Fitness athlete Avernell Modest is still basking in her third-place finish in the Bikini Class of the Inter-Island Bodybuilding Fitness and Physique Championships held at the Maho Casino Royale in St Maarten on July 3.
The Kansas City Chiefs and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. were unable to agree to a long-term contract, missing Friday’s deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign multi-year deals.
Brown will make $16.7million under the franchise tag in 2022, but his future beyond that remains unsure.
The Chiefs acquired Brown, 26, from the Baltimore Ravens last off-season, and he started 16 games last season protecting Patrick Mahomes' blindside.
According to reports, the Chiefs had offered Brown a six-year contract that could be worth over $131m, but Brown’s agent, Michael Portner, balked at the lack of guarantees, especially late in the deal.
"We got really close," Portner told NFL Network. "We enjoyed dealing with the Chiefs and we understand their position as well. I'm not gonna let these athletes sign a flashy contract without the substance or security there."
NFL Network previously reported that Brown would not report to the beginning of the Chiefs’ minicamp on July 26, but Brown has yet to declare his intentions.
The stand-off between Brown and the Chiefs comes after long-time right tackle Mitchell Schwartz announced his retirement due to complications from a lingering back injury.
Cameron Smith set a 36-hole St Andrews Open Championship record but predicts a "brutal" test in the third round.
The Australian started Friday three shots back of first-round leader Cameron Young but held the clubhouse lead after reaching 13-under for the tournament thanks to blemish-free second-round 64.
Smith opened with three birdies before adding another trio to go six-under through the first 10 holes.
The Players Championship victor managed pars on his next three holes, before sinking a remarkable long-range putt to eagle the 14th.
Rory McIlroy and Paul Broadhurst's Old Course low-round Open record of 63 appeared in danger, but Smith closed with four pars to finish eight-under for the second round.
Smith still managed to set the 36-hole record at a St Andrews Open, having taken just 131 strokes across his first two rounds, with 132 having been achieved on three occasions before Friday.
While Smith will head into the weekend leading the final major of the year, he expects a tough challenge with a later tee time on Saturday.
"I think being off late again tomorrow afternoon it's obviously going to be a bit firmer, more like the first day, I would say," he told reporters.
"So I would say it's going to be pretty brutal out there. I think there's going to be a few more gnarly pins, and I think being smart is definitely going to be the key to staying at the top of the leaderboard."
Smith remains in search of a major maiden win, with his best finish coming at The Masters in a tie for second in 2020, and believes his patience will again be key with tricky conditions and slow play on the course.
"I think just being patient. I obviously got off to a really hot start and it's very easy to just keep going, getting on the front foot and maybe trying to hit some shots that are a little bit too aggressive," he added.
"But I just stayed patient and holed some really nice putts. I don't think we can really do anything about [the slow play], to be honest, the way the course is set up.
"I'm a really impatient person. Everyone that knows me hates me for it. So I have to try my best out there to be really patient, with the pace of play, and with the golf course as well."
Smith is no stranger to being in contention at a major, having finished in the top five on five occasions across The Masters, U.S. Open, US PGA Championship and The Open.
While appreciating the historic occasion of the 150th Open, Smith insists he will not get caught up in the moment as he prioritises treating every round the same.
"It's obviously a really good spot to be in. I feel like I've been in this spot a lot over the past couple of years, and things just haven't quite gone my way yet," he continued.
"But like I said before, I've just got to be really patient over the weekend. I think the golf course is going to get a lot harder and a lot faster. So just be patient and make good putts.
"I think I've always done a pretty good job of just treating every round the same. I think it's going to be a really cool experience being out there. It has been this whole week.
"But I've always done a really good job of just doing the same thing, going through the same process every morning, making sure I feel the same – get on the range, hit the same shots. It's very boring, but it does the trick."
When prized free agent Johnny Gaudreau chose to sign a massive deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday, the hockey world was stunned by the news.
But Gaudreau himself did not give the decision a second thought, signing for seven years and $68million.
"I wanted to come here. This was always a place circled on my list," Gaudreau said during his introductory news conference.
The Blue Jackets have developed a reputation with some in NHL circles as struggling to retain talent after trading away young core players like Seth Jones and Cam Atkinson, and Gaudreau addressed those concerns head-on.
"I'm not really sure about any other players. We're not talking about why people don't want to be at Columbus; it's not a topic in the locker room," he said.
"For me, I just heard so many great things from former players, and it made me feel really comfortable with my decision to come here."
Since their inception in 2000, Columbus have never won a division crown and have yet to play in a Conference final series. The Blue Jackets missed the playoffs last season with a 37-38-7 record.
"I think there's a lot of potential," the 28-year-old winger said. "I thought it was a good spot for me personally. We can have a lot of success here.
"They've got good players on this team. And I'm really looking forward to jumping in with this group. I've heard a lot of great things.
"They're a close-knit group, and that's who you want to play with are guys who get along in the locker room and love coming to the rink and working together every single day, and it's just a healthy environment to be around, and that's exciting to me."
Gaudreau spent the beginning of his career with the Calgary Flames, tallying 609 points (210 goals, 399 assists) in 602 games. He set career highs with 40 goals and 75 assists last season.
A New Jersey native, Gaudreau had been linked to teams in the U.S. Northeast, including the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, before ultimately choosing Columbus.
Emily Mayne enjoyed an excellent second day at the IMG Academy Junior World Golf Championships in the United States of America on Thursday.
Maybe carded a three-under-par 69 to move from 40th into a tie for eighth place and just two shots off the lead. The Jamaican teen has an overall score of 141 after shooting a 72 in the opening round.
Kelli Ann Strand of the USA was atop the leaderboard with scores of 71 and 68 for an overall score of 139.
Aman Dhiman is the other Jamaican at the championships. He is also competing in the 15-18 age group. He scored nine over par 81 and is tied at 158th at the end of the second round with a total score of 160.
Japan’s Taisha Motto leads with an overall score of 10 under par 134 (68, 66) after two rounds.
The championship, held at the Torrey Pines - South Golf Course in California, ends on Friday.
Both golfers have had a busy season. Recently, they competed at the 34th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships in Puerto Rico where Mayne topped the Under 18 age group - a first for any Jamaican female golfer.
As soon as they return from the current championships they will head off to the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships (for seniors) in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar eased off in their tussle for the yellow jersey on Friday, as Mads Pedersen won stage 13 of the Tour de France in style.
Having been involved in an early breakaway lodged by Filippo Ganna, Pedersen stuck at the front of the race on the 193 kilometre route from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Saint-Etienne.
And he made the vital move at just the right time, attacking with 12km remaining, splitting the six-man breakaway in two and leaving him up against Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Hugo Houle (Israel–Premier Tech).
Trek–Segafredo rider Pedersen attacked just as the peloton stopped racing further back, with Jumbo-Visma – protecting the yellow jersey of Vingegaard and the green jersey of Wout van Aert – INEOS Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates comfortable enough to take a steady approach after successive days of hard riding in the mountains.
Having been denied victory in his native Denmark in the opening three stages, Pedersen always looked good to go on and end his wait for a Grand Tour stage win, and he did so in style, executing another perfectly timed effort during the final sprint to ensure he was able to celebrate while he crossed the line.
"It's incredible to finally take a win," the 26-year-old said. "I knew the shape was really good and I definitely missed out on the opportunities in the first week.
"In the last two weeks of this race there's not a lot of chances for a guy like me.
"So to take the chance today and get the reward is really nice, not only for me but for the whole team. We came here with riders only for stages and now we have one, so it's such a relief."
Van Aert came over in seventh, easily winning a bunch sprint at the front of the GC group, to further consolidate his grip on the green jersey.
Wright idea, but not enough power for Fred
It was a spirited ride from 23-year-old Wright, who kept on Pedersen's wheel right until the end.
"I was trying to get Mads to do some of the work at the end, but it's hard man, I just didn't quite have it over the top of that kicker," Wright told ITV Sport. "All I could do was hug the wheel, I was surprised I didn't get dropped to be honest."
As for his tactics in the sprint, Wright added: "I don't know, to be honest, I was just going to try and surprise him."
Wright hit a top speed of 59km/h in the final 1,000 metres, whereas Pedersen clocked in at 59.2km/h.
STAGE RESULTS
1. Mads Pedersen (Trek–Segafredo) 4:13:03
2. Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) same time
3. Hugo Houle (Israel–Premier Tech) same time
4. Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) +0:30
5. Matteo Jorgensen (Movistar) +0:30
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 50:47:34
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) +2:22
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:26
Points Classification
1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 333
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 164
3. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 155
King of the Mountains
1. Simon Geschke (Cofidis) 43
2. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) 39
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 36
An emotional Tiger Woods conceded he is unlikely to play The Open at St Andrews again after missing the cut at the 150th edition of golf's oldest major on Friday.
The 15-time major winner carded a second-round 75 to sit nine over par, well short of the projected cut mark at the home of golf.
Woods was desperate to compete in this landmark tournament after his career was nearly ended by a car crash in February last year, and he admitted this was probably his final outing at an Open on the famous links.
It was fitting, then, that the 46-year-old – who has twice lifted the Claret Jug at the Fife course – was given a stunning ovation as he concluded his round, which left him with tears in his eyes.
"It's very emotional for me. I've been coming here since 1995... I think the next one comes around in what, 2030? I don't know if I will be physically able to play by then," he said.
"So to me it felt like this might have been my last British Open here at St Andrews. And the fans, the ovation and the warmth, it was an unbelievable feeling.
"I understand what Jack [Nicklaus] and Arnold [Palmer] had gone through in the past. I was kind of feeling that way there at the end – just the collective warmth and understanding. They understand what golf's all about and what it takes to be an Open champion.
"I've been lucky enough and fortunate enough to have won this twice here, and it felt very emotional.
"I just don't know what my health is going to be like. And I feel like I will be able to play future British Opens, but I don't know if I'll be able to play that long enough that when it comes back around here, will I still be playing?"
Woods admitted he was choked up by the response of the fans and his fellow professionals, including Rory McIlroy.
"As I walked further along the fairway, I saw Rory right there," he said. "He gave me the tip of the cap.
"It was a pretty cool, the nods I was getting from guys as they were going out and I was coming in, just the respect, that was pretty neat. And from a players' fraternity level, it's neat to see that and feel that.
"And then as I got closer to the green, more into the hole, the ovation got louder and you could feel the warmth and you could feel the people from both sides. It felt like the whole tournament was right there.
"I had a few tears. I'm not one who gets very teary-eyed very often about anything.
"I put my heart and soul into this event over the years and I think the people have appreciated my play in the event. I've won it three times.
"Life moves on and I think that's what people understand, and they knew my circumstances this year, of just playing, period.
"I was very lucky to have had a great team around me to get me to where I was physically able to play three times this year and very thankful to all of them for getting me to this spot."
Scottie Scheffler hailed Tiger Woods' resilience despite the golf great enduring an Open Championship to forget at St Andrews.
Woods carded a disappointing,six-over par 78 in his first round on Thursday, leaving himself with plenty to do to make the weekend.
The 15-time major winner could not muster up a good enough second round, however, with his 75 meaning he missed the cut at nine over. He appeared to be wiping away tears as he received a huge ovation from the crowd on his way to the 18th hole on what could be his last professional visit to the home of golf.
Scheffler had no such issues as the 2022 Masters champion carded 68, meaning he was one shot off the lead when he headed to the clubhouse.
When it was put to Scheffler that Woods might well have made his final Open appearance at St Andrews, the world number one was quick to stress the resilience the 46-year-old has shown across his career, not least to return to top-level golf after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash in February 2021.
Scheffler told reporters: "I don't know if this will be Tiger's last one here. He may have spoken about it a bit.
"But he's a pretty resilient guy and he loves to compete. We'll see what he has in store for us the next few years.
"Any time you can see that guy out on the golf course, especially the Old Course, it's really special. For us as players, to have him around is pretty cool.
"When he got in that car wreck, didn't know if we'd have him back. Just to have him out here playing golf is pretty special for all of us."
Woods was the last player to win both the Masters and The Open in the same year – back in 2005 – though Scheffler is well in the hunt to achieve that feat in 2022.
"No, to be honest with you, I'm just here trying to do my best and put myself in position," the 26-year-old replied when asked if he had thought about such an achievement.
"Thinking about prior wins isn't going to help me play good this week. Just trying to stay in the moment and hit some good shots."
That composure and mentality is something Scheffler is planning to take into his final two rounds.
"For me, just coming in like I usually do and try to do my best, not overthink things and focus on the task at hand," he said.
Dustin Johnson has no plans to revisit memories of his 2015 St Andrews collapse after taking the lead at the 150th Open Championship.
The former world number one shot a second-round 67 to move to nine under and top of the leaderboard.
Johnson conceded he was unlikely to remain at the summit come the end of the day, but he will be out to avoid a repeat of his weekend slump at the home of golf seven years ago.
Back then, the American held the 36-hole lead but carded consecutive 75s to fall well short, and he was not keen to dig that out of the memory bank following Friday's fine showing.
"To be honest, I don't even remember the third round from seven years ago," he said. "I've played a lot of golf since then, and that was a long time ago.
"Obviously any time playing in a major and playing golf courses, you learn stuff about yourself, but that was quite a while ago.
"I don't want to go back to it, obviously. It wasn't very good."
Johnson is now waiting to see how the weather will impact his strategy for the weekend as he eyes a third major and first Open title.
"Once I see what the wind direction is and we get the pins later, we kind of go through and map out a game plan," he said.
"It's all based on the wind how you attack the golf course and kind of where you hit it and where you want to hit it.
"I feel like I'm swinging well. Obviously, it's just avoiding the bunkers as much as possible. It's really hard not to hit it in one of the bunkers. I've been in three so far, and two of them I had to chip out sideways, and the other one I had a shot.
"If I can just keep out of the bunkers and just keep playing kind of smart golf where, when I have a good number and a club that I can get it close to the hole, I can be aggressive. But when not, just kind of hit it to 30, 40 feet and try to two-putt."
World number one Scottie Scheffler's 68 kept him within one of the lead, while Tyrrell Hatton's 66 also had him at eight under.
Adam Scott, playing alongside Johnson, signed for a 65 to seven under, with Rory McIlroy a further stroke back ahead of his 14:59 BST (local time) tee-off.
After early rain, conditions have been proving favourable for low scoring, but Tiger Woods was primed to miss the cut after moving to seven over through 15 holes on Friday.
England head coach Eddie Jones has called for World Rugby to take action and stop the "incessant" interventions from the television match official (TMO) during matches.
Jones' side beat Australia 25-17 last weekend in a second Test that saw 26 penalties, two yellow cards and the TMO heavily involved throughout.
The contest spanned almost two hours, while Ireland's victory over New Zealand on the same day saw three yellows and a red dished out in the first half alone in Dunedin.
Speaking on the back of his side's victory in Brisbane that levelled up the three-match series, Jones said rugby union's laws are now "out of control".
And in his final news conference ahead of Saturday's decisive third Test in Sydney, Jones went one step further by urging the sport's top governing body to intervene now.
"I don’t want to see a New Zealand-Ireland game like that ever again," Jones said.
"Otherwise imagine at the next World Cup … you play a quarter-final, you get a red card and two yellows, you're down to 12 men and it's just ridiculous.
"I've been speaking to a few ex-coaches. The referees, coaches and players need to get together and say 'This is the game we want. This is the game people want to see'.
"I'm certainly going to be pushing for it because I've had enough."
The issues previously raised by Jones were further highlighted on Wednesday in the thrilling and high-tempo State of Origin decider.
"We've got to keep the game safe, don't get me wrong, but accidental head contact and this incessant use of the TMO, we've got to cut that out," Jones added.
"We've got to get a better balance in the game. There's a rhythm to how rugby is looked at and officiated and we've got to get in a good rhythm again.
"We don't have it at the moment. Every time we get a flow in the game, there's a stoppage.
"We've just gone too far down one road. There are discussions all the time and World Rugby are doing their best.
"But certainly before November I'm going to be agitating for something like [a summit]. Let's get the game going."
The Kansas City Royals overcame the absences of 10 unvaccinated players beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on the road on Thursday night.
Foreign nationals who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 are not allowed to enter Canada, while unvaccinated MLB players are not among the limited exemptions that also require a 14-day quarantine.
Many teams have been affected by the restrictions this season, but the Royals had a far bigger contingent than other MLB teams to this point, with a subsequent slew of promotions from the minor leagues to compensate.
Double-A callup Angel Zerpa pitched five innings to claim his first win as a starter in the major leagues, allowing only four hits despite only striking out two batters over 73 pitches.
With 2022 All-Star Andrew Benintendi unavailable, Bobby Witt Jr. hit the tie-breaking home run off Kevin Gausman in the fifth inning, before Nate Eaton added another in the closing frame.
Carrasco helps keep Cubs to zero
Carlos Carrasco was again in impressive form for the New York Mets, as they claimed an 8-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Carrasco allowed only one runner to advance past first base in six solid innings, striking out six and allowing five hits over 90 pitches, before Trevor Williams closed out the final three innings for his first save in the major leagues.
Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso scored home runs in the sixth and eighth innings respectively to cap off the win, maintaining the Mets' 2.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, while moving to within three games of the NL-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
Pena propels Astros to win in Anaheim
Jeremy Pena drove in the game-winning run for the Houston Astros as they went into an extra inning, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 3-2.
The Astros effectively had to do it without eight-time All-Star selection Jose Altuve, who exited the game with a bruised left leg after he was hit with Reid Detmers' first pitch of the game.
Houston moved to within 3.5 games of the American League-leading New York Yankees, extending their record for the season to 58-30.
England head coach Eddie Jones returned serve at Australia's Nic White, who said he was expecting more off-the-ball "niggle" in Saturday's deciding Test in Sydney, describing the Wallabies scrum-half as "the biggest niggler of all time".
With one win apiece both teams are out to secure victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground to decide the three-game series and the preceding two games have set up what should be a fiery encounter.
The Wallabies' Darcy Swain was suspended for a headbutt in the first Test, before cameras caught England prop Ellis Genge driving his elbow into White, as the latter was lying face-down on the ground in the second encounter.
White addressed the situation, asserting that Genge leaning on him was a diplomatic way of putting it, before Jones laughed off his implication about the front-rower.
"He’s got plenty to say. I hardly think he’s entitled to make that comment," the England coach said. "He’s the biggest niggler of all time.
"That makes me laugh. The boy from Queanbeyan who niggles everyone, complaining about niggle. That's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.
"Obviously he thinks that and his perception is reality, so he's got a funny way of looking at reality. He's just trying to look for something."
Australian captain Michael Hooper cited White's competitiveness to brush off Jones' comments ahead of the Wallabies' captain's run, but added the series had ultimately been played in a competitive but fair spirit.
"Whitey is just obsessed with rugby," he said. "The guy is an absolute footy nerd. He just wants to play. He's as competitive as you'll see. Most half-backs are. He'll be doing his usual thing tomorrow.
"It's been competitive and enjoyable. Both teams just want to win and we get a chance to see that tomorrow.
"[I am] expecting [niggle] to be an element in tomorrow's game but ultimately tomorrow is all about who is up on the scoreboard and who can do it for longer."
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is hoping his side can provide "chaos" and bring doubt into the minds of New Zealand players ahead of their series-deciding Test this Saturday.
Farrell's side has a chance to claim an historic series win in Wellington, after Ireland's first-ever triumph over the All Blacks in New Zealand last Saturday, with a 23-12 victory in Dunedin.
Notwithstanding the win-loss record, New Zealand has been an otherwise perilous place for touring Irish sides, with three of their seven-heaviest defeats coming there –including a 60-0 defeat in Hamilton in 2012.
The gravity of the occasion is not lost on Farrell, who is looking for his team to rise to it, which could then potentially build pressure on the hosts.
"It really doesn’t get any better for us," he said. "We’ve talked about playing against the All Blacks when their backs are against the wall or they’ve come off a loss and we know what the history says about all that.
"But that’s exactly where we want to be. We know they will be hurting, we know that they bounce back unbelievably strong. We’ve played them enough times now to realise what’s coming. Everyone realises the size of the task in hand but there’s a lot of excitement in being able to deal with that.
"We’ll see whether there is that much improvement needed because we’re in control as well as them. They’ve got a plan, but it’s up to us to make sure we bring a bit of chaos to that plan. We’ve got to make sure that we put a bit of doubt in the All Blacks' minds as the game goes."
Meanwhile, All Blacks head coach Ian Foster is relishing the challenge and pressure.
The 57-year-old has responded to the Dunedin loss by recalling Sam Whitelock after his concussion, as well as tighthead prop Nepo Laulala, while winger Will Jordan has been added to the starting XV.
"It’s tough having a loss but the tough weeks are often the most exciting," he told the All Blacks' website.
"A series decider against a high-quality side is a great occasion for our growth as a team."
The Phoenix Suns have immediately matched the four-year, $133million offer sheet that the Indiana Pacers presented center Deandre Ayton in restricted free agency.
With Ayton being a restricted free agent, it meant the Suns would reserve the right to match any offer Ayton agreed to with another team, and it appears it was their plan all along to test if the market would actually view the former number one draft pick as a max contract player.
Ayton's representatives believed all along that they would be able to get a max offer sheet in restricted free agency, and they were proven right as the Suns tried to call their bluff. The Pacers' offer was the largest in the history of restricted free agency negotiations, trumping Otto Porter Jr's four-year, $107m deal in 2017.
It is unknown if the Suns could have signed him for a cheaper price, as ESPN's report claims the franchise made no offer to Ayton in the interim, likely in the hope that the limited amount of teams with cap space would mean they could match a more palatable offer sheet.
The Suns center is one of just nine players to average at least 15 points and 10 rebounds since he entered the league four seasons ago, while shooting just a hair under 60 per cent from the field for his career.
He will make $30m in the upcoming season, slightly escalating each year to eventually reach $35m in 2025-26.
Since the Suns opted to play out the process through restricted free agency, it now means Ayton will have significantly more control of any potential trades he could be involved in for the next year.
He is unable to be traded before January 15, and even after that he will have veto powers until the end of the season. Due to the Pacers presenting an offer sheet, they will be unable to trade for Ayton for at least one year.
Collin Morikawa knows it will be difficult to surpass the reception Rory McIlroy received at St Andrews after the world number two's fantastic start to the 150th Open Championship.
McIlroy will head into day two of the tournament just two shots behind leader Cameron Young after carding an excellent round of 66, in which he shot only one bogey.
The Northern Irishman won the Open in 2014, but missed out on the chance to defend his title at St Andrews a year later because of an ankle injury.
Yet he so far looks good to compete for winning his first major in eight years, and his fifth overall, with the 33-year-old receiving plenty of support from the crowd in Scotland.
When asked about the crowd reaction to McIlroy, Morikawa told reporters: "You hear your specks of Collin and specks of Xander, but it's hard to beat Rory."
McIlroy has been seen as something of a leader when it comes to speaking out against the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which has caused a divide across golf, with several elite players choosing to join the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway competition.
Morikawa has also stood by the PGA Tour, though he is pleased to have McIlroy leading the charge.
He said: "I think you know all the guys that have spoke about the PGA Tour. We've all kind of said what we believe. Look, we all support each other.
"That's the biggest thing is like we're all here to play in the PGA Tour and do what we do."
Morikawa and McIlroy played together on the Sunday of the Masters, when the latter shot eight under to make a late charge only to come up short to world number one Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy has enjoyed top-10 finishes in each of the previous three majors this season, and Morikawa believes he is competing against a player close to the top of their game.
Morikawa explained: "I mean, Augusta was near flawless. I'm trying to remember if he made even a bogey, I don't think he did.
"Today was a really solid round of golf. Didn't make any errors, hit it in the right spots.
"Overall, it was awesome. That's what I need the next three days if I want to get myself in the tournament."
Morikawa himself could only manage to shoot par for the day, meaning he has much work to do if he plans on retaining his title.
Disappointed with his performance, Morikawa remarked: "I just gave too many shots away on the greens, and it sucks. Sometimes you have those days.
"Today was just hit some good drives and hit a bad second shot, hit some good second shots, hit a bad putt. Never got any momentum going."
"This place is very special, for a lot of reasons. There's so much thinking to this golf course that it's great.
"I think that fits into what I like to do, but at the same time, you've got to execute. And if you don't execute, it's only a game plan."
Dominic Thiem declared he is "definitely back" after reaching the Swedish Open quarter-finals, while Hall of Fame Open favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime crashed out in the second round.
Thiem earned his first tour-level win in 14 months by downing Emil Ruusuvuori on his Bastad debut, before reaching his first quarter-final of the season by overcoming Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.
The Austrian battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4 victory over the fourth-seeded Bautista Agut, picking up his first top-20 win since beating Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in 2020.
Sebastian Baez, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets, awaits in the next round and former world number three Thiem is ready for the task.
"The win against Emil gave me confidence that I can compete against the best players in the world and today against Roberto," said Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion.
"He is always such a tough opponent. I was expecting and hoping it would be a close match. Then when I won the first set in the tie-break I said 'Hey, I can win today.'
"I had the belief until the end of the match and the third set was really good. It is a process. I beat Ruusuvuori and today I beat Bautista Agut.
"Two really top opponents, so if I can beat them I am definitely back. I am into the quarters of a really strong tournament, so I am happy. It is a process, but I am going the right way."
Second seed Andrey Rublev was made to work for his 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-2) victory over Federico Coria and will meet Laslo Djere, who defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime resumed his match with Jason Kubler in Newport that was suspended due to bad light on Wednesday with a slight advantage but fell to a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-4) second-round loss.
That marked a first top-10 victory for Kubler, continuing his fine 2022 season that saw him achieve his best major result at Wimbledon, where he reached the fourth round at the All England Club.
Fourth seed Maxime Cressy is yet to drop his serve at the tournament but needed to survive a first-set scare against fellow American Steve Johnson to triumph 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-4.
Second favourite John Isner will meet Cressy in the semi-finals after battling past fifth seed Benjamin Bonzi 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5).
Tiger Woods bemoaned his lack of luck and failures with the putter after carding an error-strewn first-round 78 at the 150th Open Championship.
Woods, who missed the U.S. Open, spoke glowingly of the Old Course in the build-up to the season's final major at St Andrews, where he has won two of his three Claret Jugs, but the 46-year-old came unstuck despite favourable conditions on Thursday.
Cameron Young shot the lowest round of the day with his eight-under 64, while Rory McIlroy is two shots back after finishing on six-under.
Yet Woods struggled with the pace of the greens and never recovered from a double-bogey on the first hole, where he found the burn protecting the green after his tee shot stuck in a fairway divot.
The 15-time major winner was honest in his appraisal after his round, conceding his short game left much to be desired.
"It was probably highest score I could have shot. I didn't get off to a great start," he told reporters.
"I hit a good tee shot down one, ended up right in the middle of a fresh divot and I hit a good shot, wind gusts hit it and ended up in the burn, and start off with a six.
"I think I had maybe four or five three-putts today. I just wasn't very good on the greens and every putt I left short.
"I struggled with hitting the putts hard enough. They looked faster than what they were putting, and I struggled with it. Here you really don't have as much control. They were quick.
"The greens were very firm but slow and it's an interesting combo, we weren't exactly speed demons out there either.
"The whole round took a long time, and we were getting waved up. And it was a long, slow day."
Indeed, Woods' round took more than six hours alongside Max Homa and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, with the trio teeing off at 14:59 BST and finishing at 21:07.
While Woods reiterated his disappointment with his putting, he insists that the element of luck has balanced out throughout his career.
"In a round sometimes it just goes that way. It just goes one way and it never seems to come back, no matter how hard you fight," he added.
"Then I compounded problems, as I said, with my bad speed on the greens. I hit the ball in the correct spots a couple times, left myself some good lag putts, the correct angles and I messed those up.
"I think just the total score [was a disappointment]. It feels like I didn't really hit it that bad. Yes, I did have bad speed on the greens, yes.
"But I didn't really feel like I hit it that bad but I ended up in bad spots, or just had some weird things happen and that's just the way it goes. Links is like that and this golf course is like that."
Despite a frustrating return to the home of golf, Woods enjoyed playing at St Andrews once more, where he says the walk was less difficult than at the other two majors he has played this year.
"It was a lot easier today, physically, than it has been the other two events, for sure," said Woods, who almost saw his career end after suffering multiple leg injuries in a car crash in February 2021.
"All things considered, where I've been, I was hoping I could play this event this year. Looking at it at the beginning of the year, end of last year when I was rehabbing, trying to see if I could do it, but somehow I was able to play two of the major championships in between then and now, which was great.
"But this was always on the calendar to hopefully be well enough to play it and I am, I just didn't do a very good job of it!"
Woods faces an uphill task to make the cut for the weekend in what could be his final St Andrews appearance at The Open, but he knows what will be required on Friday.
"Looks like I'm going to have to shoot 66 tomorrow to have a chance," he continued. "So obviously it has been done. Guys did it today.
"That's my responsibility tomorrow is to go ahead and do it, I need to do it."
Restricted free agent (RFA) center Deandre Ayton has agreed to a maximum four-year, $133million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday.
Ayton’s current team, the Phoenix Suns, will have 48 hours to decide whether to match the offer – the largest RFA offer in league history – or allow him to leave without compensation.
The top overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, Ayton has developed into a core player on a Suns team that reached the 2021 NBA Finals and led the league with 64 wins this past season. The soon-to-be 24-year-old is one of nine players to average 15 points and 10 rebounds per game over the last four seasons (minimum 200 games played over that span).
Ayton’s future in Phoenix had come into question, however, after he was benched for much of the second half of the Suns’ Game 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals. Reports also surfaced that the Suns were reluctant to offer the Arizona product a maximum extension after just giving All-Star Devin Booker a four-year, $224 million supermax deal.
By agreeing to the offer sheet, Ayton has greatly restricted the possible avenues in which he could have left the Suns. He is now unable to be included in sign-and-trade deals this off-season, and if Phoenix decide to match – which they are expected to do – they will not be able to trade Ayton until January 15.
The Suns would also not be allowed to trade Ayton to the Pacers for at least a year, and Ayton would have the ability to veto any trade in the first year of the contract.
The previous largest offer sheet in NBA history was a four-year, $107m deal offered to former Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. by the Brooklyn Nets in 2017. The Wizards ultimately matched the offer.
In 236 career regular-season games, Ayton has averaged 16.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 59.9 percent from the field.
For comparison, the Dallas Mavericks selected Luka Doncic two picks after the Suns selected Ayton in the 2018 draft, and have since rewarded him with a five-year, $215m max extension.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
