Jordan Spieth maintains Travelers Championship lead with 20-foot birdie

CROMWELL, Conn. — Jordan Spieth continues to play just a little better than anyone else at the Travelers Championship.

The 23-year-old Texan closed with a 20-foot birdie putt for a 4-under 66 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead for the third straight round at TPC River Highlands.

After predicting earlier that it would take a score of 16 under to win, the two-time major champion took a 12-under 198 total into the final round.

Boo Weekley was second after a 65. The 43-year-old Weekley, playing just in front of Spieth, birdied five of the last eight holes, basking in the chants of "Boooo! Boooo!" from the raucous gallery.

RELATED: Travelers Championship Leaderboard | Photos from Cromwell

Spieth bogeyed Nos. 13 and 14, but matched Weekley with three birdies on the final four holes, capping it with the final shot of the round from below the hole.

"It's in the shadow," Spieth said. "I'm looking to hit the putt at the right speed. If it goes in, great, if it doesn't, so be it, tap it in. With a few feet to go it was going to have a chance and it curled right in the middle. That was a loud roar, and those are really fun to experience.

Weekley is looking for his fourth tour title and first since 2013. The colorful Floridian said he's been dealing with personal issues, but declined to elaborate. His had a season-best tie for 37th at the Puerto Rico Open in March and has made just eight cuts in 21 events.

Spieth is looking for his 10th tour win and second this season after a victory in February at Pebble Beach.

Weekley acknowledged that makes for an odd final pairing Sunday.

"He loves to fish, so we've got a little in common there," Weekley said. "So we can talk about that."

RELATED: How far does a pro golfer walk in a year?

Daniel Berger, looking for his second victory of the month, was three strokes back after a 66.

C.T. Pan (64), David Lingmerth (65) and Paul Casey (66) were 8 under.

Because of morning showers, the players went off in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees. But the breeze helped the greens quickly dry out and play faster than had been expected.

Pan, who went out just after the rain ended, and shot a bogey-free round. The 25-year old former University of Washington star is looking for his third top-10 finish this season and his first since finishing second at Torrey Pines in January.

"It wasn't as windy, so I made birdies on three of my first four holes," Pan said. "That really helped my mindset and keep my momentum going."

Spieth hit his first six fairways and got his first birdie of the day on the sixth hole, when he chipped in from 30 feet behind the green. He made another birdie on the next hole, before giving a shot back at No. 9. He repeated that pattern on the back nine, making birdies at 10 and 11 to go up by two strokes, then put his tee shot into the water at 13. He bogeyed that hole and 14.

But on 15, his chip from the greenside bunker landed inches from the hole and he had another birdie.

Spieth has a chance to join Phil Blackmar (1985) as the only players to win in their first start at the Connecticut event. He's also trying to become the first player to lead wire-to-wire alone in the event since Tim Norris in 1982 at Wethersfield. Peter Jacobsen had at least a share of the lead after every round in 2003.

Berger had just one bogey, at the 17th, but came back with the last of his five birdies on the final hole. He won in Memphis two weeks ago before missing the cut at the U.S. Open, which was won by his Florida State teammate, Brooks Koepka. Another former Seminole teammate, Chase Seiffert, was in contention at 4 under after qualifying for the tournament Monday.

Rory McIlroy remained at even par. He's been trying to find his short game this week and decided to switch Saturday from the putter he began using while at the U.S. Open. He spent time before his round on the practice green with several different putters before picking a new one.

The change didn't seem to help. His first putt Saturday, a birdie attempt from 12 feet, went 3 feet past the hole and he needed 33 putts during his round of 70. He was even par overall.

This article was written by Pat Eaton-Robb from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

Stewart Cink awarded the 2017 Payne Stewart Award

Golf trophies are nice and meaningful, and Stewart Cink has a gracious plenty of them decorating his Duluth home.

But the trophy the 2009 British Open champion — and six-time PGA Tour winner — was holding Monday was looking like a centerpiece.

It's the one featuring the bronze figure of the late Payne Stewart, jaunty in trademark knickers, the one that has come to represent the PGA Tour pro who represents "character, charity and sportsmanship," that will command a special place.

Cink is the 2017 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award, its 20th winner, joining a roster that includes the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, Gary Player, Davis Love III, Steve Stricker, Nick Faldo and, last year, Jim Furyk. The winner traditionally is named at East Lake Golf Club, a particularly fitting venue this year. Club-member Cink has carried the banner for East Lake's community endeavors since leaving Georgia Tech and hitting the Tour full-time in 1997.

Cink's also the guy who, after beating 59-year-old Tom Watson in a playoff for the '09 Open, so carefully tempered his joy of winning with respect for the old champion and the sentimental story line that was denied that day.

"I'm not really into golf for recognition too much, but this is a recognition that I'm very, very proud of," Cink said Monday.

"All those other (trophies) are about a career and a livelihood, this is one is about what golf instilled into me — a nature of wanting to give back some of golf's values."

Cink choked up Monday when asked what in his personal life led him down the path of philanthropy. He remembered back 25 years, while at Tech, and his long-time girlfriend called from Auburn with some startling news: She was pregnant.

The young couple sought counseling, and were encouraged to accelerate plans of marriage and child-rearing. The counselor at the time "helped us become confident that we could do it, that we could be married, we could raise a family while in college," Cink said.

He and Lisa Cink have raised two sons, and Cink's wife in turn served as a pregnancy counselor for 10 years. "I'm just so proud of that," Cink said, his voice cracking.

"Our hearts were forged that day (25 years ago)," he said.

The two predominant organizations within the Cinks' charitable foundation are the Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett and the Gwinnett Medical Center neonatal intensive care unit. Also to benefit from a $300,000 grant from the Southern Company, sponsor of the Payne Stewart Award, are the East Lake Foundation and the Healing Place, an Alabama-based grief counseling center for children. Also, the annual East Lake Invitational celebrity golf tournament, started by Cink and Billy Andrade, benefits the Drew Charter School Senior Academy at East Lake.

Lisa Cink, who has since April, 2016, has been in treatment for stage four breast cancer, was with her husband Monday. The pride in seeing the Cink name in the company of Payne Stewart Award winners was undeniable. "I look at those names and I see great men, giving men. I see big-hearted genuine men and the women behind them. I also see our friends," she said.

No matter how uncomfortable the compliment makes his wife, Cink could not help but credit her example with giving his golf career a little kick in the slacks. His three top-10 finishes are his most since 2013. His $1.2 million in money winnings is his most since 2010.

"Lisa has been fighting now for a year and a half and I've watched her fight," he said. "Seeing the nature of what she's done and how she has left no stone unturned has inspired me to leave no stone unturned as far as my career.

"As we just saw, the PGA Championship was a showcase for youth — it's awesome, they're great. I thought maybe I hadn't fought quite hard enough. Maybe there were a few stones I hadn't turned over."

At 44 — "I'm not 45 yet, so I'm in my early 40s," he said — winning more golf trophies on the PGA Tour may be problematic. Currently 73rd in FedEx Cup points, he plans to return to the course in two weeks with the start of golf's playoffs. Making it back to East Lake Sept. 21 with the surviving 30 players for the Tour Championship would be monumental.

Having already enjoyed a career moment at East Lake in 2017, Cink is in full its-all-gravy-from-here mode.

"All I can do is move up (in the FedEx standings), that's the way I'm viewing it," he said with a smile. 


This article is written by Steve Hummer from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

How Man United could line up after January transfer window, with deals for a trio of Premier League stars mooted

After the departure of tyrannical manager Jose Mourinho last week, new interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be poised for a busy winter transfer market.

The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League, eight points behind Chelsea in fourth and an astounding 19 behind Liverpool at the top of the table, after just 18 matches of the 2018-19 campaign.

The final few months of Mourinho’s reign at Old Trafford were miserable, to say the least, and the team seems to have completely lost its identity during that period, struggling to produce fluid, attacking football while conceding far too many goals at the back.

Solskjaer was drafted in to replace the Portuguese until the end of the season and he now has the unenviable task of galvanising a group which has lost all confidence.

He got off to a flyer in his first game in charge, securing a 5-1 win at Cardiff City which highlighted the fact that this United team is still full of quality and perhaps wasn’t giving everything to the cause during the last few months of Mourinho’s tenure, for whatever reason.

The Christmas period will end with two more important games against Bournemouth and Newcastle, which gives the new United manager ample opportunity to assess his new squad, before potentially bringing in some new faces in January.

Mourinho had complained during the summer that due to the club’s lack of investment prior to the new season they would struggle to compete with their rivals at the top of the table. His prediction turned out to be correct and although he pushed the self-destruct button spectacularly, it is obvious that the team could do with a few fresh reinforcements.

2017 Girls Junior PGA Championship

The 42nd Girls Junior PGA Championship will be played July 18-21 at The Country Club of St. Albans Lewis & Clark Course in St. Albans, Missouri. Here's everything you need to know about the event:

City: St. Albans, Missouri

Dates: July 18-21, 2017

Architects: Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish

Year Opened: 1992

Trophy: Patty Berg Trophy

Format: 72-hole, stroke-play Championship, with a cut after 36 holes to the low 70 plus ties. In the event of a tie after 72 holes, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff.

Eligibility: Girls under 19 years of age may attempt to qualify.

Entry: Players qualify through the 41 PGA Section Championships; in addition to winners of selected national junior tournaments, via national rankings; and past Junior PGA Champions who have not reached their 19th birthdays.

Defending Champion: Lucy Li

  • Round 1 recap: Hailee Cooper leads after shooting a record-tying 64
  • Round 1 highlights: Watch the action from St. Albans
  • Round 2 recap: Rose Zhang shares lead after record-tying round | Three golfers share lead
  • Round 2 highlights: Watch the Junior PGA Championship action
  • RELATED: Full field list | Scoring | Photos from the 2017 event | College coaches scouting at Junior PGA Champ.
  • Round 3 Recap: Rose Zhang owns solo 54-hole lead at Girls Jr. PGA Championship
  • Round 3 highlights: Watch the Junior PGA Championship action
  • Final round recap: Rose Zhang wins Girls Jr. PGA Championship
  • Final Round Highlights: Watch Rose Zhang's stellar clinching round

The Junior PGA Championship for boys will also be contested at St. Albans, July 31-Aug. 3.

“The PGA of America is excited to significantly expand the field for our new Junior PGA Championships, beginning in 2017, at such a historically significant venue as the Lewis and Clark Course at St. Albans,”  then-PGA President Derek Sprague said last year. “By creating separate boys and girls events, we will double the number of players for all of our Sections. In addition, the number of boys and girls participating in each Championship will increase from 78 to 144 each. We believe this is an important investment in the future of the game, in order to provide more opportunities for top players nationwide to compete in our Junior PGA Championships.”

In 1991, the award-winning architectural firm of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish were selected to design and build the Lewis and Clark course at St. Albans. Renowned for its natural beauty of rolling hills, wooded terrain, valleys, lakes and natural wildlife, with a true reverence for the rich history of the area, the course and the prestigious St. Albans clubhouse opened in 1992. The St. Albans property bears many historic symbols that were meticulously preserved by the designers, from Civil War era graves that dot the property to the striking stone homes designed by Theodore Link, famed architect of St. Louis Union Station.

“On behalf of the members and staff of The Country Club of St. Albans, we are honored to host the 2017 Junior PGA Championships,” said Joe Schwent, PGA Director of Golf Operations at St. Albans. “We know the players will enjoy our Lewis and Clark golf course which has consistently been ranked in the Top 10 courses in the state of Missouri by Golf Digest. We are proud to have been selected, and look forward to welcoming the PGA of America and the top junior golfers in the country.”

PGA of America Vice President Suzy Whaley serves as Junior PGA Chair for the Girls PGA Championships and PGA of America President Paul Levy serves as Junior PGA Chair for Boys PGA Championships in 2017.

The 2018 Junior PGA Championships will serve as the final PGA of America qualifying venues for the 2018 U.S. Junior Ryder Cup Team in Paris.

Real Madrid eye marquee January signing, prolific duo with 400+ career goals between them on radar

Real Madrid have endured a problematic start to the campaign, and they could reportedly look to address it with a marquee January signing.

Los Blancos sit in fourth place in the La Liga table after 15 games, while they suffered a heavy defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League this week as they haven’t entirely convinced in Europe either despite advancing to the knockout stage.

SEE MORE: Real Madrid transfer boost as €110m prolific 130-goal forward re-emerges as target

Part of that problem is arguably their inability to sufficiently replace Cristiano Ronaldo, with their former talisman leaving the Bernabeu this past summer to join Juventus.

Without his goals and influence in the final third, Madrid haven’t looked the same, and that is reflected in their goals tally so far this season.

The Spanish giants have scored just 23 goals in 15 league games, which is dwarfed by Barcelona’s tally in comparison as the Catalan outfit have scored 41 goals in the same number of games.

In order to address that issue, Calciomercato report, via Don Balon, that Real Madrid club president Florentino Perez wants either Mauro Icardi or Edinson Cavani in the January transfer window.

Considering the pair have got well over 400 career goals between them, Icardi contributing 130 goals in 233 games while Cavani has 335 goals in 546 outings, it’s fair to say that either of the prolific duo would certainly help make Real Madrid a more clinical outfit.

Time will tell if an agreement can be reached for either star, but perhaps with Inter crashing out of the Champions League this week and sitting 14 points adrift of Juventus in the Serie A title race, it could be enough to perhaps make Icardi think twice about his future.

Karim Benzema will turn 31 later this month, and although he’s bagged 10 goals in 23 games so far this season, there is a strong argument that Madrid need to freshen things up in attack and bring in another prolific forward.

Juventus in pole position to beat Inter and AC Milan to quality transfer as Paratici opens talks

Juventus are reportedly in pole position to beat Serie A rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan to the transfer of Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

According to Calciomercato, the Italian giants have opened talks with the Wales international’s entourage through their sporting director Fabio Paratici.

MORE: Arsenal mid-season review: Unai Emery proves fans right but January transfer overhaul surely needed

The report states Juve are ahead of Milan and Inter due to being more able and willing to meet Ramsey’s big wage demands to complete a move away from the Emirates Stadium.

This is a blow for Arsenal, with Ramsey a star player for them for many years before getting into the final year of his contract.

Surprisingly, however, it is the Gunners who are said to have pulled out of talks over extending the 28-year-old’s contract, according to BBC Sport, leaving him free to leave on a Bosman at the end of this season and able to agree a transfer by January.

Tottenham eye £15m swoop for teenage Championship starlet in January but key condition touted

Tottenham have been linked with a £15m move for Norwich youngster Max Aarons as Mauricio Pochettino reportedly eyes a long-term reinforcement.

Spurs are enjoying quite the campaign thus far, as their big win over Bournemouth on Wednesday lifted them up to second place in the Premier League table at the half-way stage.

SEE MORE: (Photo) Christian Eriksen mocks Tottenham teammate Harry Kane on Instagram

They sit six points adrift of leaders Liverpool, and despite the lack of signings this past summer, Pochettino continues to work his magic and has put them in contention to compete for the title again this season it seems.

Nevertheless, that lack of strengthening the squad could perhaps come back to haunt them as the season goes on, and so Tottenham fans will surely be hoping that the club act moving forward and give the Argentine tactician the reinforcements needed to sustain their push.

According to The Sun, Spurs are being tipped to launch a £15m bid for Aarons in January, albeit it’s suggested that he could be loaned back to Norwich for the remainder of the season.

In turn, the 18-year-old may be seen as a long-term solution at right back rather than a signing to help Spurs on their quest for silverware in the more immediate future.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that he has impressed up to this point, bagging three goals and three assists in 20 appearances to showcase his ability to make a decisive impact from an attacking perspective too.

Given Norwich are in second place in the Championship and chasing promotion, it’s no surprise that they will look to keep their squad in tact in January in order to give themselves the best possible chance of returning to the Premier League.

Time will tell though if Spurs can put a deal in place to snap up the talented teenager, with Pochettino seemingly set to have to rely on his current options to guide them towards trophies for this season at least.

Kevin Chappell grabs last spot to make Presidents Cup team

NORTON, Mass. — Kevin Chappell made his first Presidents Cup team by a fraction of a point, and he needed a lot more help that he realized.

"I made it a lot more exciting than it needed to be," Chappell said.

Chappell, who won his first PGA Tour event earlier this year in San Antonio, earned enough FedEx Cup points from the Dell Technologies Championship to secure the 10th and final automatic spot on the U.S. team.

This was the final qualifying event for the Presidents Cup, which starts Sept. 28 at Liberty National.

Chappell will be one of at least four U.S. players making their debut in a Presidents Cup or a Ryder Cup. He spent the last month getting weary of talking about the possibilities, suggesting that he could live with however it turned out.

That changed when he shot a 69 on Sunday and was projected ahead of Hoffman, meaning he controlled his own fate.

"I didn't know what it meant until I tried to go to sleep last night," Chappell said Monday on his way to the airport to catch a flight home — in coach, no less — to Seattle.

Hoffman, who showed up at the TPC Boston at No. 10 and with a slim lead, closed with a 68 on Monday and tied for 40th. Chappell appeared to have it locked up until three bogeys over a four-hole stretch on the back nine.

He answered with a birdie on the par-3 16th, but then his shot from a fairway bunker on the par-5 18th came to rest on a loose piece of dirt, and his wedge came up well short. Chappell pitched to 10 feet, missed his par putt and closed with a 71.

That's when he needed some help, and Russell Henley unknowingly provided it.

Chappell was tied for 35th, and Henley also was in that group at 2-under 282. If Henley had made one more birdie, that would have taken points away from Chappell, and Hoffman would have moved past him.

Henley, however, made bogey on the 17th and failed to birdie the 18th to tie for 40th. That was all Chappell needed.

It was a familiar feeling for Chappell, and not a pleasant one. Five years ago in the final tournament of the year, Chappell finished at No. 125 on the money list to keep his card by $1,809, but only after two players made par on the tough par-4 18th at Disney. If either had made bogey, Chappell would have lost his card.

"That was to keep my job," he said. "I'd much rather being doing this, relying on others to get me on a Presidents Cup team."

The other U.S. qualifiers were Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Kisner, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Reed.

U.S. captain Steve Stricker will make two wild-card selections Wednesday afternoon, and Hoffman is a favorite to get one of them. With no one below Hoffman in the standings playing exceptionally well, the other pick could go to Phil Mickelson, who has never missed a team event since 1994.

Mickelson was in the mix early at the TPC Boston on Monday, and that could be enough to show Stricker that he's worth a pick.

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina also came up with a good round at the right time. Grillo closed with a 66, enough to move him past Hideto Tanihara of Japan to No. 11 for the International team. Only the top 10 from the world ranking qualify, though Grillo would seem to be safe to be one of captain Nick Price's picks.

"That's not up to me," Grillo said. "Today was up to me and I did my best. It worked out."

The other International team qualifiers were Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Marc Leishman, Branden Grace, Jhonattan Vegas, Si Woo Kim and Adam Hadwin.

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.

Mesut Ozil’s agent admits to struggles under new Arsenal manager Unai Emery as he addresses transfer talk

Mesut Ozil’s agent Dr. Erkut Sogut has responded to transfer speculation surrounding his client after a difficult season at Arsenal under Unai Emery.

The Spanish tactician replaced Arsene Wenger as Gunners manager in the summer and has not indulged the player as his predecessor often seemed to.

Ozil has found himself in and out of the first-team this season, with Sogut admitting the German is still having to adapt to the tactical change and general big upheaval at the Emirates Stadium in recent times.

He also conceded it’s not been the best first half of the campaign for his client, but did move to insist that his long-term future is with Arsenal.

“I would prefer not to speak publicly about Mesut’s situation, but given the recent speculation linking him with a move away from Arsenal, I do feel it is important to provide some clarity so we can end this and focus on football,” Sogut told Goal.

“Mesut signed a new contract last January because he saw his future at Arsenal and nothing has changed in his mind. He wants to stay for the duration of that contract and maybe even longer.

Cancer survivor earns European Tour card at Q-School

TARRAGONA, Spain — A 6-foot-9 (2.06-meter) English golfer who battled leukemia for five years as a child has earned his first European Tour card after finishing birdie-birdie in the final day of the grueling six-round Q-School tournament on Thursday.

Jonathan Thomson hugged his tearful father after shooting 2-under 69 at Lumine Golf Club in Tarragona, Spain, to become one of 33 players to get playing privileges for Europe's main tour for the 2018 season.

The 21-year-old Thomson was diagnosed with a strain of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of 7, and went into remission after five years of chemotherapy. He represented England in tournaments at youth level and turned pro in September 2016, spending this season on the EuroPro Tour — the third tier of European golf.

Thomson shot 67-72-68-67-71-69 at Q-School to qualify with two strokes to spare.

"I know who will be leading the driving distance stat next year," said European Tour player Tyrrell Hatton, a good friend of Thomson's.

Sam Horsfield shot a final-round 63 to win Q-School by eight strokes on 27-under par. Having come through the first and second stages of qualifying, Horsfield played 252 holes to get his European Tour card.

Two former winners on the European Tour, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Anders Hansen, regained their playing privileges for the main tour.

This article was from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.