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American sweep! Team USA win all 5 matches in opening session of Presidents Cup

American sweep! Team USA win all 5 matches in opening session of Presidents Cup
US team member Scottie Scheffler, left, after his birdie putt on the seventh hole as International team members Tom Kim, second from right, and Sungjae Im, of South Korea, congratulate him during their first round four-ball match at the Presidents Cup Thursday. (AP)
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Updated 27 September 2024

American sweep! Team USA win all 5 matches in opening session of Presidents Cup

American sweep! Team USA win all 5 matches in opening session of Presidents Cup
  • It was the third time they shut out the Internationals on the first day, and the first time since 2000
  • International captain Mike Weir had a plan for the opening two days and he didn’t see anything on the course to make any changes for the foursomes matches on Friday

MONTREAL: The Presidents Cup matches were close. The score after the opening session was not.

The Americans clung to a 1-up lead in all five matches Thursday when they delivered shot after shot, putt after putt, until this already lopsided series took a familiar turn.

US 5, International 0.

The Americans swept the first day of fourballs matches at Royal Montreal behind a feisty Scottie Scheffler, late heroics from Xander Schauffele and plenty of help from the putting-challenged International team.

It was the third time they shut out the Internationals on the first day, and the first time since 2000. The Americans went on to an 11-point victory that year.

“We’re excited with our start — high fives, celebrate — and we’re going to keep the pressure on,” US captain Jim Furyk said.

International captain Mike Weir had a plan for the opening two days and he didn’t see anything on the course to make any changes for the foursomes matches on Friday. Adam Scott has never been on a winning team since his debut in 2003, and he wasn’t about to lose hope.

“The best news is there’s tomorrow for us. It’s not over,” Scott said. “We’re going to have to come out, fight really hard, find that gear, win a session and get going in the right direction. The score line looks rough. But I don’t think there was that much difference in it today.”

Three matches reached the 18th green. One ended on No. 17. The shortest match was Scheffler and Russell Henley getting the last word in a 3-and-2 win over Tom Kim and Sungjae Im.

Scheffler and Henley never trailed in what was the spiciest match of an otherwise flat day, the Canadian crowd mostly silent after Mackenzie Hughes, who sat out the first session, chugged a beer on the opening tee to get them going.

Scheffler and Kim are good friends who play plenty of money games in Dallas. On the par-3 seventh hole, the 22-year-old Kim holed a putt from just inside 30 feet and did a pirouette on the green, screaming, “Let’s Go!”

Scheffler matched the birdie from about the same length, and the world’s No. 1 player turned toward Kim and screamed, “What was that?”

It got testy on the next hole when Kim made another long birdie, celebrated wildly and then he and Im walked over to the ninth tee without even watching Scheffler putt.

“It’s the same thing I would have done at home if he had made a putt ... and he celebrated like that. So it’s all in good fun. We enjoy competing against each other,” Scheffler said. “That’s what it’s like out here. It’s fun to compete and fun to represent our country, and at the end of the match you take your hat off and shake hands.

“We’re friends after, we’re not friends during, I guess.”

The Internationals never looked like they would win the session. They weren’t expecting a shutout, either.

Taylor Pendrith, one of two Canadians in the lineup, made birdie on the 12th as he and Christiaan Bezuidenhout squared their match against Keegan Bradley and Wyndham Clark.

Schauffele and Tony Finau missed 3-foot par putts on the 16th and their opening match against Jason Day and Byeong Hun An was all square.

It could have gone either way. But it only got worse for the Internationals.

Bezuidenhout missed three 7-foot putts in a span of four holes that kept his side from squaring the match. Scott missed a pair of putts from the 12-foot range.

The Americans delivered the goods.

Schauffele atoned for his short miss by hitting his tee shot to 7 feet to a back pin on the par-3 17th for a birdie, and then hit his approach to 3 feet on the 18th to close out the match.

“Tony got the party started on the front nine and he had my back all day,” Schauffele said. “I figured it was my time to have his back.”

Bradley, the Ryder Cup captain for next year who has gone 10 years since his last cup competition, holed a 35-foot putt on the 13th and secured a 1-up win over Scott and Min Woo Lee with a 10-foot putt. Emotions were pouring from him.

“It was 10 years of pent-up energy of not playing these,” Bradley said. “I just had such a blast out there today.”

Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala rallied from a 1-down deficit through 11 holes when Morikawa birdied the 12th and 14th holes. Theegala secured it with an approach to just inside 3 feet. He made the putt, the first time all day he retrieved his golf ball from the cup.

In the anchor match, Patrick Cantlay was relentless as ever and Sam Burns made a 10-foot birdie on the 13th hole that put them 2 up, and Corey Conners and Hideki Matsuyama could never cut into the lead.

The Americans also swept the opening session in 1994. This was the eighth time in the last nine Presidents Cups they had a lead after the first day.

Friday has five foursomes matches. Furyk is keeping two teams together, including Scheffler and Henley, with Cantlay and Schauffele looking to build on their foursomes record.

“The last couple road games have been close,” Cantlay said. “I think it’s a huge statement. I think we need to build on that tomorrow.”


Shubman Gill, the â€Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king

Shubman Gill, the â€Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king
Updated 06 July 2025

Shubman Gill, the â€Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king

Shubman Gill, the â€Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king
  • Gill becomes first batter in 148 years of Test history to make scores of 250, 150 in same match
  • He succeeded Rohit Sharma as India captain after the latter announced Test retirement in May

Birmingham, United Kingdom: India captain Shubman Gill continued to give fresh meaning to the phrase “leading from the front” with a stunning innings of 161 in the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston on Saturday.

The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs, a figure bettered by India great Sachin Tendulkar, Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer, just three times in a series, let alone a match, during his celebrated career.

Following his commanding 269 in the first innings, Gill also became the first batsman in 148 years of Test history to make score of 250 and 150 in the same match.

All that came after Gill’s 147 in his first Test as captain, India’s five-wicket loss in last week’s series opener at Headingley.

But beyond the statistics, it is the way Gill has played that has impressed seasoned observers.
In the first innings at Edgbaston, he batted in near flawless-fashion for eight-and-a-half hours, with his offside driving standing comparison with cricket’s most elegant batsmen.

But in the second innings, with quick runs required to set up a declaration, Gill made 161 off just 162 balls, including 13 fours and eight sixes.

India are now well-placed given England, with seven wickets standing, still need a mammoth 536 more runs on Sunday’s final day to achieve what would be a Test record fourth-innings victory chase of 608.

“Gill is outrageous,” England fast-bowling great Stuart Broad, well used to working out world-class batsmen during a career that yielded 604 Test wickets, told Sky Sports after Saturday’s close.

“As a bowler, I’d be looking for technical things so I could expose him, but he’s not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he’s played stylishly. He’s played with huge responsibility, under big pressure.

“It’s breathtaking... He deserves all the applause he will get.”

Gill was drafted into India’s under-19 side as for their victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, shortly after scoring a century for Punjab in just his second first-class Ranji Trophy match.

He made his one-day international debut in 2019, but it was in his first Test series, in Australia in 2020/21, that he came to the fore, notably with a fluent 91 in India’s thrilling series-clinching win at the Gabba.

His first Test hundred came a year later, in Chattogram. A month later, aged 23, he became the youngest to make an ODI double-century, smashing 208 off 149 balls against New Zealand.

Born in Fazilka, near the border with Pakistan, before moving to Mohali aged eight to be nearer better cricket facilities, the nickname â€Prince’ has clung to Gill to the extent of sometimes appearing on his bat-stickers.

An opener and then a number three, Gill now occupies the number four position held by childhood hero Virat Kohli, with his 269 surpassing Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019 as the highest score by an India Test captain.

As a boy, Gill wanted to know what Kohli’s scores and achievements were when he was his age.

And when Kohli first saw Gill in the nets in New Zealand in 2019/20, he said he didn’t even have 10 percent of the talent when he was Gill’s age.

Yet last year, when England went 1-0 up in Hyderabad, a second-innings duck saw Gill’s Test average fall below 30 for the first time.

But then India coach Rahul Dravid, himself an outstanding batsman, resisted the temptation to drop Gill, who then made a second-innings century in a 106-run win in Visakhapatnam and another, in Dharamshala, during a series India won 4-1.

Gill succeeded Rohit Sharma as India captain after the latter announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, with â€King’ Kohli calling time on his Test career just a few days later.

A few months ago, when asked about potential leaders, Rohit said “the boys aren’t ready yet.”

But Gill, who started this series with a modest Test average of under 36, looks as if he might be now.


NEOM’s new head coach: â€I am excited to be part of the big Saudi project’

NEOM’s new head coach: â€I am excited to be part of the big Saudi project’
Updated 06 July 2025

NEOM’s new head coach: â€I am excited to be part of the big Saudi project’

NEOM’s new head coach: â€I am excited to be part of the big Saudi project’
  • Christophe Galtier left Qatari club Al-Duhail SC in May
  • The team have been busy preparing for the 2025-2026 campaign

TABUK: Newly promoted to the Saudi football League, NEOM Sports Club announced on Saturday the appointment of French head coach Christophe Galtier as their new manager.

Galtier left Qatari club Al-Duhail SC in May after two years as head coach where he guided them to the 2024-2025 Qatari Stars Cup.

The Frenchman won two Ligue 1 titles as a manager, coaching Lille OSC to the trophy in 2020-2021 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2022-2023, his only season in charge of Les Parisiens.

In a message on NEOM SC’s social media on Saturday, Galtier said: “I am really excited to be part of this big Saudi project. Happy to join one of the best leagues in the world. I cannot wait to write the story of NEOM Football Club.”

The team have been busy preparing for the 2025-2-26 campaign: this week they announced the signings of former Arsenal and Olympique Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazatte, Ivorian midfielder Amadou Kone and former Al Fayha defender Faris Abdi.

The club, based in Tabuk, was promoted to the Saudi Pro League at the end of last season, after finishing top of the Saudi First Division.


Davis Thompson makes late birdie to break out of a logjam and lead John Deere

Davis Thompson makes late birdie to break out of a logjam and lead John Deere
Updated 06 July 2025

Davis Thompson makes late birdie to break out of a logjam and lead John Deere

Davis Thompson makes late birdie to break out of a logjam and lead John Deere
  • He will try to become the first player to win back-to-back at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009 through 2011
  • Of the top 14 players, only Lipsky, Koivun and Kevin Roy have yet to win on the PGA Tour

SILVIS, Illinois:Davis Thompson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday to break out of a logjam that at one point featured 10 players tied for the lead, giving him a 4-under 67 on a much tougher golf course and a one-shot lead in the John Deere Classic.

Thompson was among five players tied for the lead when he stood over his final putt, after Brian Campbell had just holed a 30-foot birdie putt.

His final birdie put him at 15-under 198, one shot ahead of Campbell, Max Homa, Emiliano Grillo and David Lipsky, each of whom had a 68.

About the only player not in the mix was 36-hole leader Doug Ghim, who played his last 10 holes with two bogeys and no birdies and shot 74, pushing him outside the top 20.

Thompson had a birdie-birdie finish, though he missed an 8-foot eagle attempt on the par-5 17th hole. He will try to become the first player to win back-to-back at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009 through 2011.

Also at stake for Thompson is a chance to get into the British Open, as a victory would move him to the top of the alternate list determined by the next world ranking.

But the final 18 holes feels a lot longer off considering how many players are very much in the mix going into Sunday.

“Nice to have some momentum going into tomorrow,” Thompson said.

Camilo Villegas (69) and Austin Eckroat (67) were among four players three shots behind. Matt Kuchar (67) and Auburn junior Jackson Koivun were in the group four back. Thirteen players were within four shots of the lead.

Of the top 14 players, only Lipsky, Koivun and Kevin Roy have yet to win on the PGA Tour. Homa is the most proven of the lot, though he has been trying to pull himself out of a deep slump that has left him on the outside of just trying to make the PGA Tour playoffs this year.

Homa was steady again, even after one of his rare misses. He was some 40 yards left of the green at the par-5 10th, even going across the road, but managed to escape with par and then took advantage of the scoring holes on the back nine for his 68.

Homa last won on the PGA Tour in January 2023 at Torrey Pines. He has been under scrutiny this year for his poor form — more than a year since his last top 10 — while changing coaches, equipment and twice changing caddies.

“Golf has just been very boring for me this year. I haven’t had a whole lot of stress, and you want to be stressed out. So I look forward to the butterflies in the morning; I look forward to the first tee shot,” Homa said. “It’s just nice to get to feel that again. It’s been a while.”

This was not the same TPC Deere Run that yielded low scores over the opening two rounds. The starting times were moved up to avoid afternoon thunderstorms, and hot weather and wind combined to make the greens firmer and fasters. Plus, several of the pins were tucked along the edges, punishing misses on the wrong side.

No one shot lower than 66 in the third round. There were 28 scores of 65 or better over the opening two rounds.

“Certainly makes for a fun Sunday when a bunch of guys have a chance,” Kuchar said.

One of them is Koivun, still four shots back but with a chance to make it two years in a row with an amateur winning on the PGA Tour. Nick Dunlap won The American Express last year in January and left Alabama to turn pro, having $20 million signature events to play.

Koivun already is assured a PGA Tour card through the PGA Tour University accelerated program, but is deferring that to return to Auburn.

“It’s obviously very inspiring to see what he did about a year ago now,” Koivun said. “Obviously, to be one of the few (amateurs) to win a professional event would be great. At the end of the day I just got to go give it my best shot and be happy with the result.”


Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory

Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory
Updated 06 July 2025

Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory

Messi returns to MLS with spectacular double in Inter victory
  • Messi made sure there was no lingering let-down for Javier Mascherano’s side, who are aiming to improve on their curent sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points from 17 matches
  • Miami now face a hectic MLS stretch, with five more matches before the end of the month

MONTREAL: Lionel Messi scored two brilliant goals to lift Inter Miami to a 4-1 victory over Montreal in Miami’s return to Major League Soccer action on Saturday in the wake of their elimination from the Club World Cup.

Miami were playing their first MLS game in more than a month. They had advanced past the first phase of the Club World Cup but fell 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 last week.

Messi made sure there was no lingering let-down for Javier Mascherano’s side, who are aiming to improve on their curent sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 32 points from 17 matches.

“It is a great night, we took the three points that were very necessary to start thinking about the MLS again,” Mascherano said. “It is never easy to reintegrate into the competition after the Club World Cup, and the players have done it perfectly.”

Messi was a key figure throughout, although it was his miscue that led to the first goal for Montreal.

His backpass fell right in front of Montreal’s Prince Owusu, who fired a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to make it 1-0 after two minutes.

Messi more than atoned. In the 33rd minute, Messi found Tadeo Allende outside the area and Allende chipped a shot over Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirios.

In the 40th minute Messi conjured his trademark magic, cutting in from the right corner of the box, eluding Fernando Alvarez and curling the ball in at the far post for a goal that gave Miami a 2-1 halftime lead.

Telasco Segovia made it 3-1 in the 60th minute with a blast from outside the area that hit the crossbar and bounced into the net.

Messi bagged his second goal two minutes later, evading four defenders and finishing an outstanding solo run with a shot into the heart of the goal.

Messi now has seven goals in his last four MLS matches, bringing his total to 12 in 14 games.

“Leo is happy playing football,” Mascherano said. “Every time he is fit, he is going to play. Clearly we have an extra advantage when he plays and we want to use that advantage as much as possible.”

Miami now face a hectic MLS stretch, with five more matches before the end of the month.


France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century

France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century
Updated 06 July 2025

France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century

France make Euro 2025 statement against holders England as Miedema completes century
  • Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal as the Netherlands swept past Wales to take the initiative in the group
  • France face underdogs Wales next on Wednesday while England have a huge clash with the Netherlands, again at the Letzigrund Stadium

ZURICH: France staked their claim to be contenders for Women’s Euro 2025 by beating holders England 2-1 on Saturday and joining the Netherlands at the top of Group D.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore netted within three minutes of each other toward the end of the first half as England became the first defending champions to lose their opening fixture at the Euros.

Laurent Bonadei’s team are level on three points with leaders the Dutch, who cruised past Wales 3-0 earlier on Saturday, after striking a big blow in the battle to qualify from possibly the hardest group at the tournament.

France face underdogs Wales next on Wednesday while England have a huge clash with the Netherlands, again at the Letzigrund Stadium.

“I expected a good performance because we prepared well. It’s always good to get off to a good start even if it’s only the first match,” said Delphine Cascarino.

“We were really good both going forward and in defense.”

The French were better all over the pitch, driven by the fabulous wing play of Baltimore and Cascarino, while Keira Walsh’s lovely strike with three minutes remaining made the scoreline flatter unconvincing England.

Not even Lauren James’ return to the starting XI could inspire England, the Chelsea star way below her best as the Lionesses struggled to put any pressure on France until it was too late.

“Of course I’m very disappointed,” said Sarina Wiegman, who lost her perfect Euros record as coach with Saturday’s defeat.

“We had three very good weeks and we played really well, but that’s never a guarantee that you win the game. We also know that France is a proper team too, so you have to do things really well. We just didn’t get it right.”

Alessia Russo thought she had given England the lead in the 16th minute when she prodded home on the rebound after Pauline Peyraud-Magnin kept out Lauren Hemp’s shot, only for the goal to be ruled out for a razor-thin offside in the build-up.

From there, France took the initiative, pushing England back into their own half and dominating possession, and they had a deserved lead through Katoto in the 36th minute when the Lyon forward guided home Cascarino’s low cross.

And three minutes later Baltimore made the scoreline accurately represent the balance of play with a wonderful individual goal, easily skipping around Lucy Bronze and Leah Williamson before rifling her finish into the top corner.

Walsh found the top corner with England’s first shot on target and Wiegman’s team almost snatched a point in the dying moments when Selma Bacha cleared Michelle Agyemang’s shot off the line and saved the result for France.

Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal as the Netherlands swept past Wales to take the initiative in the group.

Manchester City striker Miedema opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime in Lucerne with a beautiful curling strike, completing her century of goals for her country.

Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts netted the other goals after the break to give Wales a rude awakening in their major tournament debut.

“They defended really well and I’m glad my goal helped to start it all up,” said Miedema.

“In the second half, you saw that we can play a bit more, and eventually we also scored two really good goals.”

Andries Jonker’s team are top on goal difference while Wales already have their work cut out to qualify.

Rhian Wilkinson’s side could easily have been behind before Miedema, who was a doubt for the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury in April, struck, as Jill Roord crashed a rocket of a shot off the post in the 35th minute.

Pelova doubled the Oranje’s lead two minutes after the break when she rifled home from Danielle van de Donk’s pass, and the Arsenal midfielder set up Brugts to make absolutely sure of the points in the 57th minute with a perfect deep cross.