Justin Thomas played golf at Alabama in his amateur years and is a proud member of the Crimson Tide family.
So it was really cool to see him hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy he won in August at the Alabama-LSU game on Saturday night.
JT also spent time with Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Oh, to be a fly on the wall for a conversation between two men who are at the top of their respective professions.
Thomas notched multiple wins this season. Given his allegiance to Alabama, he’s used to winning.
Chelsea remain keen on a potential January transfer window swoop for Manchester United forward Anthony Martial, it has emerged.
The Blues have long been linked with the France international, who has had an up and down time of things at Old Trafford since joining back in 2015.
The latest transfer news regarding the player is not looking too positive from a United point of view, with Martial looking no closer to signing a new contract.
BBC Sport have reported of United triggering the option to extend Martial’s deal for a further year, but quote his agent as saying he is pessimistic about a more long-term agreement.
CaughtOffside understands this has alerted Chelsea to the 23-year-old’s potential availability, with the club on the lookout for a new signing up front this winter.
While Martial has mainly played out wide under Jose Mourinho, some of his best form in a United shirt came in his first campaign as a centre-forward under Louis van Gaal.
Anthony Martial is a transfer target for Chelsea as his Manchester United future is plunged into doubt
CaughtOffside understands Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is a big fan of the former Monaco man and would look to play him as a striker again after becoming unconvinced by the likes of Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud in that part of the pitch.
Chelsea were linked with Martial by Sky Sports less than a month ago, and it seems things could now get more serious after the revelations from his agent.
United fans will not be happy with this news, with Martial long being a fan favourite at Old Trafford despite his inconsistency and some perceived attitude problems and issues off the pitch.
OTTERSHAW, Surrey, England – The United States flipped what could have been a dismal Saturday by capturing three of four afternoon foursomes matches and pulled within a point of Great Britain & Ireland, 8½ – 7½, in the 28th PGA Cup.
The premier international competition for PGA Club Professionals now comes down to 10 Sunday singles matches at Foxhills Club & Resort’s Longcross Course. The United States needs six points to reclaim the Llandudno International Trophy, while defending champion Great Britain & Ireland needs 4½.
To arrive at this point, the Americans had to shake off the effects of earning just a half-point on Friday afternoon and one point in Saturday morning’s four-balls. PGA of America President and U.S. Captain Paul Levy huddled with his fellow Officers – who served like Vice Captains in a Ryder Cup. It was golf’s answer to “halftime adjustments.”
MORE: Full coverage from the PGA Cup | Scores and schedule | Day 2 photos
“It’s like a rollercoaster,” said Levy of Indian Wells, California. “You know what a rollercoaster is like? On the way up you have anticipation, trepidation, you lose your stomach for a while. You go down, it’s wheeeee! That’s what it was like.
“We thought we had great pairings. We created some new chemistry and thought we needed to mix it up. With that format (foursomes or alternate shot), you take Omar (Uresti) and Paul (Claxton), for example. They have had a lot of championship golf experience and were straight hitters. We split them up and both of their teams won. We kicked it into gear and we’re happy for it.”
Great Britain & Ireland Captain Albert MacKenzie met Levy at the 18th green following the final afternoon match, a hard-fought 2-up victory for England’s Robert Coles and Andrew Raitt over Rich Berberian Jr. of Hooksett, New Hampshire, and Adam Rainaud of Chester, Connecticut.
“We were delighted to get that one point,” said MacKenzie. “Congratulations Paul, your team was great this afternoon. They came quick out of the blocks. It looked all day that it would be tough to get any points in that afternoon fixture. We look forward to a great contest tomorrow, Captain.”
GB&I made Saturday morning’s four-balls look like they have been together for years, methodically winning three of the four matches. Berberian, the 2016 PGA Professional Champion, and Rainaud, a two-time PGA Match Play Champion, were the lone USA bright spots, as they downed England’s Matthew Cort and Wales’ Garry Houston, 5 and 3.
Berberian highlighted the round by driving the 324-yard No. 10 green and rolling home a 10-foot eagle putt.
The afternoon was a reversal of fortune for the U.S., as Jamie Broce of Indianapolis and Paul Claxton of Claxton, Georgia, captured a 1-up decision over Cort and Houston. Broce rolled home back-to-back 15-foot birdie putts on the 17th and 18th holes to secure the victory. His putt at 17 came after Cort pitched in for birdie a moment earlier from the left side of the green.
One hole later, Broce, the men’s and women’s golf coach at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), watched as Claxton, a PGA Life Member and former tour professional, chipped downhill from back of the 18th green. With GB&I’s Cort on the green in two and looking at an eagle putt, Broce was facing an imposing uphill birdie putt.
“It was a long day. Somehow we hung in there, “said Broce. “This man here, (pointing to Claxton) played awesome. In the end, I was able to make some putts.” Broce said he copied something from Claxton – his putting grip. “Midway through the round, I used the claw grip. It was the first time – practice or competition – that I tried it,” he said. “Yeah, I did claw my way home.”
Claxton, 49, is making his PGA Cup debut and had sat on the sidelines since Friday morning, missing two previous sessions. “I was like a caged animal, ready to get out,” he said, while also praising his opponents. “The Europeans are, as we say back home, as strong as new rope.”
The Americans other afternoon winning combinations included Rod Perry of Port Orange, Florida, and Josh Speight of Locust Hill, Virginia. They beat England’s Phillip Archer and Scotland’s Christopher Currie, 3 and 2.
Uresti, the reigning PGA Professional Champion from Austin, Texas, was paired with two-time PGA Professional Champion Matt Dobyns of Glen Head, New York. The University of Texas alumni duo beat Ireland’s David Higgins and Damien McGrane, 4 and 2.
In a match that ebbed and flowed for both teams, Uresti executed a pitch shot on the 222-yard, par-3 11th to win the hole with a par. According to Levy, “that was one of the great short shots you’ll ever see.”
It was memorable for Uresti, too. He faced an almost impossible task after partner Matt Dobyns pulled a 6-iron approach that kicked straight left down the hill into a bare dirt area.
“I saw a twig touching the ball, and I was lucky that I could move it and not move the ball,” said Uresti. “I put my 25-yard grip on it and it came out perfectly and it trickled to a foot from the cup. That was the best shot I’ve hit in these Cup matches.”
The United States is 17-6-4 overall since the PGA Cup began in 1973. It is 6-5-1 on the road, and last won outright overseas in 2009 in Loch Lomond, Scotland. The U.S. forged a 13-13 draw in 2013 in Hexham, England, at Slaley Hall, and surrendered the Cup for the first time on U.S. soil, 13 ½ to 12 ½, as GB&I triumphed at CordeValle in San Martin, California.
“You are talking about the 10 best players for the past two years of the nearly 29,000 PGA Professionals and nothing surprises me,” said Levy.
Sunday’s Singles Pairings
(all times GMT)
9:30 a.m. Mark Brown (USA) vs. Damien McGrane (GB&I)
9:40 a.m. Josh Speight (USA) vs. Robert Coles (GB&I)
9:50 a.m. Rod Perry (USA) vs. Christopher Currie (GB&I)
10:00 a.m. Jamie Broce (USA) vs. Matthew Cort (GB&I)
10:10 a.m. Dave McNabb (USA) vs. Andrew Raitt (GB&I)
10:20 a.m. Rich Berberian Jr. (USA) vs. Chris McDonnell (GB&I)
10:30 a.m. Paul Claxton (USA) vs. Greig Hutcheon (GB&I)
10:40 a.m. Omar Uresti (USA) vs. Garry Houston (GB&I)
10:50 a.m. Matt Dobyns (USA) vs. Phillip Archer (GB&I)
11:00 a.m. Adam Rainaud (USA) vs. David Higgins (GB&I)
Saturday Morning Four-Balls
Full recap | Highlights
Christopher Currie & David Higgins (GB&I) def. Rod Perry & Jamie Broce (USA), 4 and 3
Rich Berberian Jr. & Adam Rainaud (USA) def. Matthew Cort & Garry Houston (GBI), 5 and 3
Chris McDonnell & Damien McGrane (GB&I) def. Matt Dobyns & Mark Brown (USA), 2 and 1
Robert Coles & Greig Hutcheon (GB&I) def. Josh Speight & Dave McNabb (USA), 2 and 1
Great Britain & Ireland 3, United States 1
Afternoon Foursomes & Summaries
Paul Claxton, Claxton, Ga. & Jamie Broce, Indianapolis (USA) def. Matthew Cort, Leicester, Leicestershire, England & Garry Houston, Wrexham, Wales (GB&I), 1 up
England’s Matthew Cort and Wales’ Garry Houston sped two a 2-hole lead, thanks to a first-hole birdie and a conceded second hole when Jamie Broce touched a branch with his backswing. The Americans rallied to square the match with birdies on the fifth and seventh holes, before GBI birdied the eighth and the U.S. birdied the ninth. Broce would later make back-to-back 15-foot birdie putts on the 17th and 18th holes to secure a vital victory.
Robert Coles, Romford, Essex, England & Andrew Raitt, London, England (GB&I) def. Adam Rainaud, Chester, Conn. & Rich Berberian Jr., Hooksett, N.H. (USA), 2 up
Rich Berberian Jr. and Adam Rainaud, who had faced each other in the finals of the PGA Match Play Championship in 2015 and ’16, kept their chemistry percolating this week by powering to a 2-hole advantage through five holes thanks to an eagle on the par-5 fifth. Two holes later, Robert Coles and Andrew Raitt caught fire with three winning holes, including two pars on the eighth and ninth holes to move to a 1-up advantage. Berberian and Rainaud brought the match all square to the 17th hole, then lost it with a bogey after a wayward Berberian tee shot. Coles and Raitt won the 18th hole and match with a two-putt birdie.
Rod Perry, Port Orange, Fla. & Josh Speight, Locust Hill, Va. (USA) def. Phillip Archer, Warrington, Cheshire, England & Christopher Currie, Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, Scotland (GB&I), 3 and 2
Rod Perry and Josh Speight, paired together for the first time, took off to a 3-up lead through five holes before Phillip Archer and Christopher Currie answered with a birdie at No. 6. Perry and Speight then teamed to birdie No. 7. Archer and Currie trimmed the deficit to one hole with a birdies at 10 and 11. Perry and Speight soared to the finish by making birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 and closed the match with a winning par at No. 16.
Matt Dobyns, Glen Head, N.Y. & Omar Uresti, Austin, Texas (USA) def. David Higgins, Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland & Damien McGrane, Kells, County Meath, Ireland (GB&I), 4 and 2
University of Texas alumni Matt Dobyns and Omar Uresti, paired for the second straight anchor afternoon foursomes match, ran off three straight birdies to open the match, then watched as the Irish duo of David Higgins and Damien McGrane birdied the fifth hole. Dobyns and Uresti answer with a birdie at No. 6. Each team traded birdies, with the U.S. going 3-up with an amazing 25-yard par recovery pitch at No. 11 by Uresti from downhill on a bare dirt lie from below his feet. The ball landed to within a foot of the cup. GB&I lost with a bogey there and despite trimming the margin to two holes, was closed out on No. 16 by a winning Dobyns-Uresti par.
Afternoon Foursomes Total – United States 3, Great Britain & Ireland 1
Day 2 Total: Great Britain & Ireland 8 ½ United States 7 ½
There’s exciting Chelsea transfer gossip coming out of Spain right now as it’s claimed Isco’s departure from Real Madrid could be sealed in a matter of days.
This could be a superb signing for the Blues if they pull it off, with Don Balon claiming they’ve made an offer and that Real president Florentino Perez is likely to accept it imminently.
The report states Chelsea could sign Isco for £72.3million, and that it would be ‘parallel’ to two other potential deals between the two clubs.
Don Balon link Eden Hazard with Real Madrid in their piece, while Mateo Kovacic’s future also remains up in the air as the Croatian is on loan at Chelsea from Madrid and it is unclear at the moment if he will remain in west London permanently.
Isco could arguably replace both players if they ended up leaving, with the Spain international capable of playing a creative midfield role or as a wide forward.
Isco in action for Real Madrid
Real Madrid midfielder is set to be handed a ‘leading role’ at the club by Jose Mourinho should the 55-year-old replace Santiago Solari at the helm in the Spanish capital.
Rumours of Mourinho sealing a return to the Santiago Bernabeu have been rife following the sacking of the Portuguese coach as Man United boss earlier this week.
And it seems like Mourinho is already planning for life back at Los Blancos, as Don Balon are noting that if he is reappointed by Real, he will bring the Colombian back from his loan spell with Bayern Munich.
The report states further that Rodriguez’s potential return to the club is linked to him taking a ‘leading role’ in Mourinho’s side, and that this news has put a halt to any talks of the midfielder joining Bayern permanently in January.
Rodriguez is one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe, and still has a lot to offer to Real Madrid, something that made it surprising to hear the news that the player was to join Bayern on a two-year loan deal back in 2017 as per the Guardian.
Rodriguez looks set to play a starring role in Real’s side if Mourinho if appointed manager
The 27-year-old scored 36 goals and assisted 40 times in 116 appearances before he was loaned to Bayern last year, something that suggests the midfielder can definitely perform for the Spanish giants in La Liga.
And it looks like Rodriguez is going to get a second chance to prove his worth to Real Madrid supporters should Mourinho replace Solari as manager in the near future…
Despite already boasting a potent attack, Man City boss Pep Guardiola reportedly wants to snap up Roma winger Cengiz Under who is valued at around £50m.
The reigning Premier League champions have scored 45 goals in just 16 league games so far this season, giving them the most clinical scoring record in the top flight by some distance.
SEE MORE: Video: Chelsea coach appears to anger Pep Guardiola after Man City defeat at Stamford Bridge
Guardiola can call upon the likes of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez to name but a few, and yet it’s reported that the Spanish tactician is eyeing another attacking reinforcement.
According to The Express, City could line up a bid for £50m-rated Roma winger Under, who is also said to have attracted interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham.
It’s easy to see why those clubs are monitoring him too, as Arsenal’s lack of width and Chelsea’s lack of quality depth in the wide positions in particular would make Under an ideal signing for either of those two clubs.
Nevertheless, they could all potentially miss out if Guardiola can convince City to splash out, with Under doing more than enough to warrant such interest with his form for the Giallorossi since last season.
The 21-year-old has continued to impress this year with four goals and five assists in 17 appearances in all competitions, as his quality from the right flank has been a crucial factor in Roma’s attack.
He provided a recent reminder of his quality with a stunning goal against Inter, as seen in the video below, and that offers a glimpse into the attacking threat that he poses in the final third along with his creativity to assist for others.
Guardiola doesn’t seemingly need another attacking option, but the report suggests that he’s keen on Under and so time will tell if they win the battle for his signature.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — A few generations before Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were even born, Ford Motor Co. put together a group of golfers known as the "Young Thunderbirds" to promote the rising stars on the PGA Tour.
"We played a lot of practice rounds together," said Johnny Miller, part of that group that included Lanny Wadkins, Jerry Heard, Jim Simon and Grier Jones. "You just push each other, and we separated ourselves from all the other young players."
What caused Miller to think back to the early 1970s was what he saw at East Lake for the Tour Championship, and what he will see this week at Liberty National for the Presidents Cup. The only difference was a car company promotion — and the size of the group.
Thomas won the FedEx Cup when he pulled away from Spieth over the final hour. They won the final two majors of the year. Both are 24 and have been close friends since they first met at a junior event in Texas that Spieth won 10 years ago.
RELATED: A closer look at the FedExCup's 11 champions since 2007
Xander Schauffele won the Tour Championship by saving par four times on the back nine and closing with a birdie. He ended his rookie season with two victories, though it was too late to be considered for the Presidents Cup. He turns 24 later this year and is — or was — an unheralded member of that fabled high school class of 2011.
"It's not just the three of us," Schauffele said. "I think I've always been on the outside looking in. You've got Justin, you've got Jordan, you've got Daniel Berger, you've got Emiliano Grillo. Hideki (Matsuyama) is also young. Jon Rahm is even younger than us. It's kind of weird being in their company. I said I got annoyed talking about them so much before, but yeah, they push me. And I can't thank them enough."
Complete records on the PGA Tour date to 1970, but this one was no less staggering. Players under the age of 25 won 18 times this season, shattering the previous mark of 10 set in 2000. And the previous record deserves an asterisk because Tiger Woods won nine of those events at age 24.
Throw in anyone in their 20s, and they accounted for 28 victories, or 58 percent of PGA Tour events.
The Presidents Cup features six players in their 20s on both teams. The Americans haven't been this stacked with youth since before these guys were born.
Woods was the only American in his 20s at the 2004 Ryder Cup and the 2005 Presidents Cup. Then he turned 30, and the Americans had no one in their 20s at The K Club in Ireland for the 2006 Ryder Cup.
The U.S. team at Liberty National has Spieth, Thomas, Berger, Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed.
"I think they're in pretty good shape in the future with those guys," Miller said.
That's how it was in 1998 at the Presidents Cup in Australia, when the first five qualifiers for that U.S. team — David Duval, Woods, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson — were all in their 20s. That figured to be the core of American golf for years to come, and it nearly was.
Duval lost his way through injury and confidence after his British Open title in 2001, while Leonard made the putt heard 'round the world at Brookline a year later until his team appearances became more inconsistent.
"It is such a young game right now," Thomas said Tuesday. "I was also thinking, 'Is it going to stay young?' We're going to be in our 30s at some point. But if we can keep playing well, stay competitive, keep pushing each other … I feel like there's a good chance that all of us — at least four or five of us — will continue hopefully play on a lot of these teams for consecutive years.
"But there's going to a lot of others coming out of college who are going to want to take our place."
The relationships they have forged certainly help, and this goes beyond Instagram posts from their spring breaks.
Woods and Mickelson never hung out in the Bahamas, much less the locker room, unless they were playing a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. They also are about 5 years apart in age. Most of this generation grew up facing each other no matter where they were from because of how organized junior golf has become.
U.S. captain Steve Stricker can see this group a decade from now, at least a chunk of it. He knows as well as anyone that form can disappear. So can good health.
But it's the relationship he finds so intriguing.
"When one guy does something well, wins a tournament, it's almost a shot in the arm to another guy and he goes out and plays really well," Stricker said. "It's really cool, and a great outlook for USA team golf."
This article was written by Doug Ferguson from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
Barcelona have reportedly given Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen the green light to seal a transfer away from the Camp Nou, with a move to a bottom-half Premier League team a possible destination for the player.
Vermaelen has been vastly out-of-favour at the Camp Nou ever since he joined the club from Arsenal in the summer of 2014.
The Belgian international has only managed to clock up a total of 45 appearances in his four years in Spain, a total that we’re sure the player himself is hugely disappointed with.
The former Arsenal man did well for Barca during Samuel Umtiti’s absence in the second half of last season, however this doesn’t seem like it was enough for Vermaelen to save his Barcelona career.
Don Balon are noting that the Blaugrana have given Vermaelen the go-ahead to leave the club, and that a potential destination for the player is a bottom-half Premier League side.
The report also notes that Vermaelen’s contract with Ernesto Valverde’s side will not be renewed before it runs out, thus it seems like the defender’s time at the Camp Nou is definitely coming to an end.
Vermaelen’s been given the ‘ok’ to seal a move away from Barcelona
A move away from Barcelona could be what Vermaelen needs to reignite his career, as it doesn’t look like the 33-year-old will be landing a first team spot with Barca anytime soon given the options the club already have at centre back.
And it seems like Vermaelen may be forced into that decision given the fact that the club aren’t going to renew his deal with them if Don Balon’s report is anything to go off.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed Manchester United have launched a £95million transfer bid for in-demand defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Red Devils need a top class central defender like Koulibaly, who has been linked strongly with them and other big clubs in recent times.
The Senegal international would clearly be a big upgrade on what United currently have in their ranks, with MUFC also being linked with similarly world class names like Toby Alderweireld as January approaches.
The latest on Koulibaly, however, is that United launched an official £95m offer for the 27-year-old shortly before Jose Mourinho was sacked by the club last week.
De Laurentiis says Napoli rejected the bid, which would have been a world record for a defender, breaking the £75m fee Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk last winter.
Kalidou Koulibaly in action for Napoli
MONZA, Italy (AP) — Tyrrell Hatton sunk a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the Italian Open on Sunday for his second European Tour victory in two weeks.
Last week, Hatton retained his title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the storied Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.
Now the Englishman is up to fifth in the Race to Dubai rankings.
It looked like Hatton was heading for a three-man playoff before he rolled his final putt into the bottom of the cup and unleashed a series of fist pumps to celebrate the Rolex Series victory.
"I had a good feeling standing over it, even though my hands were shaking and my knees were shaking," Hatton said.
A day after celebrating his 26th birthday, Hatton birdied five of the last seven holes for a bogey-free 65 to finish at 21 under.
"It was a battle with myself today," said Hatton, who had a slow front nine. "But my caddie kept saying it would come in the end and it did. … I got a hot streak with the putter, which helps a lot."
Fellow Englishman Ross Fisher and Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand tied for second, one stroke behind, while third-round leader Matt Wallace finished fourth at 19 under.
Defending champion and home favorite Francesco Molinari finished in a tie for sixth.
Hatton took home a first-place check of around $1.1 million, the biggest prize in an increased purse of $7 million this year as part of the buildup to the 2022 Ryder Cup outside Rome.
Crowds were large throughout the week at the Golf Club Milano, next to Monza's Formula One circuit.