Naomi Osaka pulled out of Wimbledon on Saturday as tournament officials said the former world number one was suffering with a leg injury.
The announcement came in the wake of Osaka revealing she was considering skipping the grand slam in any case, as she suspected it may feel "like an exhibition".
The All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing has resulted in the WTA and ATP stripping Wimbledon of all ranking points.
Osaka, who is a four-time grand slam champion, suggested after her first-round exit at the French Open that she was unsure about whether to commit to the grass-court major.
Confirmation of her absence from the event, which starts on June 27, came from Wimbledon as her name was added to a list of withdrawals.
The Japanese 24-year-old has only played Wimbledon's main draw three times in her career, twice reaching the third round. She has yet to go further but has won the Australian Open twice and the US Open on two occasions. Recently she complained of a "stubborn" Achilles problem.
Osaka was joined on the withdrawal list by Eugenie Bouchard, the 28-year-old Canadian who was runner-up to Petra Kvitova at the 2014 Wimbledon championships.
Wimbledon listed Bouchard as absent due to a shoulder problem; however, that told only part of the story.
She is battling her way back up the rankings after injury and disappointing results and said she could not risk using a special entry dispensation on a tournament that will carry no points.
Bouchard wrote on Instagram: "I have decided to withdraw from Wimbledon due to the WTA's decision to not award ranking points at this year's championships.
"Due to my shoulder surgery, I get a limited number of protected ranking [PR] entries. As much as I love Wimbledon and skipping it makes me sad, using a PR entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn't make sense. I must choose wisely and use my PR at tournaments that will help me get back to where I want to be."
She said she would use her protected ranking grand slam entries for the next US Open and Australian Open.
Charles Leclerc believes Ferrari have made "the best decision" by accepting a 10-place grid penalty for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Leclerc will start towards the back of the grid in Montreal after taking a new control electronic – his third used this season.
The Monegasque had little choice given the state of his power unit after the Azerbaijan GP, although it could have been the source of some frustration after he finished just 0.081 seconds behind Max Verstappen in FP2.
"Well, obviously I'm starting a little bit more in the back," Leclerc said. "But I think it was the best decision to make, so let's see how it goes.
"The overtaking was a little bit more difficult than I expected today, but the pace is there, so hopefully we can come back to where we want to be."
Indeed, despite championship leader Verstappen topping the charts in both Friday practice sessions, Leclerc added: "It is pretty close.
"The race pace we need to work on – I mean it's a bit difficult to have a clear picture, because I was on a different compound all the time – but overall, it didn't look too bad, so that's good."
The Crusaders secured their 11th title by beating the Blues 21-7 in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific final on Saturday.
A dominant first half from the Christchurch outfit saw them take a 13-point advantage into the break, before keeping their opponents at bay with a determined defensive effort to take the championship.
The teams that finished in the top two of the standings clashed at Eden Park, with the Crusaders taking the early initiative as Richie Mo'unga hit a drop goal and a penalty in the first 30 minutes.
Scott Robertson's men then dealt a real body blow to the Blues just before the break as Leicester Fainga'anuku burst through and was stopped just shy of the line, as was Pablo Matera, only for Bryn Hall to force the ball over – the converted try giving his team a 13-0 half-time lead.
Mo'unga added another three points six minutes into the second half, but after keeping the Crusaders from scoring what surely would have been a game-ending try, the Blues got themselves on the board just before the hour mark as Finlay Christie went over for a try just to the left of the posts to potentially set up a dramatic finale.
The Blues had won 15 straight matches, and Mo'unga's attempt at adding three more for the Crusaders from the tee fell short, his first miss of the night.
But the victory was sealed with just over four minutes remaining after a low kick to the corner from Matera evaded Sam Nock, allowing Sevu Reece to race in and score to send his team-mates wild in celebration.
Phil Mickelson tried to focus on the positives after a brutal week at the U.S. Open, as he finished round two 11 over par for the tournament.
This remains the only major Mickelson has never won after he missed the cut by eight strokes.
All eyes were on the 52-year-old, who has finished second at the U.S. Open on six occasions, following his return to action in the first LIV Golf Invitational.
Mickelson joined the controversial breakaway series for the opening tournament in London last week, having been out of the spotlight for a period.
Comments Mickelson made about his commitment to the Saudi-backed league prompted outrage and led to him taking time away from the sport.
This was therefore his first tournament back in the United States since the Farmers Insurance Open in January – another event at which he missed the cut.
But Mickelson at least showed some improvement on Friday with a three-over 73, having carded a dismal 78 in the first round.
"It was okay. I had a good day," he said. "I enjoyed the week. I wish I had played better."
Despite his move to LIV Golf, Mickelson appeared to remain popular with the fans in Brookline, and he added: "The fans here have always been terrific.
"They really support all sports, and I love it when we bring golf here because they create a really special atmosphere.
"I missed competing, but I also enjoyed some time away."
Lewis Hamilton said his Mercedes feels like it is "getting worse" after struggling in Friday's two practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.
Hamilton is in the unfamiliar position of sixth in the drivers' championship, already 88 points behind rival and defending champion Max Verstappen eight races into what has been a tough 2022 campaign so far.
The seven-time world champion finished fourth last week in Azerbaijan, with team-mate George Russell claiming third, but called the race the "most painful" of his career after suffering severe back pain throughout.
Hamilton's discomfort, which saw him struggle to exit his car after finishing, was caused by the team's W13 car porpoising, bouncing unevenly.
The FIA confirmed on Thursday it had issued a technical directive to teams to provide guidance on how the porpoising problem will be dealt with in future, with a number of drivers complaining about its effects.
But Mercedes have continued to struggle in Montreal.
Following Friday practice, Hamilton summed up his day: "Pretty much like every Friday for us, trying lots of different things, an experimental floor on my side which didn't work.
"Nothing we do generally to this car seems to work, so we're trying different set-ups; me and George went with much different set-ups in this P2 just to see if one way works and one way doesn't. I'll wait to hear how it felt for him, but for me it was a disaster.
"It's like the car's getting worse, it's getting more and more unhappy the more we do to it. I don't know, we'll keep working on it; it is what it is. I think this is the car for the year, so we'll just have to tough it out and work hard on building a better car for next year."
Having won each of the past eight F1 constructors' championships, Mercedes are third in the 2022 standings, behind leaders Red Bull by 118 points.
"It's not the Montreal that I know, that I'm used to and that I've experienced in my career,” Hamilton added. "It's the worse that I've ever felt any car here, so I'm hoping overnight we can try and make some changes.
"But fundamentally, it's just the fundamentals of the car, it is what it is. It's going to be a struggle.
"It's just a monumental fight the whole time to keep it out of the wall.
"When it bounces, when the car leaves the ground a lot, and then when it lands it grips up and it goes in different directions, and you're just trying to catch a car that jumps, hops, grips, hops, grips... it's tough, it keeps you on edge. And there were some big hits today. We've raised the car, but it doesn't make a difference."
Joel Dahmen is a surprise co-leader with Collin Morikawa after 36 holes of the U.S. Open at The Country Club – and he was contemplating skipping the qualifier.
Dahmen, 34, is one of three players to shoot 68 or better in both rounds, finishing the first round one off the lead after a 67, before backing it up with a 68 on Friday. Hayden Buckley and Aaron Wise both posted a pair of 68s, and are one stroke off the lead in a tie for third.
In his second trip around the course, Dahmen had a strong front nine, birdieing the first hole as well as the fifth and eighth, with a bogey on the second. He started the back nine poorly, with a bogey on 10, but followed it with seven pars and a long birdie putt.
Speaking to the media after his round, he confirmed the story that he almost pulled out of the qualifier where he punched his ticket.
"There was a lot of discussion leading up to it, yeah, the prior week," he said. "I told my wife I wasn't going to do it.
"Then I was tired at Memorial and said I wasn't going to do it. I was never really going to do it until I… sort of played better at Memorial and the game was there.
"My coach, Rob Rashell, came out and things started to trend in the right direction. And then [my caddie] Geno [Bonnalie], I felt bad because he didn't switch his flight when he could have got home Sunday night, so at that point I had to stick it out."
Clearly, he is thrilled with his decision.
"I'm incredibly happy now for sure," he said. "I mean, sometimes you take for granted what you have out here a little bit.
"I think this is my eighth or ninth major championship, and you think not long ago I would have done a lot of things to play in one, and to think that I have an opportunity just to skip one, kind of looking back, even this whole week, you don't appreciate really.
"I've played 130-odd events. I've been six years out here. It's easy to get in a lull and be like, you just go home for two weeks and hang out and everything is all hunky-dory, but when you get here, everything changes as soon as you get on property.
"It's a USGA event. It's huge. People everywhere. So, yeah, that changes your mind pretty quickly."
After finding some form recently, Dahmen said he is starting to encounter fans who know who he is – something he does not believe will ever feel normal.
"It is unbelievable to me how many people know my name or yell for me out there," he said. "It's weird.
"I'm getting recognized a little bit more off the golf course – my wife will look at me, like, what is happening?
"It's not normal. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, but it comes with good golf."
Things have gone from bad to worse for the Los Angeles Angels after another dose of rough news Friday, with third-baseman Anthony Rendon set to undergo right wrist surgery and miss the rest of the season.
Rendon returned to the Angels’ lineup on June 10 after missing two weeks with the wrist injury, and played four games, but aggravated it during Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and has not played since.
He had a pregame workout Thursday before the Angels opened a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners, and it became clear then that surgery was the best option.
"Yesterday was the last straw,'' Rendon said. ''Trying to get through a new routine, and it was kind of the last thing we were going to try to do to see if I was able to play before the game.
"I was trying to see if I could get in the lineup, and then we did some more stuff during game time. It's just what happened.''
Since signing a seven-year, $245 million deal with the Angels before the 2020 season, Rendon has played in just 155 of the team’s 384 games.
He batted .228 with five homers and 28 RBIs in 45 games this season. Last year, Rendon was limited to 58 games and hit .240 with nine homers and 34 RBIs.
With an expected four-to-six-month recovery, Rendon is expected to be fully recovered before next year’s spring training.
Los Angeles entered play Friday 30-35 and in third place in the American League West, 10 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. The Angels fired manager Joe Maddon on June 7, with the team mired in what would become a 14-game losing streak.
The best team in baseball keeps on chugging along as the New York Yankees hammered the Toronto Blue Jays 12-3 on Friday.
Yankees pitcher Jordan Montgomery was excellent on the mound, giving up two earned runs from three hits and one walk across six innings, striking out five in a quality start.
The Blue Jays, at home, would take the early lead with Gabriel Moreno's RBI single in the second inning – but the Yankees responded by rattling off 10 runs in a row.
Gleyber Torres and Kyle Higashioka drove in a run each in the fourth inning, before an explosion in the fifth,
Giancarlo Stanton got things started with a 350-foot, two-run home run, followed by a massive 411-foot solo blast from D.J. Lemahieu. Joey Gallo then brought in another run with his RBI double, and the eight-run inning was capped off by a 435-foot grand slam from Anthony Rizzo.
Gallo put an exclamation point on the result in the last frame as the fourth Yankee to hit a home run in the game.
MVP favourite Aaron Judge was surprisingly not part of the power surge, but he kept his numbers strong with two base hits from five at-bats.
Judge leads the majors in home runs with 25 – six more than any other player – while Rizzo is now tied for seventh (17 home runs) and Stanton is also in the top-20 (14).
The win moves the Yankees' league-leading record to 48-16, six games clear of the New York Mets in second-place (43-23).
Cubs snap streaks
The Chicago Cubs ended a 10-game losing streak with their 1-0 home win against the Atlanta Braves – also snapping the visitors' 14-game winning streak.
In a true pitching duel, Cubs starter Keegan Thompson struck out nine batters in six innings, allowing just two hits and two walks for no runs.
Charlie Morton was just as impressive on the mound for the Braves, striking out nine batters of his own in seven innings, giving up three hits and no walks for no runs.
When Morton was withdrawn, the Cubs capitalised, with pinch-hitter Jonathon Villar earning a walk to lead-off the eighth inning. He would make it to second with a sacrifice bunt, before stealing third base, setting up a sacrifice-fly from Christopher Morel for what would be the winning run.
Alonso moves to top of RBI list with grand slam
New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso now leads the majors in RBIs after driving in four runs with one swing in his side's 10-4 win against the Miami Marlins.
Fellow Mets star Francisco Lindor provided the early fireworks with a monstrous 440-foot, three-run blast in the first inning, helping the hosts build a 6-1 lead.
With bases loaded, Alonso sent his only hit of the night over the fence, giving him his 19th home run of the season and his league-leading 63rd RBI. Jose Ramirez (62 RBIs) and Paul Goldschmidt (56) are the only other players with more than 49 RBIs this season.
Joel Dahmen is a surprise co-leader with Rory McIlroy after 36 holes of the U.S. Open at The Country Club – and he was contemplating skipping the qualifier.
Dahmen, 34, is one of three players to shoot 68 or better in both rounds, finishing the first round one off the lead after a 67, before backing it up with a 68 on Friday. Hayden Buckley and Aaron Wise both posted a pair of 68s, and are one stroke off the lead in a tie for third.
In his second trip around the course, Dahmen had a strong front nine, birdieing the first hole as well as the fifth and eighth, with a bogey on the second. He started the back nine poorly, with a bogey on 10, but followed it with seven pars and a long birdie putt.
Speaking to the media after his round, he confirmed the story that he almost pulled out of the qualifier where he punched his ticket.
"There was a lot of discussion leading up to it, yeah, the prior week," he said. "I told my wife I wasn't going to do it.
"Then I was tired at Memorial and said I wasn't going to do it. I was never really going to do it until I… sort of played better at Memorial and the game was there.
"My coach, Rob Rashell, came out and things started to trend in the right direction. And then [my caddie] Geno [Bonnalie], I felt bad because he didn't switch his flight when he could have got home Sunday night, so at that point I had to stick it out."
Clearly, he is thrilled with his decision.
"I'm incredibly happy now for sure," he said. "I mean, sometimes you take for granted what you have out here a little bit.
"I think this is my eighth or ninth major championship, and you think not long ago I would have done a lot of things to play in one, and to think that I have an opportunity just to skip one, kind of looking back, even this whole week, you don't appreciate really.
"I've played 130-odd events. I've been six years out here. It's easy to get in a lull and be like, you just go home for two weeks and hang out and everything is all hunky-dory, but when you get here, everything changes as soon as you get on property.
"It's a USGA event. It's huge. People everywhere. So, yeah, that changes your mind pretty quickly."
After finding some form recently, Dahmen said he is starting to encounter fans who know who he is – something he does not believe will ever feel normal.
"It is unbelievable to me how many people know my name or yell for me out there," he said. "It's weird.
"I'm getting recognized a little bit more off the golf course – my wife will look at me, like, what is happening?
"It's not normal. I don't know if I'll ever get used to it, but it comes with good golf."
Rory McIlroy is content with his performance across the first two rounds at The Country Club, coming into Friday one stroke off the lead, and finishing the same way after a one-under 69.
McIlroy trails only Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen, who lead at five under, but he needed to close in style to shoot back up the leaderboard after a shaky start.
His week threatened to fall apart on the third hole, but he was able to save double-bogey with a 30-foot putt to take some sort of momentum. He birdied the fifth and eighth, but bogeyed the sixth and 10th, leaving him at one under overall with eight holes to play.
But his final eight holes were magnificent, with birdies on 12, 14 and 17 to salvage an under-par round and maintain his one stroke deficit from the leaders.
Speaking to the media after his round, McIlroy said being in the hunt after Friday is all you can ask for at a major.
"After 36 holes in a major championship, that's all you want to do is put yourself right in the mix going into the weekend," he said.
"For a little part of the day there, it seemed like I was going to be a few more behind, but I dug deep and played the last eight holes really, really well.
"That was the goal. After I bogeyed 10, I just wanted to try to shoot under par.
"I had some chances coming up. Just played a really clean eight holes, which was pleasing. Hit fairways, hit greens, gave myself chances. Got myself right back in the tournament."
Despite being a four-time major champion, it has been nearly eight years since McIlroy's last major crown, and he said he does not think he can rely on those memories for an advantage.
"I think I have to go out with the mindset this week that I'm going to try to win my first again," he said. "I'm playing as good a golf as I've played in a long time.
"I have a lot of experience. Yes, I've won major championships and other big events, but… just because I've done that, it doesn't mean that I'll hit better golf shots or I'll hit better putts.
"I'm in a good place. I'm really happy with where my game is at, and I think that's the most important thing."
Collin Morikawa said he feels he is becoming a more complete golfer after ditching the traditional 'cut' action to his shots in favour of a 'draw' in a bid to rediscover some form, shooting Friday's round of the day.
Morikawa was the only player to shoot 66 in the second round, backing up his Thursday 69 to hold a share of the lead heading into the weekend, along with Joel Dahmen.
To get to five under, Morikawa produced a bogey-free, three-under back nine, collecting birdies on 12, 14 and 17. His only bogey on the day came at the par-four fourth hole.
When asked if he plans on making a full-time switch to his new swing style, he pushed back, saying he instead sees it like another tool in his belt.
"No – [but] that's a great question," he said. "I think what it proves is just that you can play this game with many shots.
"I remember the first time I played with Tiger, and he hit every shot that called for it. Pin is on the right; you hit a little cut. Pin is on the left; you hit a little draw.
"I think this is just going to hopefully make my iron play and make my game a little bit more well-rounded rather than just hitting a cut – but this week we're just going to work with what we have, and right now it's a little baby draw."
Morikawa was also thankful for not copping the brunt of the weather.
"Yesterday I said I thought I'd see a 66, even a 65 from those afternoon guys – the winds picked up," he said.
"Today I thought a couple under was going to be a really good score just based on what the wind forecast was going to be like, but we got lucky.
"I finally got a good side of the draw, and it kind of calmed down a little bit on a couple holes, especially when we made the turn on to the front side.
"I didn't take advantage, but it was nice to see some decent weather kind of fall my way. A lot of the day kind of calmed down, was really nice, really sunny."
He went on to discuss how the course is playing in a tricky way, but that there are still opportunities.
"Fairways are bouncy, and you've got to keep it in the fairways out here," he said.
"You can play out of the first cut, but you get five, six, seven yards off the fairway, you're going to be trying to run up to greens, and sometimes you can't do that out here.
"But for the most part the greens are still – I'd say they're receptive. There was probably two or three greens out here that are getting a little bouncy, and you really have to make sure you hit your spots.
"But for the most part if you're playing out of the fairway, you have a good shot at staying somewhat aggressive to some of these pins."
Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen are the 36-hole leaders of the U.S. Open after an entertaining second round at The Country Club on Friday, tied at five under.
Dahmen was one stroke off the lead after the first round, and he followed it up with a strong 68 in windy conditions. He is one of three players to shoot 68 or better in the opening two rounds. Morikawa came into the day at one under, and shot the round of the day as the only player to get around in 66.
One stroke back from the lead is a five-man group headlined by stars Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, along with American duo Hayden Buckley and Aaron Wise. Buckley and Wise were the two players along Dahmen to shoot back-to-back 68s.
Beau Hossler joined that group at four under thanks to a chip-in birdie on his final hole.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is part of the group at three under, and he shared the early clubhouse lead following a three-under 67. He is joined by Nick Hardy, Matthew NeSmith, Patrick Rodgers and Brian Harman to round out the top-10.
Overnight leader Adam Hadwin is a further shot back at two under with Sam Burns and Matt Fitzpatrick, while South Africa's M.J. Daffue – who was three strokes clear atop the leaderboard early in his round at six under – posted five bogeys and no birdies down the back nine to head into the weekend at one under.
Also at one under are hopefuls Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris, still well within striking distance, while Hideki Matsuyama and Brooks Koepka headline the group at even par.
Star-studded duo Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson are at one over, and the pair of Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau are at two over, one stroke clear of the cut-line.
Finishing right on the cut-line at three over was recent winner Lee Kyoung-hoon and Colombia's Sebastian Munoz, who has a pair of top-three finishes this season.
Plenty of big names missed the cut, with the international contingent of Spain's Sergio Garcia, Ireland's Shane Lowry, Chile's Mito Pereira and Canada's Corey Conners all one shot out at four over. Tony Finau finished five over, Cameron Smith was six over, and the pair of Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland were both at seven over.
Shot of the day
Cameron Young had a moment he will never forget when he conjured up a hole-in-one at the par-three sixth.
There were huge cheers after the American's dream tee shot at the 165-yard hole dropped in. Young was unable to make the cut – missing out by one stroke – but not without achieving a rare feat.
Player of the day - Collin Morikawa
Morikawa produced the round of the day to ensure he is the man to catch heading into the weekend.
The two-time major winner was not at his brilliant best, but five birdies and just the one bogey at the par-five fourth putting him in the lead.
Chipping in
Morikawa: "No one has taken it deep so far and kind of run away, but you know what, right now my game feels really good. The last few days is a huge confidence booster for me heading into this weekend, and hopefully we can kind of make some separation somehow."
Scheffler: "I've been number one in the world for a while now, and it doesn't really feel like it, so I kind of like just under the radar. I can show up and do my thing and then go home and rest."
A little birdie told me...
- Young's ace was the 48th in US Open history.
- Nick Hardy and M.J. Daffue emerged from the Springfield, Ohio qualifying. They both held a share of the lead on Friday.
- Scheffler is bidding to become only the second player to win this major while world number one since the Official World Golf Rankings began in 1986. Tiger Woods (2000, 2002 and 2008) is the only man to achieved that.
- Matthew Fitzpatrick is looking to emulate Jack Nicklaus by winning the US Amateur and US Open on the same course.
After 33 seasons leading the Davidson College men’s basketball program, Bob McKillop is retiring from coaching.
Davidson announced the news one day after the program’s most famous alumnus—Stephen Curry—led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA championship in eight years.
Curry was among those who voiced appreciation for McKillop’s accomplished career on social media.
“Love you Coach!” Curry said on Twitter. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way.”
McKillop, 71, is among the top 60 coaches all-time at the NCAA Division I level with 634 career wins.
McKillop coached the Wildcats to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run with Curry in 2008, ending in a two-point loss to the eventual national champions, Kansas.
Davidson was 27-7 last season, including a 15-3 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, leading to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
McKillop was named his conference’s coach of the year 11 times, twice in the A-10 and nine times in the Southern Conference.
Last season, McKillop became the 10th coach in Division I history to coach at least 1,000 career games at one school.
McKillop’s son, Matt, who played on Davidson’s 2006 NCAA Tournament team and has been serving as an assistant, will be the program’s next head coach.
After 33 seasons leading the Davidson College men’s basketball program, Bob McKillop is retiring from coaching.
Davidson announced the news one day after the program’s most famous alumnus—Stephen Curry—led the Golden State Warriors to a fourth NBA championship in eight years.
Curry was among those who voiced appreciation for McKillop’s accomplished career on social media.
“Love you Coach!” Curry said on Twitter. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, my family, Davidson and every person you’ve impacted along the way.”
McKillop, 71, is among the top 60 coaches all-time at the NCAA Division I level with 634 career wins.
McKillop coached the Wildcats to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run with Curry in 2008, ending in a two-point loss to the eventual national champions, Kansas.
Davidson was 27-7 last season, including a 15-3 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference, leading to an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
McKillop was named his conference’s coach of the year 11 times, twice in the A-10 and nine times in the Southern Conference.
Last season, McKillop became the 10th coach in Division I history to coach at least 1,000 career games at one school.
McKillop’s son, Matt, who played on Davidson’s 2006 NCAA Tournament team and has been serving as an assistant, will be the program’s next head coach.
Dustin Johnson is confident his decision to join the LIV Golf Invitational Series will not hamper his chances of winning more major titles.
Johnson made a promising start to the U.S. Open with a first round of 68 at The Country Club on Thursday, but followed that up with a three-over second round of 73.
The former world number one is playing in his homeland this week for the first time since he sensationally quit the PGA Tour to join the controversial Saudi-backed breakaway circuit.
Johnson does not believe his defection from the PGA Tour, and the consequence of not playing as many tournaments against the best players in the world, will make him less of a force at majors.
Asked how sharp he thinks he will remain by playing on the LIV Tour, the American said: "Just as sharp as I would playing anywhere."
Johnson is in no doubt he made the right by call by signing up to LIV Golf.
"Yeah, obviously it was a tough decision, but I feel very confident in the decision I made," he said. "Yeah, I'm definitely happy and looking forward to obviously this weekend and the rest of the events this year."
The 37-year-old says he has not experienced any hostility from the crowds in Brookline, Massachusetts this week.
He said: "No, fans have been great. Obviously, this is a good sports town, and a lot of people come out and support the event."
Johnson was in a share of 27th place on one over with the second round still ongoing when his compatriot Joel Dahmen moved into the lead on five under through eight holes.
Scottie Scheffler is happy to stay "under the radar" after giving himself a great chance to win the U.S. Open with an excellent second round.
Two months after winning his maiden major title at the Masters, Scheffler is in firmly in contention at the halfway mark at The Country Club.
The world number one carded a three-under 67 in Brookline, Massachusetts on Friday to move into the top 10 on the leaderboard.
Scheffler went out in 35, but responded from back-to-back bogeys with three birdies and the highlight of his round came when he chipped in for an eagle three at the 14th.
The American is in the hunt for a fifth PGA Tour title this season, but does not feel he is in the spotlight despite being the best player in the world.
He said: "I feel like I'm kind of an under-the-radar person. I don't really feel like there's much chatter going around with me. Rory [McIlroy] won last week, Tiger [Woods] was at the PGA.
"I've been number one in the world for a while now, and it doesn't really feel like it, so I kind of like just under the radar. I can show up and do my thing and then go home and rest."
Scheffler, who is three under for the tournament after starting with a 70, felt he was not far away from a "really special" second round - during which he held a share of the lead.
"I knew I was swinging at it well. I hit it really good yesterday, I hit it really good today," he added.
"Outside of a few putts going into the hole versus barely around it, today would have been a really special round, but it was still a really good one."
Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and Swede David Lingmerth held a share of the lead on five under through 10 and 11 holes respectively.
Coco Gauff reached the first grass-court semi-final of her career by beating Karolina Pliskova at the Berlin Open, teeing up a clash with top seed Ons Jabeur.
Having already recorded her best tour-level run on grass by reaching the final eight, Gauff recorded a superb 7-5 6-4 win over two-time grand slam finalist Pliskova.
Gauff – who reached her first grand slam final at Roland Garros last month, saved four set points in the opener before roaring to victory in one hour and 37 minutes, and was delighted to have overcome a tough opponent in the world number seven.
"I'm super happy with how I played today," Gauff said on court after the win. "Playing her on grass, with her serve, how flat she hits the ball, it was really tough to be honest.
"A first semi-final on grass is pretty cool, and also I feel like the opponents I've played this week haven’t been easy, especially today, so I'm proud of myself about that."
Gauff will face Jabeur for a spot in the final after the Tunisian fought back from one set down in a 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-2 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who entered the contest having won 26 matches during an impressive year.
The other semi-final will see Maria Sakkari face Belinda Bencic, after the world number six cruised to a 6-0 6-3 win over Daria Kasatkina and Bencic beat Veronika Kudermetova 3-6 6-3 6-3.
In the Birmingham Classic, meanwhile, Simona Halep raced to a 6-4 6-1 win over Katie Boulter to reach the final four, but third seed Camila Giorgi fell to a 6-3 6-2 loss to Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia, who has now won eight consecutive games on grass.
While that pair will face off in one of Saturday's semi-finals, eighth seed Zhang Shuai will face Sorana Cirstea in the other. Zhang overcame Dayana Yastremska 7-5 6-4 and sixth seed Cirstea beat Donna Vekic 5-7 6-3 6-4.
Daniil Medvedev ended his wait for a first win over Roberto Bautista Agut at the Halle Open as his impressive start to the grass-court season continued.
The world number one, who reached the final at 's-Hertogenbosch last week only to suffer a shock defeat to Tim van Rijthoven, had not beaten Bautista Agut in three previous matches.
But his duck against the Spaniard is over following a 6-2 6-4 win, which set up a semi-final meeting with Oscar Otte after the German saw off Karen Khachanov in three sets.
"I remember all the matches we had… He was playing some [great] tennis and it was tough for me to win," Medvedev said of his previous meetings with Bautista Agut.
"Today I had my plan, managed to keep it going. Definitely got more edge on the most important points, because he had more break points than me. It was not easy, and I'm happy to win."
Hubert Hurkacz, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, is also into the last four after edging Felix Auger-Aliassime in two tie-breaks and will face Nick Kyrgios, who beat Paulo Carreno Busta in straight sets.
Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini was victorious at the Stuttgart Open and is on course to go back-to-back at the Queen's Club Championships after seeing off Tommy Paul 6-4 6-2 to progress to the semi-finals.
Botic van de Zandschlup is his next opponent, the Dutchman overcoming Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2 6-4.
Meanwhile, Filip Krajinovic had to come from a set down to end Briton Ryan Peniston's run at the quarter-final stage, with his reward a meeting with former US Open champion Marin Cilic, a straight-sets victor over Emil Ruusuvori.
Stephen Curry is used to the feeling of winning. It is one that has defined his spectacular career. However, watching him to sink to the court in tears in the final seconds of the Golden State Warriors' Game 6 victory over the Boston Celtics, it was clear Curry was not used to being quite so overcome by triumph.
The Warriors' 103-90 win at TD Garden, sealed by Curry's 34-point blitz, secured their fourth NBA title in eight seasons and, as Golden State revelled in returning to the mountaintop, it was tough to disagree with co-owner Joe Lacob's assessment that this one was the most meaningful.
Curry's outpouring of emotion upon the final buzzer illustrated as such, the Warriors' hoisting of the Larry O'Brien Trophy capping a remarkable journey for a team many believed had reached the end of their time in the sun.
Two seasons ago, with Kevin Durant having departed for the Brooklyn Nets and Klay Thompson starting the first of two injury-enforced seasons on the sideline following the torn ACL he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals series with the Toronto Raptors, the Warriors had the worst record in the league at 15-50, a hand injury suffered in the fourth game of the campaign severely restricting Curry's involvement.
There was agony in 2020-21 as an MVP calibre season from Curry ended with defeat in the play-in tournament, Thompson again a spectator, this time with a torn Achilles that kept him out until January 2022.
Even with Thompson's return on the horizon, few anticipated the core of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green to dazzle on the Finals stage in 2022, the Warriors' decision to hold on to the draft assets they accumulated rather than packaging them to acquire a fourth star met with scepticism in plenty of corners.
Those sceptics have now been silenced. While the faith in the blend of youth and experience and the unqualified success of the trade for former number one overall pick - and Golden State's second-best player in these Finals - Andrew Wiggins, played major roles in shutting up the critics, it was Curry who ultimately sealed the lips of Golden State's doubters.
Doubters have been a bewildering constant during Curry's career, even as he has blossomed into the greatest shooter in NBA history, one whose seemingly unlimited range has revolutionised the game of basketball.
Curry's resume has long since been sparkling and he has continued to embellish it. Prior to the Finals, he already had three NBA titles, two MVPs (the second of which made him the league's first unanimous winner) and the all-time record for three-pointers.
Still, there was never a shortage of observers who would respond to those list of achievements with "Yeah, but..."
"Yeah, but Kyrie Irving got hurt in 2015", "Yeah, but he won two rings after they signed Durant", "Yeah, but he doesn't have a Finals MVP".
Finally, the sceptics can no longer rely on their extremely pedantic excuses to deny Curry's position among the all-time greats, which is firmly secured after a Finals in which he was the dominant force.
Curry averaged 31.2 points per game, almost 10 full points more than his nearest challenger, Jayson Tatum (21.5), and his 31 three-pointers were comfortably the most by any player in the series. He averaged five assists per game - only Tatum (7) and Green (6.2) had more, while he was also third in average plus-minus (5.8). The two players ahead of him on the list, Kevon Looney (8) and Gary Payton II (7), averaged 21.7 and 18.6 minutes per game in the series respectively, Curry spent 37.5 minutes per game on the court.
The devastating offense provided by Curry, who supplements his devastating deep shooting by attacking the rim for lay-ups with the same remarkable consistency, was undoubtedly the decisive factor in the series. Indeed, Curry's production and the attention it forces defenses to commit to him had the Celtics bereft of ideas of how to stop the Warriors by Game 6, Golden State at one point in the first half going on a 21-0 scoring run that marked the longest in the last 50 years of Finals history.
Curry's 'gravity' cannot be overstated, the Warriors' supporting cast continuing to reap the benefits of the additional space the threat posed by their star point guard creates.
With Curry on the court in the Finals, the Warriors averaged 111.9 points per 100 possessions. That dipped to 90.1 points when he was off the floor. Their field goal percentage with Curry in the lineup was 47.1, compared to 34.9 with him on the bench.
Illustrating his effectiveness both beyond and inside the arc, the Warriors hit on 38.3 per cent of their three-point field goal attempts and averaged 42.2 points in the paint per 100 possessions with Curry in the team. Without him, they connected on 30.9 per cent of threes and put up 21.5 points in the paint per 100.
The Warriors' point differential in the Finals per 100 possessions with Curry on court was plus-7.6. In his absence, it was minus 6.2, a swing of 13.8 points in a series where Golden State's average margin of victory in their wins was... 13 points.
That plethora of evidence left Curry as the only, and indeed unanimous, selection for Finals MVP, moving him into exalted company.
Curry is the sixth player to have won four NBA titles, multiple league MVP awards and a Finals MVP. The other five are LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan. Among players to have won at least two titles, he is second for points averaged in championship-clinching games (32.5). Only Jordan (33.7) stands above him.
The territory Curry occupies is shared by undisputed basketball legends, and he knows his previous doubters now do not have the qualifiers with which to dispute his legacy.
"I hear all the narratives," Curry said. "You hear everything about what we [as a team] are and what we aren't, and what I am as a player and what I'm not. I have a hard time figuring out what they're going to say now, so this is pretty special."
The reasons used by those who sought to keep Curry out of the NBA's pantheon of all-time greats have always been dubious at best. Now, after a career-defining Finals performance, they are non-existent and, regardless of what else he achieves before he retires, his place is reserved for good.
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