Latest news with #Memorial
USA Today
31 minutes ago
- Sport
- USA Today
From junior events to the PGA Tour, Ben Griffin and Ryan Gerard share a special bond
Wednesday steak night has become a tradition unlike any other for PGA Tour pro Ryan Gerard and caddie Alex Ritthamel. It began early this season when Ritthamel, who caddies for Ben Griffin, stayed at Gerard's home during the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. 'Ever since that event, either Ben or I has basically finished top-10 every week that we've done it, so we kind of kept it going just out of superstition,' Gerard said. That includes in New Orleans, where Griffin tasted victory on the PGA Tour for the first time in the team event with Andrew Novak, and Dallas, where he won individually. Just two weeks ago, it was Gerard's turn to notch his maiden Tour title. Not too shabby for teammates at University of North Carolina who are enjoying two of the most notable breakout seasons this year. 'I think I'd like a little credit for making Alex well fed,' Gerard said. Who picks up the tab for dinner is determined by who makes more money in a given week. Each time Griffin won, Ritthamel ended up digging into his back pocket for his wallet to pay for dinner. It almost happened a third time at the Memorial but Scottie Scheffler is a force to be reckoned with and successfully defended his title. 'I was a little bit bummed at Memorial this year when you didn't close the deal,' Gerard told Griffin, 'because I made like $4,000 more than him that week, so then I was on the hook for dinner the next week. Yeah, you know, try and win Memorial next year.' But Gerard happily will buy Griffin's dinner for his wise counsel as Gerard debated flying to Northern Ireland, where he was second alternate for the British Open at Royal Portrush. Griffin told him that he already was in the Barracuda Championship, which was held in Truckee, California, and to go there and win the thing. Gerard did just that and so Griffin is waiting for Gerard to give him his cut of his winnings. 'Just 50 percent of his earnings is all,' Griffin joked. 'I've been looking on Zelle and Wells Fargo and Merrill accounts, nothing's hit yet.' 'If he's so inclined, I will treat him to dinner on a Wednesday night of his choosing,' Gerard promised. These two friends, who were raised little more than an hour apart from each other, first played a junior event together at University of North Carolina's Finley Golf Course when Gerard was 9 or 10, Griffin about 12. They became fast friends, even if Griffin gave him a hard time when Gerard was a freshman at UNC. 'When you get out here and you have like one of your best friends playing practice rounds with you all the time and kind of rooting for you, it was awesome seeing him win multiple times early this year, and inspirational,' Gerard said. 'I can't let him get too far ahead of me in the win column so we've got to rein it in here a little bit. Just to see what he's done all season has been awesome and I hope he continues doing it, and if he continues doing it, I'm going to keep on his heels pushing him.' Griffin took a job selling insurance for a short time before resuming his pro golf aspirations. Gerard witnessed how hard Griffin worked on 100 degree days in the summer to get ready for Q-School. 'It wasn't just a fluke. Like he wanted it from the first moment that I met him, and he got to a point where I feel like it got difficult and there were a lot of decisions that he had to make. "But for him to go out and earn it, really, really dig his heels in and make sure that he wasn't going to let anyone stand in the way of him and his dream when he got his second opportunity,' Gerard said. 'Second chances are rare and when you get them you want to take advantage of them as you can.' Gerard can relate. When he got his latest chance to be in the trophy hunt, he recalled advice from UNC men's basketball coach Roy Williams, who texts Gerard every couple of weeks with words of encouragement. That included reminding him that legendary Tarheels men's basketball coach Dean Smith made it to four Final Fours before he finally got to cut down the nets. Gerard kept his cool to the end in claiming his first Tour title at the Barracuda. 'It's something that you work your entire life for. You never want to get ahead of yourself. You never want to feel like you put the cart before the horse and you let it slip away from you,' he said. 'But walking up knowing that you were going to win a PGA Tour event and I've spent hours and hours and hours on driving ranges and putting greens and golf courses and on airplanes since I was 5, 6 years old with a goal to win, kind of seeing all those moments kind of flash before you to end up culminating in a really special goal with a lot of people that have helped me along the way, it was pretty special.' Worthy of a Wednesday night steak dinner.
Local Germany
a day ago
- Politics
- Local Germany
Attacker charged over Berlin Holocaust memorial stabbing
The suspect, a refugee partially identified as Wassim Al M., is said to have seriously injured the 30-year-old man at the landmark in the German capital in February. It was one of a series of attacks blamed on foreign nationals that fuelled a bitter debate about immigration in the run-up to Germany's general election. The suspect "shares the ideology of the foreign terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS)" and has "radical Islamist and antisemitic views", federal prosecutors said in a statement. He had travelled from the eastern city of Leipzig, where he had been living, to Berlin to target "alleged infidels, whom he regarded as representatives of a Western form of society that he rejected", prosecutors said. Shortly before the stabbing, the suspect, who was 19 at the time, sent a photo of himself to IS members so the group could claim responsibility for the attack, they said. Advertisement The tourist, from the Basque Country in northern Spain, was wounded in the neck during the attack at Berlin's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a sombre grid of concrete steles located near the Brandenburg Gate and the US embassy. The suspect, who was arrested shortly after the attack and is in pre-trial detention, has also been charged with causing serious bodily harm and attempted membership of a foreign terrorist organisation. Officials said previously he had arrived in Germany in 2023. The attack was one of several which shocked Germany ahead of the general election, which saw a doubling in the vote-share for the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD). The election was won by the centre-right CDU/CSU, which has since taken power at the head of a coalition and moved swiftly to introduce stricter curbs on immigration. The new government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled it is trying to resume deportations to Syria, which have been suspended since 2012. READ ALSO: Taliban to send envoys to Germany to work on deportations
Winnipeg Free Press
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Scottie Scheffler comparisons might be closer to Jack Nicklaus than Tiger Woods
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Even with four majors, three legs of the Grand Slam and 20 victories around the world, it's a little early to be making Scottie Scheffler comparisons. And yes, it's a bit silly. But one moment is worth noting. His four-shot victory at the British Open complete, Scheffler saw 15-month-old son Bennett coming toward him on the 18th green at Royal Portrush. The toddler face-planted going up the slope. Scheffler eventually scooped him into his left arm, his right hand holding the claret jug. This was pure joy. It was reminiscent of Canterbury in the 1973 PGA Championship. Jack Nicklaus, who that week broke the record for most major titles, was coming off the 18th green after the second round when 4-year-old son Gary ran out to meet him. The Golden Bear carried off his cub. 'My favorite photo in golf,' Nicklaus said years later in a Facebook post that he ended by saying, 'Family first, golf second.' Sound familiar? 'He plays a lot like I did,' Nicklaus said in late May at the Memorial, and perhaps that's where any similarities should start. Comparisons with Tiger Woods are natural because they are separated by a generation, and no one has been this dominant for such a long stretch since Woods. Scheffler has stayed at No. 1 for the last two years and two months. But their games, their styles, their paths are not all that similar. Everyone saw Woods coming when he was on 'The Mike Douglas Show' at age 2, when he won the Junior Worlds six times and both the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur three straight times. He made a hole-in-one in his pro debut. He won his first PGA Tour event in his fifth start. Scheffler spent his first year as a pro on the Korn Ferry Tour. 'I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good,' Bryson DeChambeau said with a laugh. He now refers to Scheffler as being 'in a league of his own.' Woods was all about power and putting. Scheffler is fairways and greens. Woods was overwhelming, winning the Masters by 12 shots, the U.S. Open by 15 and the British Open at St. Andrews by eight for the career Grand Slam at age 24. Scheffler is relentless. He can take the drama out of a major without notice. He's the first player to win each of his first four majors by at least three shots since J.H. Taylor more than a century ago, when the British Open was the only major and had fields smaller than a signature event. Nicklaus picked up on this at the Memorial without ever talking to Scheffler about it. Before the tournament, Nicklaus spoke about his approach to golf — more emphasis on the tee shot (left-to-right shape, like Scheffler) and the approach, less dependence on putting for a good score. And when he got the lead, Nicklaus did what was required. Scheffler won that week by four shots. 'Once I got myself into position to win, then you've got to be smart about how you finish it,' Nicklaus said. 'And that's the way he's playing. He reminds me so much of the way I like to play.' Scheffler was quick to point out he was just over one-fourth of the way to matching Woods' 15 majors (and his 82 tour wins, for that matter). Scheffler most likely can never reach his appeal. Woods was special, a corporate dream. He came back to win at Pebble Beach when trailing by seven with seven holes to play. Fans didn't dare turn away without fear of missing a shot they might never see again. Scheffler won the British Open and mentioned Chipotle. He was trying to explain, as he did when he first reached No. 1 in 2022, that golf doesn't define him. That's what was lost in his remarkable monologue earlier in the week at Royal Portrush. The joy comes from getting to play, getting to work, getting better. The goal is to win. And then he goes home to a wife and son. He is about faith, family and then golf. Fame isn't part of the equation. Scheffler mentioned two Chipotle restaurants at home in Dallas. He can no longer go to one of them because he is recognized. At the other one he's just a guy at the counter trying to decide if he wants extra guacamole. 'I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy,' he said. 'I have the same friends I had growing up. I don't think that I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are.' There was one other Scheffler comparison. Nicklaus doesn't believe he could have achieved all that he did without his wife, Barbara, whom he honored this year at the Memorial and who is universally regarded as the first lady of golf. Nicklaus played his 164th and final major at St. Andrews in 2005 and said that week: 'I'm not really concerned about what my legacy is in relation to the game of golf, frankly. I'm more concerned with what my legacy is with my family, with my kids and my grandkids. That's by far more important to me.' Scheffler's emotions began to pour out at Royal Portrush only when he saw Meredith, the girl he first met as a high school freshman and finally dated as a senior. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson that year at 17. He recalled being at her house the week before when a promotion about the tournament came on TV. Meredith said to him: 'Wait a minute. Isn't that what you're doing?' Scheffler said she's a fast learner. 'Every time I'm able to win a tournament, the first person I always look for is my wife,' he said Sunday. 'She knows me better than anybody. That's my best friend. It takes a lot of work to be able to become good at this game, and I wouldn't be able to do it without her support.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. To the rest of golf world, he's the No. 1 player in the world, now the 'champion golfer of the year.' Fame won't escape him now even if it doesn't define him. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. ___ AP golf:
Hamilton Spectator
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Scottie Scheffler comparisons might be closer to Jack Nicklaus than Tiger Woods
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Even with four majors, three legs of the Grand Slam and 20 victories around the world, it's a little early to be making Scottie Scheffler comparisons. And yes, it's a bit silly. But one moment is worth noting. His four-shot victory at the British Open complete, Scheffler saw 15-month-old son Bennett coming toward him on the 18th green at Royal Portrush. The toddler face-planted going up the slope. Scheffler eventually scooped him into his left arm, his right hand holding the claret jug. This was pure joy. It was reminiscent of Canterbury in the 1973 PGA Championship. Jack Nicklaus, who that week broke the record for most major titles, was coming off the 18th green after the second round when 4-year-old son Gary ran out to meet him. The Golden Bear carried off his cub. 'My favorite photo in golf,' Nicklaus said years later in a Facebook post that he ended by saying, 'Family first, golf second.' Sound familiar? 'He plays a lot like I did,' Nicklaus said in late May at the Memorial, and perhaps that's where any similarities should start. Comparisons with Tiger Woods are natural because they are separated by a generation, and no one has been this dominant for such a long stretch since Woods. Scheffler has stayed at No. 1 for the last two years and two months. But their games, their styles, their paths are not all that similar. Everyone saw Woods coming when he was on 'The Mike Douglas Show' at age 2, when he won the Junior Worlds six times and both the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur three straight times. He made a hole-in-one in his pro debut. He won his first PGA Tour event in his fifth start. Scheffler spent his first year as a pro on the Korn Ferry Tour. 'I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good,' Bryson DeChambeau said with a laugh. He now refers to Scheffler as being 'in a league of his own.' Woods was all about power and putting. Scheffler is fairways and greens. Woods was overwhelming, winning the Masters by 12 shots, the U.S. Open by 15 and the British Open at St. Andrews by eight for the career Grand Slam at age 24. Scheffler is relentless. He can take the drama out of a major without notice. He's the first player to win each of his first four majors by at least three shots since J.H. Taylor more than a century ago, when the British Open was the only major and had fields smaller than a signature event. Nicklaus picked up on this at the Memorial without ever talking to Scheffler about it. Before the tournament, Nicklaus spoke about his approach to golf — more emphasis on the tee shot (left-to-right shape, like Scheffler) and the approach, less dependence on putting for a good score. And when he got the lead, Nicklaus did what was required. Scheffler won that week by four shots. 'Once I got myself into position to win, then you've got to be smart about how you finish it,' Nicklaus said. 'And that's the way he's playing. He reminds me so much of the way I like to play.' Scheffler was quick to point out he was just over one-fourth of the way to matching Woods' 15 majors (and his 82 tour wins, for that matter). Scheffler most likely can never reach his appeal. Woods was special, a corporate dream. He came back to win at Pebble Beach when trailing by seven with seven holes to play. Fans didn't dare turn away without fear of missing a shot they might never see again. Scheffler won the British Open and mentioned Chipotle. He was trying to explain, as he did when he first reached No. 1 in 2022, that golf doesn't define him. That's what was lost in his remarkable monologue earlier in the week at Royal Portrush. The joy comes from getting to play, getting to work, getting better. The goal is to win. And then he goes home to a wife and son. He is about faith, family and then golf. Fame isn't part of the equation. Scheffler mentioned two Chipotle restaurants at home in Dallas. He can no longer go to one of them because he is recognized. At the other one he's just a guy at the counter trying to decide if he wants extra guacamole. 'I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy,' he said. 'I have the same friends I had growing up. I don't think that I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are.' There was one other Scheffler comparison. Nicklaus doesn't believe he could have achieved all that he did without his wife, Barbara, whom he honored this year at the Memorial and who is universally regarded as the first lady of golf. Nicklaus played his 164th and final major at St. Andrews in 2005 and said that week: 'I'm not really concerned about what my legacy is in relation to the game of golf, frankly. I'm more concerned with what my legacy is with my family, with my kids and my grandkids. That's by far more important to me.' Scheffler's emotions began to pour out at Royal Portrush only when he saw Meredith, the girl he first met as a high school freshman and finally dated as a senior. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson that year at 17. He recalled being at her house the week before when a promotion about the tournament came on TV. Meredith said to him: 'Wait a minute. Isn't that what you're doing?' Scheffler said she's a fast learner. 'Every time I'm able to win a tournament, the first person I always look for is my wife,' he said Sunday. 'She knows me better than anybody. That's my best friend. It takes a lot of work to be able to become good at this game, and I wouldn't be able to do it without her support.' To the rest of golf world, he's the No. 1 player in the world, now the 'champion golfer of the year.' Fame won't escape him now even if it doesn't define him. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. ___ AP golf:
22-07-2025
- Sport
Scottie Scheffler comparisons might be closer to Jack Nicklaus than Tiger Woods
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Even with four majors, three legs of the Grand Slam and 20 victories around the world, it's a little early to be making Scottie Scheffler comparisons. And yes, it's a bit silly. But one moment is worth noting. His four-shot victory at the British Open complete, Scheffler saw 15-month-old son Bennett coming toward him on the 18th green at Royal Portrush. The toddler face-planted going up the slope. Scheffler eventually scooped him into his left arm, his right hand holding the claret jug. This was pure joy. It was reminiscent of Canterbury in the 1973 PGA Championship. Jack Nicklaus, who that week broke the record for most major titles, was coming off the 18th green after the second round when 4-year-old son Gary ran out to meet him. The Golden Bear carried off his cub. 'My favorite photo in golf,' Nicklaus said years later in a Facebook post that he ended by saying, 'Family first, golf second.' Sound familiar? 'He plays a lot like I did,' Nicklaus said in late May at the Memorial, and perhaps that's where any similarities should start. Comparisons with Tiger Woods are natural because they are separated by a generation, and no one has been this dominant for such a long stretch since Woods. Scheffler has stayed at No. 1 for the last two years and two months. But their games, their styles, their paths are not all that similar. Everyone saw Woods coming when he was on 'The Mike Douglas Show' at age 2, when he won the Junior Worlds six times and both the U.S. Junior and the U.S. Amateur three straight times. He made a hole-in-one in his pro debut. He won his first PGA Tour event in his fifth start. Scheffler spent his first year as a pro on the Korn Ferry Tour. 'I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good,' Bryson DeChambeau said with a laugh. He now refers to Scheffler as being 'in a league of his own.' Woods was all about power and putting. Scheffler is fairways and greens. Woods was overwhelming, winning the Masters by 12 shots, the U.S. Open by 15 and the British Open at St. Andrews by eight for the career Grand Slam at age 24. Scheffler is relentless. He can take the drama out of a major without notice. He's the first player to win each of his first four majors by at least three shots since J.H. Taylor more than a century ago, when the British Open was the only major and had fields smaller than a signature event. Nicklaus picked up on this at the Memorial without ever talking to Scheffler about it. Before the tournament, Nicklaus spoke about his approach to golf — more emphasis on the tee shot (left-to-right shape, like Scheffler) and the approach, less dependence on putting for a good score. And when he got the lead, Nicklaus did what was required. Scheffler won that week by four shots. 'Once I got myself into position to win, then you've got to be smart about how you finish it,' Nicklaus said. 'And that's the way he's playing. He reminds me so much of the way I like to play.' Scheffler was quick to point out he was just over one-fourth of the way to matching Woods' 15 majors (and his 82 tour wins, for that matter). Scheffler most likely can never reach his appeal. Woods was special, a corporate dream. He came back to win at Pebble Beach when trailing by seven with seven holes to play. Fans didn't dare turn away without fear of missing a shot they might never see again. Scheffler won the British Open and mentioned Chipotle. He was trying to explain, as he did when he first reached No. 1 in 2022, that golf doesn't define him. That's what was lost in his remarkable monologue earlier in the week at Royal Portrush. The joy comes from getting to play, getting to work, getting better. The goal is to win. And then he goes home to a wife and son. He is about faith, family and then golf. Fame isn't part of the equation. Scheffler mentioned two Chipotle restaurants at home in Dallas. He can no longer go to one of them because he is recognized. At the other one he's just a guy at the counter trying to decide if he wants extra guacamole. 'I try to live as normal of a life as possible because I feel like a normal guy,' he said. 'I have the same friends I had growing up. I don't think that I'm anything special just because some weeks I'm better at shooting a lower score than other guys are.' There was one other Scheffler comparison. Nicklaus doesn't believe he could have achieved all that he did without his wife, Barbara, whom he honored this year at the Memorial and who is universally regarded as the first lady of golf. Nicklaus played his 164th and final major at St. Andrews in 2005 and said that week: 'I'm not really concerned about what my legacy is in relation to the game of golf, frankly. I'm more concerned with what my legacy is with my family, with my kids and my grandkids. That's by far more important to me.' Scheffler's emotions began to pour out at Royal Portrush only when he saw Meredith, the girl he first met as a high school freshman and finally dated as a senior. He made his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson that year at 17. He recalled being at her house the week before when a promotion about the tournament came on TV. Meredith said to him: 'Wait a minute. Isn't that what you're doing?' Scheffler said she's a fast learner. 'Every time I'm able to win a tournament, the first person I always look for is my wife,' he said Sunday. 'She knows me better than anybody. That's my best friend. It takes a lot of work to be able to become good at this game, and I wouldn't be able to do it without her support.' To the rest of golf world, he's the No. 1 player in the world, now the 'champion golfer of the year." Fame won't escape him now even if it doesn't define him. On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season.
