Thread: Sporting News

Originally Posted by S Landreth

The Kentucky Derby starts at 6:57 pm EST. TV coverage starts at 2:30 pm on NBC.

A good race

Taylor Pendrith gets 1st PGA Tour win at Byron Nelson after final-hole collapse from Ben Kohles

Mizuho Americas Open

This week’s Mizuho Americas Open will see 120 LPGA Tour players compete alongside 24 top amateurs from the American Junior Golf Association at Liberty National Golf Club in the second edition of the event hosted by Michelle Wie West. The amateurs will tee it up in their own modified Stableford competition over the four days of tournament play, and these juniors have got some serious game, just like their professional counterparts.

Meet just a few of the AJGA participants in this week’s field at the Mizuho Americas Open:

Defending champion Rose Zhang withdraws from Mizuho Americas Open

Rose Zhang was considered a favorite this week at Liberty National, thanks to her historic victory a year ago at the inaugural playing of the Mizuho Americas Open. But her first title defense of her professional career got stalled before it really got started as the 20-year-old withdrew from the event after playing three holes in the first round on Thursday. The LPGA announced Zhang had withdrawn from the event due to illness

Zhang not only had good memories from this event a year ago—it was her first start after turning pro following a legendary amateur career and in storybook fashion she won to earn immediate membership on the LPGA Tour. She also had momentum from last week’s Cognizant Founders Cup. Zhang claimed her second LPGA victory on Sunday at Upper Montclair Country Club in nearby Clifton, N.J., shooting a final-round 66 including birdies on four of her last five holes to rally past Madelene Sagstrom.

Last year at the Mizhuo, Zhang became the first player since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win in her first career start as a pro on the LPGA Tour.

Seize the Grey crosses finish line first at Preakness Stakes, ending Mystik Dan's run for Triple Crown

Nelly Korda Comes Up Clutch, Captures Sixth Victory of 2024 Season at Liberty National GC

It’s no wonder that she’s the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1.

After a 2-over opening nine at Liberty National Golf Club, it looked like a sixth 2024 victory might be out of reach for Nelly Korda. But as she’s done so many other times this season, the 13-time LPGA Tour winner dug deep and battled forward, outlasting Hannah Green by one shot to win her sixth title in her last seven starts at the Mizuho Americas Open.

Korda began the round with a two-shot lead over Green, but the Australian immediately picked up a shot on Korda, making a birdie on the par-4 1st hole to move to 12-under total, now one stroke back of the two-time major champion.

Here’s the prize money

WIN: Nelly Korda, -14/274, $450,000

2: Hannah Green, -13/275, $277,738

T-3: Chanettee Wannasaen, -10/278, $146,358

T-3: Ariya Jutanugarn, -10/278, $146,358

T-3: Jennifer Kupcho, -10/278, $146,358

T-3: Gabriela Ruffels, -10/278, $146,358

T-7: Marina Alex, -9/279, $64,365

T-7: Yuna Nishimura, -9/279, $64,365

T-7: Patty Tavatanakit, -9/279, $64,365

T-7: Atthaya Thitikul, -9/279, $64,365

Xander Schauffele wins PGA Championship for first major

They can't call Xander Schauffele the best golfer in the world without a major championship victory any longer.

The 30-year-old from San Diego captured his first major victory Sunday by outlasting LIV Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau and Norway's Viktor Hovland in the final round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.

After starting the final round tied for the co-lead with two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, Schauffele silenced his critics who claimed he couldn't close out a big one by posting a 6-under 65 in the final round to finish with a 72-hole total of 21 under and defeat DeChambeau by 1 shot and Hovland by 3.

Schauffele recorded the lowest 72-hole score to par and the lowest 72-hole scoring total (263) in a major championship.

2024 PGA Championship prize money,

1st (Winner): $3,300,000 -- Xander Schauffele
2nd: $1,998,000 -- Bryson DeChambeau
3rd: $1,258,000 -- Viktor Hovland
4th: $888,000 -- Thomas Detry, Collin Morikawa ($814,000 each)

Lizzy Banks reveals positive doping test and nine-month battle to clear her name

British rider calls time on her career after UK Anti-Doping eventually found she bore 'no fault or negligence' for asthma and diuretic positives

Former EF rider Lizzy Banks has opened up about her battle to clear her name after returning an adverse analytical finding in a UK Anti-Doping test last July.

The British racer was notified by UKAD of a positive test for asthma medication Formoterol as well as a low level of the diuretic Chlortalidone "indicative of a contamination".

As a result, Banks has spent much of the past year attempting to clear her name, with UKAD insisting on handing her a two-year ban, she wrote in an entry on her personal website.

She wrote that UKAD changed their position just five days before the tribunal, concluding that Banks was "not at any fault and had exercised an extremely high level of care at all times in order to avoid ingesting a prohibited substance."

After months of preparing for and fighting her case, UKAD eventually came to the conclusion that Banks bore "no fault or negligence" for the positives and would therefore avoid any sanctions as a result.

"This process has cost me a huge amount, literally and metaphorically. My husband and I spent every penny of our savings and the huge mental toll has left deep scars," Banks wrote.

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"But somehow, through it all, I knew I had to fight. Right from the start, I learnt of other athletes in the similar situations with a contamination of chlortalidone, whose lives and careers were also being torn apart.

"This process pushed me right to the edge and my fear that an athlete would go beyond that edge is what drove me to try and incite essential positive change. With my background in medicine, my good fortune in life to have had an excellent education and finally my dogged determination, I truly believed that if I couldn't fight the injustices in this system, then no athlete could."

WAREGEM BELGIUM MARCH 30 Elizabeth Banks of United Kingdom and Team EF Education Tibco Svb competes during the 10th Dwars door Vlaanderen 2022 Womens Elite a 120km one day race from Waregem to Waregem DDV22 DDVwomen on March 30 2022 in Waregem Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images

An interview with Banks published by The Telegraph on Tuesday states that Banks and her husband estimated that they have spent over £40,000 fighting the cases, adding that she's now ending her career as a result of the ordeal.

In the interview, Banks says that she "couldn't risk putting her family through something like this ever again" should she return to racing. Her retirement is official as of today.

Banks estimates that 316 athletes may have tested positive as a result of contamination in 2019, pointing the finger at WADA for ignoring the problem.

"WADA have known there was something up here for years, and yet they've not done anything about it," she said.

"How does WADA compensate athletes that have been wrongly accused of cheating? How do they give them back those two years of life? Repay them for all the lost earnings and legal fees? Repair their shattered mental health? The short answer is, they don't."

Now, without a cycling career to return to at the age of 33, Banks hopes that making the UKAD's reasoned decision on her case publicly available can help other athletes going through the same thing in their own similar cases.

You can read Banks' in-depth breakdown of her story and the fight against the cases at her website, lizzybanks.co.uk.

Cup Spy May 17: Impressive sailing session for two AC75 teams

Two teams (USA and GBR) sailed AC75s on Friday out of Barcelona, on a day blessed with a good solid sailing breeze ETNZ sailed both their AC40s in contested training for all three sailing squads - Womens, Youth and Defence.

It was an ideal foiling breeze in Barcelona, but with an off-axis seastate.

What happened in the Cup - May 17, 2024:

• INEOS Britannia sailed in their AC75 - completing a four and a half session achieving some good dry foiling tacks (33/36) and had a perfect record 26/26 on foiling gybes. So far with their new AC75, the Brits are having a dream run, and look to have put the issues of the 2017 and 2021 Cups behind them, as well as a stutter-start to the current cycle.
• Emirates Team New Zealand continued to train in the AC40s with three sailing squads - Defence, Youth and Womens switching around the two AC40. The experience level within the squads on the water today varied from sailors who had won two America's Cups to those having their first ever sail in a foining monohull. ETNZ's AC 75 has been decommissioned and is in the process of being shipped to Barcelona.
• American Magic sailed their AC75 in an intense five hour session, involving 80 tacks/gybes with a 95% dry foiling percentage. While conditions were ideal for foiling, but there was some residual swell from 180°. The wind angle was recorded at 045-060°. The US team had an early start and were back on the dock just after mid-day having sailed for just under five hours.
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing did not sail.
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli have decommissioned their AC75 in preparation for relocation to the team's America's Cup base in Barcelona.
• Orient Express Racing Team: Were on the water sailing in One Design mode in their AC40. Their AC75 is in Barcelona however a launch date has yet to be publicly advised.

Charles Schwab Challenge

Here is the prize money breakdown for all players who make the cut this week in Texas.

WIN: $1.638 million

2: $991,900

3: $627,900

4: $445,900

5: $373,100

6: $329,875

7: $307,125

8: $284,375

9: $266,175

10: $247,975

_________

2024 US Womens Open The Qualifiers

The 79th U.S. Women’s Open is set to begin on May 30 at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pa. As always, the field is jam-packed with top players from across the globe, in addition to some of the best athletes on both the LPGA and Epson Tours.

Take a look at (some) who played their way into the field at the U.S. Women’s Open:

05/02/2024: Ohio State University Golf Club (Columbus, Ohio)
Wei-Ling Hsu
Isabella Fierro
Wichanee Meechai

05/06/2024: Dunwoody Country Club (Dunwoody, Georgia)
Arpichaya Yubol
Kristen Gillman

05/13/2024: Bradenton Country Club (Bradenton, Florida)
Amelie Zalsman (a)
Pimpisa Sisutham (a)

Davis Riley wins 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge, second PGA Tour win

Free-swinging like a rookie again, Davis Riley cruises past field to take 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge title

On Sunday, though, Riley didn’t falter, nor did he need to call any self-imposing infractions.

In fact, the 27-year-old increased his lead to seven midway through the final round, watched as Scheffler struggled, and Riley coasted to a comfortable five-shot victory for his first individual PGA Tour title. He did share the crown at the 2022 Zurich Classic with teammate Nick Hardy.

On Sunday, he finished at 14 under and five in front of Scheffler and Keegan Bradley.

On a day when the winds were howling at Colonial, keeping scores high, Riley mixed and matched birdies and bogeys to run away from the field. He had a pair of bogeys on the front, but added birdies on Nos. 4 and 9. He did the same thing on the back (two birdies and two bogeys) en route to a solid round of 70 that produced a payday of $1.628 million.

2024 Charles Schwab Challenge prize money

Davis Riley $1,638,000
Keegan Bradley $809,900
Scottie Scheffler $809,900
Collin Morikawa $445,900
Mac Meissner $323,619

‘We wanted Tadej to win, but with no exaggeration’ – The next steps in Pogačar’s Giro-Tour double plan

No plan survives first contact with the enemy, so the saying goes, but Tadej Pogačar didn’t face a rival capable of knocking him even slightly off track at the Giro d’Italia. The scheme drawn up by his entourage to tackle the Giro and Tour de France remains firmly in place after his emphatic victory in Italy.

No rider has achieved the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998. The few to have seriously attempted the feat in the years since, notably Ivan Basso, Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, all came up short in July after dipping too deep into their reservoirs in May.

When UAE Team Emirates made the decision last winter to dispatch Pogačar to both the Giro and Tour in 2024, they immediately realised that coming through the Italian race without expending too much of his resources was key to the entire operation. The (relatively) lighter Giro route helped, of course, as did the absence of another rider of Pogačar’s exalted level to the start in Turin, but a Grand Tour usually throws up all sorts of additional ordeals for the winner.

US Women’s Open https://www.uswomensopen.com/

Win: $2,000,000
2: $1,188,000
3: $750,462
4: $526,090
5: $438,182
6: $388,530
7: $350,275
8: $313,713
9: $283,921
10: $260,788

Lexi Thompson bids farewell as Nelly Korda misses cut at eventful US Open

Wichanee Meechai of Thailand hits from the second tee during the second round of the US Women's Open tournament at Lancaster Country Club on Friday.

Wichanee Meechai became the latest surprise in a US Women’s Open filled with them. She started Friday with four straight birdies and matched the low score of the week with a 3-under 67 for a two-shot lead going into a weekend that won’t include Nelly Korda.

Meechai is a 31-year-old Thai whose only victory recognized by the women’s world ranking was nine years ago on the Taiwan LPGA. She had never finished in the top 10 in her 20 previous appearances in the majors.

She went from five shots ahead of Andrea Lee to two shots behind in a span of five holes. Meechai steadied herself with two birdies over the last six holes to finish at 4-under 136, two shots in front of Lee with only two other players under par.

A pair of former Women’s Open champions, Minjee Lee (69) and Yuka Saso (71) were three shots back at Lancaster Country Club.

“I feel like I might not be making a lot of birdies on the easier courses. I’m not that person,” Meechai said in trying to explain her 36-hole lead in a major. “I like when you need to think a lot, when you need to land it shorter and be patient.”

That worked to perfection on her opening four holes, all birdie putts inside six feet.

“I just picked the club that’s shorter and hit it hard,” she said.