any other BetMGM state, then you'll use the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE that gives you a first-bet offer up to $1,500 in bonus bets. BetMGM has your back on your first bet when it's anywhere from $10 to $1,500. When you check out NFL Futures odds on the BetMGM app — one of the nation's best sports betting apps — you'll see the Commanders have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl and the Bengals are among the top 10. A lot of that has to do with the anticipated brilliance of the Commanders' Daniels and the Bengals' Burrow. There's a chance both will play in tonight's game, so check the news before placing a wager on tonight's game. Just like the Bengals and Commanders are better when their stud quarterbacks are playing, your gambling experience is better when you're playing with benefits provided by one of the best sportsbook promos out there. So tap any BET NOW button you see, breeze through some basic security questions and then type in either the BetMGM bonus code WIREBG150 or the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to activate your offer. BetMGM Bonus Code Promos: $150 in Bonus Bets or $1500 First-Bet Offer The Milwaukee Brewers have run circles around the Chicago Cubs for the last two months. But today is a rare chance for the Cubs to make a dent in the NL Central lead. They're playing a day-night doubleheader at Wrigley Field and Game 2 is slated to start at 8 p.m. ET. There are several more games on today's MLB schedule that have postseason implications, so be sure to look for the updated odds and specials on the BetMGM app. It's not too soon to look ahead to the $60 million Tour Championship that begins Thursday in East Lake. With only the top 30 PGA Tour players invited to this shindig, it leads to some uncustomary opportunities — especially if you don't feel like betting the chalk and getting behind World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Once you hit the Golf tab, make sure to click the Specials button to see all your opportunities. It takes just two minutes to launch your BetMGM account and begin to play. After you click the BET NOW button and answer a few questions, you'll be asked for your bonus code. Remember, new bettors in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will cite the BetMGM bonus code WIREBG150 that hands you $150 in bonus bets when you win your $10 first bet. New bettors everywhere else cite the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE that delivers a protected first bet up to $1,500. How to Sign Up for the BetMGM Bonus Code Offer If you're 21 or older (in most states) and in one of the more than 20 states where BetMGM operates, you can sign up for a new account with a BetMGM bonus code in a matter of minutes. Here's how: If you're signed up for the $1,500 BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE, place your first bet on any of today's matchups (or any other set of odds), and if it settles as a loss, you'll get bonus bets back. For wagers of $50 and up, the refund comes as five equal bonus bets, while smaller wagers get a single matching credit. With the BetMGM bonus code WIREBG150, you can wager on any set of odds, and if it comes back as a win, you get your winnings plus three $50 bet credits. After signing up for your BetMGM bonus code offer, place your qualifying bet within seven days. You'll have a seven-day window from when bonus bets are deposited to use them or they will expire. While you wait for the NFL season to kick off, check out the best online casinos in your state. These sites all feature welcome offers to get you started. And if you are in a state without real-money gaming, you can check out social casinos.
USA Today
16 hours ago
- USA Today
2025 TOUR Championship Start Time Thursday, Tee Times, Pairings & ESPN+ Live Streaming Coverage
Thursday, the 2025 TOUR Championship gets underway at East Lake Golf Club. It's A $40M total purse on the par-70 course. Scottie Scheffler won the tournament last year. Scheffler shot -15 at Caves Valley Golf Club, notching a tournament victory at the BMW Championship. Robert MacIntyre finished second (-13). We have what you need to know going into the first round of the 2025 TOUR Championship, including player tee times, plus TV and streaming info. Watch the PGA Tour all season long without cable! Start watching now on Fubo. And catch PGA Tour Live streaming, plus tons of other live sports and programming, with ESPN+. Tee times and pairings Round 1 TV & streaming information You can watch Golf Channel and more on Fubo. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming.
