Latest news with #BuickInvitational
Los Angeles Times
08-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: Suddenly struggling Dodgers running into issues
Howdy, I'm your host, Austin Knoblauch, filling in for Houston Mitchell. Let's get right to the news. From Jack Harris: Defensive miscues cost the Dodgers two runs on Monday. Stellar defense from the Washington Nationals prevented two, if not more. In the Dodgers' 6-4 loss at Nationals Park to open a three-game series, that proved to be the biggest difference. And, with the team having lost three of their last four games, it reinforced what is fast becoming a disconcerting early-season theme. As was the story in this past weekend's series defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies, when defensive breakdowns and baserunning blunders ended the team's 8-0 start to the season, the Dodgers continued to struggle with the fundamentals on Monday, digging an early hole from which they never fully recovered — even on a night Shohei Ohtani came up a double short of the cycle. With two on and one out in the top of the second, Mookie Betts let a hard-hit one-hopper blaze by him at shortstop, misjudging a low bounce on an error that allowed an unearned run to score. 'I missed it,' Betts said. 'Whether it hopped up or stayed down, doesn't matter.' With two outs, Miguel Rojas booted a more routine grounder at second base, resulting in yet another error and unearned run. 'Defensively today, we gave them a lot of chances for them to score some runs,' Rojas said. 'So we gotta clean that up.' The Nationals' defense, on the other hand, twice took away hits that doused potentially dangerous Dodgers rallies. Continue reading here ALSO: Dodgers celebrated at White House for 2024 World Series title by Trump Dodgers-Nationals box score MLB scores MLB standings From Sam Farmer: The yips — the sudden inability to make even short putts — have ended careers of professional golfers. For Bernhard Langer, they brought him to his knees. 'Those were the hardest times in my life, in my golfing life, I should say,' said Langer, 67, who this week will play in his 41st and final Masters. 'I've had the yips on four different occasions. It seems like every seven years for some reason, just not lately, thank goodness.' The depths for him came in 1989 at the Buick Invitational in Detroit, after his first of two Masters victories, when he missed the cut despite hitting 17 greens in regulation on Thursday and 16 on Friday. His putting was so shaky, though, that he was a forehead-slapping 11 over par. 'I went back to my hotel and literally got on my knees,' he said. 'I was already a believer at the time, and said a prayer like, 'God, if you want me done with this game, I'm ready to give it up. Just show me what you want me to do and I'll pack it up, no more golf.' A friend was praying with him and said, 'I don't think he's done with you yet.' Continue reading here ALSO: The Masters top golfers to watch, TV schedule, odds and weather From the Associated Press: Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. came up with the perfect going-away present for that spirit-crushing Houston defense that bullied, battered and bedeviled him all night. It was a defensive gem of his own. Right before the buzzer. For the win and the national title. The Gators and Clayton somehow overcame Houston's lock-down intensity Monday night to will out a 65-63 victory in an NCAA title-game thriller decided when the Florida senior's own defense stopped the Cougars from even taking a winning shot at the buzzer. Clayton finished with 11 points, all in the second half, but what he'll be remembered for most was getting Houston's Emanuel Sharp to stop in the middle of his motion as he tried to go up for a three-pointer in the final seconds. Clayton ran at him, Sharp dropped the ball and, unable to pick it up lest he get called for traveling, watched it bounce. Alex Condon dived on the ball, then flipped it to Clayton, who ran to the opposite free-throw line with the buzzer sounding and tugged his jersey out of his shorts. Next, the court was awash in Gator chomps and orange and blue confetti. 'Our motto is, we all can go,' Clayton said. 'We've got a team full of guys that can go. It ain't just about me. My team held me down until I was able to put the ball in the basket. Shout out to them boys.' Continue reading here From the Associated Press: Matty Beniers and Brandon Montour scored 54 seconds apart late in the first period and the Seattle Kraken held off the Kings 2-1 on Monday night. Beniers scored his 19th goal of the season when he went hard to the net to put home a rebound into an open net to tie it at 18:35. Montour scored with 30.6 seconds left in the period, beating Darcy Kuemper on the goaltender's glove side to set a career-high with 17 goals. Joey Daccord made 28 saves for Seattle. Continue reading here Kings-Kraken box score NHL scores NHL standings From the Associated Press: Cutter Gauthier scored two goals in the second period and Lukas Dostal made a season-high 47 saves in the Ducks' 3-2 victory over the shorthanded Edmonton Oilers on Monday night. Mason McTavish also scored for the Ducks, who took three of four from Edmonton this season. The Oilers played without stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl because of injury. Continue reading here Ducks-Oilers box score NBA scores NBA standings 1935 — Gene Sarazen gets a double eagle on the 15th hole to erase Craig Wood's three-stroke lead, then goes on to win the Masters. 1941 — In his 4th title defense in 9 weeks Joe Louis beats Tony Musto by TKO in the 9th round. 1943 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins 2-0 to win the Stanley Cup with a four-game sweep. 1956 — Jack Burke, Jr. comes back from eight strokes behind to beat Ken Venturi by one and win the Masters. 1966 — American Football League votes in 36 year old Al Davis as commissioner after Joe Foss resigns. Appointment lasts 3 months when AFL merges with NFL. 1968 — Major League Baseball decides to postpone Opening Day because of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 1969 — MLB expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games 1971 — The first legal off-track betting (OTB) system in the United States opens in New York City. 1974 — In the home opener in Atlanta, Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth's career record by hitting his 715th home run, connecting off Al Downing of Los Angeles in the fourth inning. 1975 — Frank Robinson, the first black manager in the majors, debuts as player-manager for the Cleveland Indians. Robinson hits a home run in his first at-bat — as a designated hitter — to help beat the New York Yankees 5-3. 1989 — Alex English scores 26 points to become the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in eight straight seasons, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz 110-106. 1989 — 1-handed pitcher Jim Abbott makes MLB debut. 1990 — Nick Faldo becomes the second player to win consecutive Masters, beating Ray Floyd on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. Faldo joins Jack Nicklaus as the only repeat winner. 1991 — Major league umpires & baseball reach a 4-year agreement after strike. 1995 — Oliver McCall beats Larry Holmes in 12 for heavyweight boxing title. 2001 — Tiger Woods claims the greatest feat in modern golf by winning the Masters, giving him a clean sweep of the four professional majors in a span of 294 days. Woods, with his winning score of 16-under 272, sweeps the majors with a combined score of 65-under. 2003 — 22nd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Tennessee, 73-68. 2007 — Zach Johnson hits three clutch birdies on the back nine of Augusta National, to close with a 69 for a two-shot victory over Tiger Woods at the Masters. 2008 — Candace Parker, playing with an injured left shoulder, scores 17 points and grabs nine rebounds to help Tennessee capture its eighth women's NCAA championship with a 64-48 victory over Stanford. 2012 — 76th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Bubba Watson wins on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. 2013 — Luke Hancock makes all five of his 3-pointers and leads Louisville to its first NCAA men's basketball championship since 1986 with a 82-76 victory over Michigan. Coach Rick Pitino adds this title to the one he won at Kentucky in 1996 and became the first coach to win a championship at two schools. 2014 — 33rd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Notre Dame, 79-58. 2017 — Damian Lillard scores a franchise-record 59 points and matches his career high with nine 3-pointers to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 101-86. 2018 — 82nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Patrick Reed wins his first major title. 2019 — 81st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Virginia beats Texas Tech, 85-77 OT. Compiled by the Associated Press
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bernhard Langer nearly quit golf decades ago. Beating the yips rejuvenated his career
Bernhard Langer plays on the 14th hole during a practice round at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday. Langer is playing in his final Masters. (Augusta National / Getty Images) The yips — the sudden inability to make even short putts — have ended careers of professional golfers. For Bernhard Langer, they brought him to his knees. 'Those were the hardest times in my life, in my golfing life, I should say,' said Langer, 67, who this week will play in his 41st and final Masters. 'I've had the yips on four different occasions. It seems like every seven years for some reason, just not lately, thank goodness.' The depths for him came in 1989 at the Buick Invitational in Detroit, after his first of two Masters victories, when he missed the cut despite hitting 17 greens in regulation on Thursday and 16 on Friday. His putting was so shaky, though, that he was a forehead-slapping 11 over par. Advertisement 'I went back to my hotel and literally got on my knees,' he said. 'I was already a believer at the time, and said a prayer like, 'God, if you want me done with this game, I'm ready to give it up. Just show me what you want me to do and I'll pack it up, no more golf.' A friend was praying with him and said, 'I don't think he's done with you yet.' Not by a mile. Not only would Langer go on to win at Augusta National again in 1993, but he went on to become the greatest senior player in history, with 12 senior major championships and at least one victory in each of his 18 years on the senior tour. The native of Germany considers those two green jackets to be the pinnacle of his success, and his voice trembled with emotion Monday after watching a Masters highlight video of himself in the media center auditorium. Bernhard Langer celebrates after winning his second Masters title in 1993. (Ed Reinke / Associated Press) 'It's been an incredible journey for a young man being born in a village of 800 people in an area where golf was nothing, to make it here,' he said. 'To get an invitation to play the Masters [the] first time around when it was extremely difficult for a European or international players to get an invitation, and then to win the first Masters on the third go-around was just a dream come true. It's just incredible.' Advertisement Langer, as in-shape and youthful as a player half his age, missed the Masters last year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon while playing pickleball in Boca Raton, Fla., where he lives. Four years ago, when the Masters was moved to November amid the COVID pandemic, Langer, then 63, became the oldest player ever to make the cut. It might not look it, but age is catching up to him. Read more: Tiger Woods will lead design of short course at Augusta Municipal 'The course is just getting too long and I'm getting shorter and shorter,' he said. 'I'm hitting hybrids where the other kids are hitting 9 irons and 8 irons, maybe even wedges. So I knew I wasn't going to be in contention anymore. Advertisement 'A few years back, I asked the chairman of the club, 'Is there a time limit? Do we time out when we're 60?' He said, 'No, you will know when it's time to quit. It's totally up to you.'' That day has come. 'It's time to quit,' he said. 'I'm just not competitive on this course anymore. We're playing at, what, 7,500-plus yards, and I'm used to playing courses around 7,100. I can still compete there, but not at this distance.' Bernhard Langer hits from a bunker onto the third green during the final round of the PNC Championship in Orlando, Fla., in December. (Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press) Either of those distances pales in comparison to the distance Langer has come from his youth in tiny Anhausen, Germany, a farming village where his father was a bricklayer and motorcycle courier. Advertisement Golf was an exotic and obscure pursuit for a German kid at the time, and Langer said there were only 100 or so courses in the country at the time. His older brother was a caddie at a course about eight miles from the family home, and Langer followed in his footsteps. As a youngster, Bernhard would ride his bike to the course, and spend days lugging golf bags that were almost as tall as he was. 'I would say I fell in love with money first,' he said. 'As a caddie, I was earning money as a 9-year-old. That was pretty cool.' In a 2019 essay for Golf Digest, Langer recalled waiting for work with other caddies in a small shed, sitting on a bench and staring for hours at a swing sequence of Jack Nicklaus. Read more: The special ingredient of those brilliant white sand traps at the Masters Advertisement 'For years, I didn't know who Jack, Arnold Palmer or Ben Hogan even were,' he wrote. 'There was almost no golf on TV, no golf books and a very small number of golf magazines. Golf was such a small sport.' It didn't take along, however, for him to develop a love of the game that at least rivaled his love for the money that lined his pockets. 'We were able to practice a little bit and chip and putt and hit balls on the range if there were no members to caddie for,' he said. 'We couldn't afford golf clubs, but one of the members discarded some of his old sticks. They actually had bamboo shafts. It was a 2 wood, 3 iron, a 7 iron and a putter with a bent shaft. So I always say that's where my putting problems came from.' He can laugh about that now. But at various points throughout his career, his putting issues have been career threatening. Most famous was his missed, do-or-die 6-footer in the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island. He burned the right edge, halving his match with Hale Irwin and giving the United States a narrow victory. That broke a streak in which the Europeans had won in 1985 and '87 and tied in '89. Bernhard Langer celebrates after making a putt to win the PNC Championship in December. (Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press) 'It was devastating because I let my teammates down,' Langer wrote in his Golf Digest essay. 'The next week was the German Masters, a tournament I helped found. On the final hole, I faced a 15-footer to get into a playoff. Two voices were in my head. One said, 'You missed a six-footer last week; what makes you think you can make a 15-footer now?' The other voice said, 'The past is irrelevant; you will make this putt.' Advertisement 'The second voice must have been louder, because I made the putt and then defeated Rodger Davis in the playoff. Since that time, I've managed to quiet the first voice.' Langer, who has tried virtually every putting style throughout his career, was able to quiet that voice. But, as he'll likely be reminded often during his final Masters appearance, his success speaks loud enough for everyone to hear. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Bernhard Langer nearly quit golf decades ago. Beating the yips rejuvenated his career
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The yips — the sudden inability to make even short putts — have ended careers of professional golfers. For Bernhard Langer, they brought him to his knees. 'Those were the hardest times in my life, in my golfing life, I should say,' said Langer, 67, who this week will play in his 41st and final Masters. 'I've had the yips on four different occasions. It seems like every seven years for some reason, just not lately, thank goodness.' The depths for him came in 1989 at the Buick Invitational in Detroit, after his first of two Masters victories, when he missed the cut despite hitting 17 greens in regulation on Thursday and 16 on Friday. His putting was so shaky, though, that he was a forehead-slapping 11 over par. 'I went back to my hotel and literally got on my knees,' he said. 'I was already a believer at the time, and said a prayer like, 'God, if you want me done with this game, I'm ready to give it up. Just show me what you want me to do and I'll pack it up, no more golf.' A friend was praying with him and said, 'I don't think he's done with you yet.' Not by a mile. Not only would Langer go on to win at Augusta National again in 1993, but he went on to become the greatest senior player in history, with 12 senior major championships and at least one victory in each of his 18 years on the senior tour. The native of Germany considers those two green jackets to be the pinnacle of his success, and his voice trembled with emotion Monday after watching a Masters highlight video of himself in the media center auditorium. 'It's been an incredible journey for a young man being born in a village of 800 people in an area where golf was nothing, to make it here,' he said. 'To get an invitation to play the Masters [the] first time around when it was extremely difficult for a European or international players to get an invitation, and then to win the first Masters on the third go-around was just a dream come true. It's just incredible.' Langer, as in-shape and youthful as a player half his age, missed the Masters last year after suffering a torn Achilles tendon while playing pickleball in Boca Raton, Fla., where he lives. Four years ago, when the Masters was moved to November amid the COVID pandemic, Langer, then 63, became the oldest player ever to make the cut. It might not look it, but age is catching up to him. 'The course is just getting too long and I'm getting shorter and shorter,' he said. 'I'm hitting hybrids where the other kids are hitting 9 irons and 8 irons, maybe even wedges. So I knew I wasn't going to be in contention anymore. 'A few years back, I asked the chairman of the club, 'Is there a time limit? Do we time out when we're 60?' He said, 'No, you will know when it's time to quit. It's totally up to you.'' That day has come. 'It's time to quit,' he said. 'I'm just not competitive on this course anymore. We're playing at, what, 7,500-plus yards, and I'm used to playing courses around 7,100. I can still compete there, but not at this distance.' Either of those distances pales in comparison to the distance Langer has come from his youth in tiny Anhausen, Germany, a farming village where his father was a bricklayer and motorcycle courier. Golf was an exotic and obscure pursuit for a German kid at the time, and Langer said there were only 100 or so courses in the country at the time. His older brother was a caddie at a course about eight miles from the family home, and Langer followed in his footsteps. As a youngster, Bernhard would ride his bike to the course, and spend days lugging golf bags that were almost as tall as he was. 'I would say I fell in love with money first,' he said. 'As a caddie, I was earning money as a 9-year-old. That was pretty cool.' In a 2019 essay for Golf Digest, Langer recalled waiting for work with other caddies in a small shed, sitting on a bench and staring for hours at a swing sequence of Jack Nicklaus. 'For years, I didn't know who Jack, Arnold Palmer or Ben Hogan even were,' he wrote. 'There was almost no golf on TV, no golf books and a very small number of golf magazines. Golf was such a small sport.' It didn't take along, however, for him to develop a love of the game that at least rivaled his love for the money that lined his pockets. 'We were able to practice a little bit and chip and putt and hit balls on the range if there were no members to caddie for,' he said. 'We couldn't afford golf clubs, but one of the members discarded some of his old sticks. They actually had bamboo shafts. It was a 2 wood, 3 iron, a 7 iron and a putter with a bent shaft. So I always say that's where my putting problems came from.' He can laugh about that now. But at various points throughout his career, his putting issues have been career threatening. Most famous was his missed, do-or-die 6-footer in the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island. He burned the right edge, halving his match with Hale Irwin and giving the United States a narrow victory. That broke a streak in which the Europeans had won in 1985 and '87 and tied in '89. 'It was devastating because I let my teammates down,' Langer wrote in his Golf Digest essay. 'The next week was the German Masters, a tournament I helped found. On the final hole, I faced a 15-footer to get into a playoff. Two voices were in my head. One said, 'You missed a six-footer last week; what makes you think you can make a 15-footer now?' The other voice said, 'The past is irrelevant; you will make this putt.' 'The second voice must have been louder, because I made the putt and then defeated Rodger Davis in the playoff. Since that time, I've managed to quiet the first voice.' Langer, who has tried virtually every putting style throughout his career, was able to quiet that voice. But, as he'll likely be reminded often during his final Masters appearance, his success speaks loud enough for everyone to hear.
NBC Sports
01-04-2025
- Business
- NBC Sports
Rory McIlroy is PGA Tour's second official $100,000,000 man
Rory McIlroy rallied to tie for fifth at the Texas Children's Houston Open and in doing so crossed a PGA Tour milestone that previously belonged only to Tiger Woods: The $100 million man. McIlroy earned $337,844 in the Houston Open, taking his career earnings to $100,046,906. Golf Channel Staff, Woods, who likely is out the rest of the year with a ruptured Achilles tendon, is at $120,999,166. He has led the PGA Tour in career earnings for 25 years, having first reached the top spot after the 2000 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines with a runner-up finish. At the time, Woods had played only 73 times on the PGA Tour. He crossed the $100 million mark in September 2012. Given the current state of prize money — and the state of Woods' health — McIlroy could surpass Woods at No. 1 in career earnings before he turns 40. Of course, that assumes Scottie Scheffler doesn't get there first. Scheffler, in just his sixth season on the PGA Tour, already is No. 5 on the list with $75,134,784. He is coming off a year in which he earned just short of $30 million. Among players under 40, next on the list would be Jordan Spieth (No. 10) at $63,562,963.
NBC Sports
11-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Harris English eyes Torrey Pines two-peat
SAN DIEGO – Harris English brushed past the 18th green at Torrey Pines' South Course early Tuesday without much fanfare. Just 17 days ago the five-time PGA Tour winner pulled off an emotional victory at the Farmers Insurance Open on the final green and the tragic wildfires that have devasted Los Angeles have brought him back. The Tour relocated this week's Genesis Invitational from Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, which was devasted by last month's fires, to Torrey Pines creating a unique opportunity for English. 'Normally you have to wait a year to come back and defend your title but it kind of feels like defending right now, a couple of weeks later,' said English, who won the Farmers Insurance Open by one stroke over Sam Stevens. While returning to Torrey Pines less than three weeks after his victory is a bit surreal, English said the good vibes from that victory would give him added confidence going into the season's third signature event. 'I feel like you learn how to play this place over the years,' English said. 'I played it lot, played it in some tough conditions. I definitely didn't have my A game tee to green the last day but I got it done so it's nice to have that in your back pocket. Knowing where to miss it, making some key up-and-downs and my putter felt great all week.' English can join Tiger Woods in an exclusive category if he can pull off the Torrey Pines two-peat. Woods won at Torrey Pines twice in 2008, first at the Buick Invitational (now the Farmers Insurance Open) and then at the U.S. Open, which concluded on Monday with an 18-hole playoff. Woods also won twice at Pebble Beach in 2000, first at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and then the U.S. Open. The South Course can also make a bit of history this week by finishing among the Tour's top 10 toughest layouts twice in a single season. Although it's still early in the season, the South Course currently ranks as the toughest on Tour with a 73.68 average (1.68 over par) at the Farmers Insurance Open. With wet and windy conditions in the forecast this week, players are expecting a similarly demanding test. 'I imagine it will be pretty much the same,' English said of this week's setup. 'Obviously, it looks like it's going to rain a little bit more this week, so the greens will be a little softer than we played it a few weeks ago. The rough will be similar, greens might be softer but other than using four pins instead of three pins [the Farmers Insurance Open uses a two-course rotation]. You know what to expect out here, it's going to be hard.' The South Course ranked as the 10th-toughest (Buick Invitational) and third-toughest (U.S. Open) in 2008, and Pebble Beach ranked as the toughest (U.S. Open) and sixth-toughest (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) in 2000.
