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PGA Tour Quiz: This is becoming a yearly quiz. Michael Kim had the 16th 59 on the PGA Tour Friday. Name the other 15. Answer below.
MLB
–Like many of you baseball fans, I’ve been struck by the number of gaudy pitching records we have this year, more than I can ever remember. To wit…through Friday:
Sonny Gray, Boston, 12-1, 2.48
Aaron Ashby, Milwaukee, 12-2, 3.32…but in relief!
Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia, 12-4, 2.71
Chase Burns, Cincinnati, 12-1, 2.42
Foster Griffin, Washington, 11-2, 2.68
Justin Wrobleski, L.A., 11-2, 2.62
Zack Wheeler, 10-2, 2.16
We then had a number of them pitch Saturday.
—Foster Griffin, who turns 31 on Monday, coming into the season had pitched in all of six major-league games, the Giants signing him to a one-year deal after he had pitched in Japan for three seasons, last year an All-Star in his league.
Saturday, Griffin moved to 12-2, 2.76, going 6 2/3, 3 earned, in Washington’s (53-52) 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks (55-50), CJ Abrams with a double, homer and 3 RBIs.
Abrams is having quite a breakout season of his own, 25 home runs, 79 RBIs, which leads the majors! I bet you didn’t have that on your bingo card at the start of the year.
CJ then had two homers and 3 RBIs Sunday, as the Nats beat the D’Backs 10-7…so Abrams’ figures are 27-82! MVP?
—Sonny Gray was on the mound for Boston as they faced the Blue Jays at Fenway Saturday, Boston winning the first game of the series Friday, 6-4.
But Gray didn’t have the success Foster Griffin had…Gray (12-2, 2.78) yielding five earned in five innings, Toronto winning 6-0, as Dylan Cease (7-5, 2.46) had a complete game one-hitter, 12 strikeouts.
The Red Sox have been the story since the All-Star break, putting together a 15-game winning streak, tying the franchise record set in 1946, before losing in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday to the Orioles. Astounding. Boston is 13th in the majors in batting average, but 4th in team ERA, which is rather shocking to some of us.
[The 15-game streak was the longest in the majors since the Cardinals won 17 straight in 2021. The MLB record is 26 wins in a row by the 1916 New York Giants.]
—The Yankees had a big series in Philadelphia this weekend, New York, behind Cam Schlittler, taking the first 1-0 on a Paul Goldschmidt homer in the fourth. Schlittler went 7 1/3, 12 strikeouts, as he moves to 10-6, 2.07.
And the Yanks (59-45) beat the Phillies (56-49) 3-1, Saturday, but they may have lost key outfielder Cody Bellinger for a while, Bellinger leaving the game with a left hamstring injury.
And he was placed on the 10-day IL, but expect it to be longer than that.
Going back to last Wednesday, the Yankees got Max Fried back after a lengthy absence and he threw five shutout innings in a 2-0 win over the Phillies…so great news for New York fans as they begin to look towards the postseason, with a hoped-for Aaron Judge return late August or September (though there is no real timetable for him).
But now they have the Bellinger issue to contend with, on top of the uncertainty concerning Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
Yanks are playing Philadelphia in the Sunday night game.
—The Dodgers were in New York to take on the Mets and Friday night, Roki Sasaki (4-5, 4.71) was outstanding for LA., 7 innings, one run, 9 strikeouts, the Mets’ Juan Soto leaving the game with a calf injury, having sat out over two weeks in April with the same issue.
The Mets then learned that Soto could be out 4-6 weeks from a calf strain in the opposite leg. There is literally now zero reason to go to a Mets game, the Metsies losing Saturday night 4-3.
But they won Sunday, 8-3…Tyrone Taylor and Marcus Semien with 3-run homers, the bullpen with five shutout innings to close it out.
We will be partying all night at global HQ…or maybe not.
—Friday night the Tigers defeated the Royals, 2-1, as Tarik Skubal (7-5, 2.70) was his old Cy Young self, 7 1/3, one run, 12 strikeouts.
Detroit has a big decision to make. They are not signing the free-agent-to-be in the offseason so the thought all along was if the team got off to a poor start, which it did, then trade him for as much as you could get.
But the Tigers have won 15 of 20 and after Friday’s action, were just 3 ½ back in the wild card race. Skubal, who was out six weeks this season after minor elbow surgery, said he wants to stay with the team to win a World Series.
Detroit must trade him and get as much as they can.
—Saturday, the Pirates fell to the Cubs 11-0, as Paul Skenes, despite striking out 11 in five innings, yielded five runs to fall to 9-9, 3.65.
—Sunday, Jacob Misiorowki gave up one run in five innings, 12 strikeouts, as the Brewers (65-39) beat the Rockies (42-64) 11-2…The Miz now 11-4, 1.58! Milwaukee is trying to limit his innings so that he is fresh for the playoffs.
[I think 12 strikeouts was the magic number this week. Look how many times I mentioned it.]
—Nick Kurtz returned to the A’s lineup Saturday after being out since July 9 with a thumb sprain that kept him out of the All-Star Game and he promptly went 0-for-4, four strikeouts.
My man Kurtz is now in a 0-for-22 slump with 13 strikeouts. Drat! C’mon, Big Amish! I had already told Cooperstown to engrave your plaque (for installment in 2046, or thereabouts) and now this combination of things that puts in jeopardy a 100-RBI season.
Then again we don’t know what the cap will be for said plaque just yet, but you know Mark Cuban, a great sports fan, knows the A’s have to get Kurtz signed to an early, Chase Burns-like, extension because he is a huge drawing card come Vegas.
But this just in…after striking out his first time at bat today, Kurtz walked and then slammed a 3-run homer! Up to 69 ribbies. Hopefully this gets him going on a good streak. And he stays healthy.
–Speaking of the A’s and Mr. Cuban, an investment group that includes ex-Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban has bought a minority stake in the Athletics in anticipation of their move to Las Vegas in 2028.
Thursday’s announcement by Harbinger Sports Group did not say what percentage of the Athletics it had acquired. Cuban, who maintains a minority stake in the Mavericks, is the general partner and president of the Atlanta-based group. Atlanta Falcons minority owner Rashaun Williams is the founder and chief investment officer.
John Fisher is the deeply reviled (in Oakland) majority owner of the A’s and is overseeing construction of a $2 billion, 33,000-capacity domed stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.
Club officials have said the Las Vegas ballpark is on target to open on time, with work already being performed on the upper deck.
NBA / LeBron
All about LeBron James this week as the all-time great finally made up his mind on where he would play his record 24th season.
And after various stories had him ending his career where it started, in Cleveland, or heading to Miami, where he had success before, or joining Steph Curry in Golden State, LeBron settled on Philadelphia…a 2-year deal worth $8 million.
“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time,” James wrote on X. “This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family… I stll want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.”
James, 41, based his decision on his belief that the Sixers, above any potential suitor, presented the best chance for him to win a fifth championship, according to an associate of his allowed to speak freely on the matter. The Sixers stunning acquisition of All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown via trade with Boston made Philadelphia an even more attractive destination than they already were.
James now joins Brown, former NBA MVP Joel Embiid, All-Star Tyrese Maxey, and rising second-year guard VJ Edgecombe. Plus, they have a championship coach in Nick Nurse.
I love Philly’s young backcourt, but Embiid hasn’t played 40 games in any of the last three seasons, and LeBron turns 42 in December.
For good reason Philadelphia fans are excited beyond belief, but as a Knicks fan, I’m like, OK, good for you guys. I like what we have.
Golf Balls
There are only three tournaments prior to the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs*, this week’s 3M Open in Blaine, Minn., next week’s Rocket Classic, and then the Wyndham Championship.
*Reminder: 70 golfers qualify for the playoffs, ranked by FedEx Cup points. The top 100 at the end of the year earn their Tour cards for 2027.
The pressure is on, though most of the elite golfers opted out after last week’s Open Championship. But Scottie Scheffler was in the field.
However, the aforementioned Michael Kim, after his 59 on Friday, was the leader after 36 holes….
Kim -14
Ben Kohles -11
Emiliano Grillo -11
Chandler Phillips -11
Jackson Koivun -10
Scheffler -7
Koivun, 21, a college star at Auburn, two-time college player of the year, announced he was turning pro after the recent U.S. Open, and this is his third professional tournament.
Having written the above Saturday morning, we then sat back in the afternoon and, as Jim Nantz put it, watched the coming-out party of Koivun. On the back nine, the par-5 12th, golf fans saw something astonishing…Koivun hitting a 309-yard approach shot! 3-0-9 out of the fairway, leaving Trevor Immelman stunned.
Koivun eagled the hole, went birdie, birdie, eagle the last three holes and had a tournament record 28 on the back, 61 for his third round (having also birded Nos. 10 and 13), and suddenly led the tournament by three.
Koivun -20
Grillo -17
Kohles -17
Michael Brennan (Go Deacs!) -16
Phillips -16
Scottie Scheffler finished about an hour-and-a-half before Koivun’s spectacular last seven holes and at the time he was tied for the lead in the clubhouse at -14, with hopes of finally picking up win No. 2 this year on Sunday.
How important is this event for some of the players?
If the tournament ended with the current scores….
Koivun moves from 194 to 71 in the FedEx Cup points standings.
Grillo 109-76
Kohles 100-69
Brennan 105-93
Phillips 103-91
Sunday, Jake Knapp was the early leader (like four hours before the leaders would finish) after shooting a 62, with a record-tying 28 on the back nine, to finish -16.
But Koivun birdied two of his first four holes to move to -22, Scheffler 3-under at -17 after eight, tied for second.
And Scheffler moved to -20 after 12 holes (6-under for the round)…Koivun -23 thru 8.
But with Koivun in trouble on No. 9, he sinks a clutch par putt to stay -23.
Scheffler would finish -22, solo second, with a 63.
And Koivun closed it out, -25…he will sell some tickets.
[Michael Kim finished -17, T9. Only five of the 16 who shot 59 won the tournament. Yup, as the great Dottie Pepper said Saturday, the curse of 59.]
Not for nuthin’, but great galleries in golf starved Minnesota.
–They held a LIV Golf event in England this week and it gave the press an opportunity to grill some of the golfers on the future of their league.
Jon Rahm answered a question with a shrug and a raising of his eyebrows.
‘Would you expect to be playing LIV Golf in 2027?’
“I’m not going to share anything that I can’t share with you guys right now,” Rahm said.
While a no comment, it was not exactly a yes.
LIV Golf has to raise $350 million after the Saudis’ Public Investment Fund confirmed it would no longer finance the league. Rahm said he was in regular dialogue with LIV Golf officials when asked if players had been given clarity.
“Yes,” Rahm said. “Well, we’re in contact with them. We know a lot of what’s going on, yeah. Not that I can share with you guys right now.”
But another LIV player, Martin Kaymer, told Today’s Golfer on Wednesday that it’s “highly unlikely” that the tour’s final event, which is one of LIV’s most lucrative, will happen next month at The Cardinal at Saint John’s in Michigan.
Kaymer told the outlet that there was a “5 percent” chance the Team Championship would take place as planned and indicated that the infrastructure for the event hadn’t even been built on the course.
LIV Golf received even more bad news with the Asian Tour’s announcement it was set to re-align with the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour in a formal partnership underlined by pathways and co-sanctioned tournaments, a move that means it will no longer act as LIV’s important second tier.
The Asian Tour had partnered with LIV in 2021 before the league’s launch in 2022, when it created a lucrative group of tournaments called the International Series, which LIV golfers frequently teed up in. The series was central to the promotion and relegation element of LIV Golf, including the top two on its Order of Merit being promoted to LIV for the 2026 season.
The new agreement between the three tours is highlighted by the addition of at least two co-sanctioned events between the Asian Tour and DP World Tour for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 seasons. The partnership also will award cards from the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit to both the DP World and Europe’s secondary HotelPlanner Tour. Once promoted to the DP World Tour, Asian Tour players can compete for one of 10 cards on the PGA Tour for the following season offered via the Strategic Alliance.
Left unsaid in this new partnership are the ramifications for LIV Golf. Multiple sources confirmed to Golf Digest that national opens on the Asian Tour were a part of the league’s proposals as it was seeking new investors. However, due to its new PGA Tour-DP World Tour alliance, the Asian Tour and its events can no longer be offered as part of a theoretical LIV package, significantly reducing LIV’s inventory.
Stuff
—San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan suffered a concussion and other injuries in a car crash earlier this month that just became public this weekend. We learned his participation at the start of training camp is limited, the team announced.
The two-car accident happened on July 14 in Palo Alto, leading to Shanahan being taken to the hospital. The other driver was not hospitalized. Police say there was no evidence that either driver was impaired and that both cooperated with authorities. No one was cited in the collision.
Niners general manager John Lynch said Shanahan sustained a concussion, along with a broken nose, broken ribs and an injured hand.
“Kyle is doing good,” Lynch said Saturday. “He’s got some bumps and bruises. He did suffer a concussion in the accident, has some lingering effects from that.”
—Lando Norris, the defending F1 champion, won his first race of the year at the Hungarian Grand Prix today. But Kimi Antonelli got on the podium with third and now leads Lewis Hamilton by 50 points in the season standings.
F1 announced that the Bahrain Grand Prix, postponed back in March due to the Iran war, is now going to be held in Malaysia, Oct. 4, in case you have a couple hundred thousand frequent flyer miles lying around.
–Phil W. passed along a piece from Tony Siracusa, who writes the Last Word on College Football, and per Siracusa:
“The Protect College Sports Act may be dying as quickly as it was first given birth. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Thursday night that he no longer sees the bill going for a full vote of the Senate before the August Summer break in two weeks. Late last week, Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) proclaimed his confidence that the bill had the needed 60 votes to pass the Senate and that a vote would likely be scheduled for the end of this week….
“While any approved legislation would not have likely impacted the 2026-27 college athletic season, the brakes have clearly been slammed on any momentum that existed over the last two to three weeks.
“Part of the delay is a continuous renegotiation of the terms of the bill with representatives from the SEC and, to a lesser extent, the Big 10.”
The commissioners of the SEC, Greg Sankey, and Big 10, Tony Petitti, feel their conferences are targeted with sections like a ban on forming super leagues.
The Big 12 and ACC are largely in favor of the legislation and have been working with the Senate to work out final details.
Yes, it’s about money. And we still have a long way to go before there is any action in Congress to help alleviate some of the mess.
In the meantime, most athletic programs are operating firmly in the ‘red.’
You know where I stand. I’m so tired of all this. I have my team, my school, and in the end, it’s about the name on the front of the jersey.
I will say I am fairly optimistic about Wake Forest football (because of our coach, Jake Dickert’s, big-time first year success), but sure as heck am not concerning Wake hoops.
–I saw a piece on weather.com concerning the heatwave(s) in Minnesota. For example, earlier this month, Minneapolis was over 90 degrees 11 straight days which pushed lakes to a brutal 88 degrees. The state has been logging significant numbers of fish kills and it’s a preview of what climate scientists have warned about: As heat waves intensify, even places like “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” where cold-water species like northern pike and muskie have thrived for millennia, could now see those same fish floating belly-up in oxygen-starved waters.
“Fishing guides are pulling the plug on summer trips. One told local news that he has canceled all musky bookings until fall after he personally measured Lake Minnetonka at a jaw-dropping 91 degrees. Meanwhile, the Minnesota DNR is warning people to avoid wading near fish kills, as decomposing fish can harbor dangerous bacteria.”
Minneapolis could hit 97/98 today, which means conditions for fish could get even worse.
Top 3 songs for the week 7/24/82: #1 “Eye Of The Tiger” (Survivor) #2 “Rosanna” (Toto) #3 “Hurts So Good” (John Cougar)…and…#4 “Hold Me” (Fleetwood Mac) #5 “Let It Whip” (Dazz Band) #6 “Abracadabra” (The Steve Miller Band) #7 “Don’t You Want Me” (The Human League) #8 “Tainted Love” (Soft Cell) #9 “Only The Lonely” (The Motels) #10 “Keep The Fire Burnin’” (REO Speedwagon…C+ week…back to the Sixties….)
PGA Tour Quiz Answer: Sixteen golfers to shoot 59….
Al Geiberger, 1977 Memphis Classic
Chip Beck, 1991 Las Vegas Invitational
David Duval, 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
Paul Goydos, 2010 John Deere Classic
Stuart Appleby, 2010 Greenbrier Classic
Jim Furyk, 2013 BMW Championship
Jim Furyk, 58, 2016 Travelers Championship
Justin Thomas, 2017 Sony Open
Adam Hadwin, 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge
Brandt Snedeker, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Kevin Chappell, 2019 Military Tribute at The Greenbrier
Scottie Scheffler, 2020 Northern Trust
Cameron Young, 2024 Travelers Championship
Harden Springer, 2024 John Deere Classic
Jake Knapp, 2025 Cognizant Classic
Michael Kim, 2026 3M Open
The one I remember most, aside from Furyk’s 58, was Duval’s final round 59 at the Bob Hope…a tournament that we all watched because it was wintertime, Palm Springs, and there was no real competition on TV. [In 1999, the tournament was played during the off week before the Super Bowl.] Duval won the tournament that year by one stroke over Steve Pate. It was very dramatic and emotional for Duval.
But here’s a Bob Hope Desert Classic tidbit. History was made in 1995 when the pro-am team of Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford and Bob Hope played with the defending champion for the tournament’s opening round. Who was the defending champ?
Back then the tournament was 90 holes, starting Wednesday, and players loved that they could get in three rounds regardless of whether they made the cut or not, this being just the third event of the year after the opening two in Hawaii.
The fifth player in the big group? Scott Hoch.
It was the first time a sitting president – Clinton – had played during a PGA Tour event and most likely the first time three presidents had ever played together.
Imagine the security detail that day.
Very brief Add-on up top Tues.
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