U.S./World Sports category, Page 329

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — David Duval lost a few golf balls on his own Thursday in the British Open. It’s one that was found that brought him the wrong kind of attention with a score of 14 on one hole and a 91 when he walked off Royal Portrush. “Just...

Tiger Woods completed his worst-ever first round of the British Open on Thursday. This year’s Masters winner made six bogeys and a double bogey in carding 7-over 78, 12 shots behind leader fellow American J.B. Holmes at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. ? Not. His. Day.Tiger Woods makes bogey on...

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Shane Lowry of Ireland didn’t have the level of expectations or the connection to Royal Portrush like Rory McIlroy. All he had was the lead Thursday at the British Open. Lowry found a renewed confidence on the eve of the final major of the year and...

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Inside the entrance to Rathmore Golf Club, just past a sign offering umbrellas for sale on a rainy day, sits a replica of the U.S. Open trophy the club’s favorite son won at Pebble Beach in 2010. A large painting of Graeme McDowell hangs next to...

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — On the final day of practice for the final major of the year, Rory McIlroy ripped a shot out of the light rough and began walking toward the green when he stopped in the middle of the fairway for a quick interview with Sky Sports. That’s...

NEW YORK — Former Auburn University assistant basketball coach and NBA star Chuck Person’s lifelong generosity may have driven him to the poorhouse, but it saved him from the jailhouse Wednesday when a judge sentenced him in a bribery scandal that touched some of the biggest college basketball programs. U.S....

As is always the case when we get ready for a major golf championship, Brian Taylor of Real Golf Radio joins us on the Breakfast With Benz podcast. Brian comes on to speak with us about the British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Among the topics we outline:...

HOOVER, Ala. — Kirby Smart talks about the Georgia taking “that next step.” Quarterback Jake Fromm wants the Bulldogs “to get over the hump.” In the SEC, that step — or hump — is beating Alabama. Georgia has pushed the Crimson Tide to the brink in a SEC championship game...

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Tiger Woods was on the practice range when the gates at the British Open opened Tuesday, and before long, he was on the tee and ready to go. He just didn’t go for very long. Woods played a full round at Royal Portrush when he arrived...

ARLINGTON, Texas — Tom Herman knows Texas is probably a bit ahead of schedule after 10 wins in his second season that included making the Big 12 championship game and a Sugar Bowl victory. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Longhorns are back just yet. “We weren’t here to just have...

Tennis doesn’t get a lot of run in the United States anymore. After what we saw at Wimbledon, you can see why fans of the sport say it deserves more attention. And I’m glad to see that there was a little pop to the coverage given how much of a...

You know it when you are watching it, not just watching but feeling it. Sports has that power. Suddenly, what might have been an ordinary, forgettable competition blooms into something epic, something that will leave its mark on the history of that sport, and on your memory. Novak Djokovic outslugging...

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Golf’s oldest championship is all about tradition, and this is one Francesco Molinari could have done without. Fifty-one weeks after he won the British Open and gazed at his name etched on the silver claret jug, he had to return it. Getting it back won’t be...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kurt Busch has been called many things during his tumultuous 20 seasons at NASCAR’s top level. He is ornery, easily unhinged and has lost control of his temper enough times that it nearly derailed his career. But the most important descriptor for Busch often is overlooked. He...

Paul Spadafora couldn’t stop crying when he heard the news that Pernell Whitaker had died, a loss of not only one of his boxing idols but his former trainer. The Hall of Fame fighter known as Sweet Pea won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games and who was...

Pernell Whitaker, an Olympic gold medalist and four division champion who was regarded as one of the greatest defensive fighters ever, has died after being hit by a car in Virginia. He was 55. Police in Virginia Beach said the former fighter was hit by a car Sunday night. The...

In Monday’s “First Call,” Antonio Brown doing what Antonio Brown does. Perhaps the most impressive point Wimbledon has ever seen. Ranking the Steelers offensive trio. And a competitive-eating scandal. A.B. on brand This is right from the Mr. Big Chest playbook. Antonio Brown is mad that he didn’t get a...

TORONTO — Simon Pagenaud won his third race of the season, and Alexander Rossi tightened the championship race with Josef Newgarden in IndyCar’s Sunday race through the streets of Toronto. The win on the streets around Exhibition Place is the first for Pagenaud this year away from Indianapolis Motor Speedway....

Ryan Leaf has been hired by ESPN to be a college football analyst, another step in the remarkable comeback of the former Washington State star who has battled drug addiction and served time in prison. Leaf will be paired with play-by-play announcer Clay Matvick and mostly will call games on...

SYLVANIA, Ohio — Sei Young Kim won the Marathon Classic on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour victory of the season, making five straight birdies in a mid-round burst and shooting a 6-under-par 65 for a two-stroke victory over Lexi Thompson. Kim began the birdie run on No. 7 and...

AKRON, Ohio — Retief Goosen birdied the final two holes to win the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship on Sunday at Firestone Country Club for his first PGA Tour Champions title. The 50-year-old Hall of Famer from South Africa broke a tie for the lead with a 15-foot putt on the...

SILVIS, Ill. — While the rest of the leaders faltered, Dylan Frittelli surged to his first PGA Tour title. Frittelli won the John Deere Classic on Sunday, closing with a 7-under-par 64 for a two-stroke victory over Russell Henley. The South African earned a spot next week in the British...

BRIOUDE, France — Like a lost love, the Tour de France gains in value for riders who can’t race in it. That was the lesson Thibaut Pinot learned last year when the French rider, who’d fallen sick at the Giro d’Italia in May, then missed the Tour and watched on...