Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald hit out at the USGA after amateur Gordon Sargent saw a putt at the US Open amazingly bounce out of the hole.
Sargent’s par attempt from two feet on the 18th hole in Sunday’s final round was struck perfectly into the centre of the cup, but leapt back out on to the green.
The 20-year-old was still guaranteed to finish as the leading amateur following a 69 which left him four over par, but Donald was not impressed with the tournament organisers.
“This is unacceptable! Does the @USGA go fix this mid round? This should never happen,” Donald wrote on Twitter.
The USGA said the bizarre situation had been caused by the hole being damaged by a player or caddie in the previous group of Ryan Gerard and Mackenzie Hughes.
“A member of the group ahead inadvertently adjusted the hole liner when removing the flagstick,” the USGA said. “Unfortunately, we were not informed of any damage. It has since been adjusted back into place.”
The Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards are close to completing a blockbuster trade that will send three-time All-Star Bradley Beal to Phoenix and veteran guard Chris Paul to Washington, ESPN reported Sunday.
Washington will also acquire guard Landry Shamet and multiple second-round picks, and the deal is also expected to include a swap of draft picks.
Beal's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to ESPN that the teams have a framework for a trade in place and his client will waive his no-trade clause.
"This was an extremely complicated process with so many different hurdles to get through, and [Wizards owner] Ted Leonsis and [Wizards president] Michael Winger were unbelievable partners in making this happen," Bartelstein said.
After missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, Beal now joins a star-laden Suns squad that figures to be among the preseason favourites in the Western Conference. The move gives Phoenix three of the league's 10 players to average 23 or more points per game in each of the last five seasons in Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Beal had spent his entire 11-year career with the Wizards, who selected the former University of Florida star with the third overall pick of the 2012 draft, and had shown great loyalty to a franchise that has failed to get past the first round of the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. He re-signed with Washington on a five-year, $251 million max contract last summer.
But with Beal turning 30 later this month and the Wizards coming off a 12th-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the sharpshooter had become more open to a trade.
"From the day that Ted drafted Brad he has been by our side along with [former general managers] Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard.," Bartelstein told ESPN. "They've always had Brad's back in every way, and now we have experienced the exact same thing with Ted and Michael Winger. We are extremely grateful."
Beal has averaged 23.2 points per game in each of the past two seasons but has been slowed by injuries in both, as he played in just 40 games in 2021-22 and 50 last season. He shot a career-high 50.6 per cent from the field in 2022-23, however, and is a career 37.2 per cent shooter from 3-point range who has averaged 22.1 points in 695 overall games.
It's unclear if the rebuilding Wizards intend to keep Paul. The 38-year-old's $30.8 million salary for 2023-24 is partially guaranteed, and ESPN reported it's possible the proposed trade could include a third team that would send Paul to a contender.
Shamet, a 38.8 per cent career 3-point shooter who has averaged 8.9 points per game over five NBA seasons, just completed the first season of a four-year, $42.5 million extension - though the final two years of that deal are non-guaranteed.
Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance in Canada on Sunday to match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories – and then promised to keep the good times rolling.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to beat Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of Formula One winners.
Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealing that his star driver completed the majority of Sunday’s 70-lap race with part of the animal lodged in his brake duct.
Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
“When I was a little kid driving go karts, I was dreaming about being an F1 driver and I would never had imagined I would win 41 grands prix,” said Verstappen, who also notched up Red Bull’s 100th victory in the sport.
“To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here. I hope we keep on winning more races.
“It is also a great achievement for the team. We knew this was the first opportunity to win 100 races. I am happy that is done, but I hope we will win more than 100 so the new target is 200.”
Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak.
Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel – rather than team-mate Sergio Perez who finished only sixth on another trying weekend for the Mexican – they have every chance.
Verstappen’s triumph – his fourth in succession – was all but sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane after he fended off a slow-starting Alonso.
Hamilton, who gazumped Alonso, set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds.
With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when George Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9.
Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs.
After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment.
The safety car came in five laps later and Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road.
Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane.
Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind. Russell raced back from last to eighth before he was forced to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear with 15 laps remaining.
Verstappen took the chequered flag 9.5 sec clear of Alonso. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams.
Tommy Fleetwood came agonisingly close to making major championship history as the battle for the 123rd US Open looked set to be an unusually low-scoring affair.
Fleetwood began the final round 12 shots off the lead, but carded a stunning closing 63 at Los Angeles Country Club to surge through the field.
And it could have been even better for the Ryder Cup star as he missed from five feet for birdie on the 18th.
That would have seen Fleetwood shoot the first 62 in the final round of a major, the record having been set by Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 Open and equalled by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele on Thursday.
Fleetwood birdied the second, holed from six feet for eagle after driving the green on the short par-four sixth and birdied the eighth and ninth to reach the turn in 30.
The back nine has played far tougher than the front all week, but Fleetwood hit a brilliant tee shot on the 295-yard 11th to set up another birdie and then holed from 20 feet for eagle on the 14th.
A bogey on the 16th looked to have ended his chances of a 62 until he hit a superb approach to the last, only for the birdie chance to go begging.
It is the second time Fleetwood has carded a 63 in the final round of the US Open – he also missed a short putt for a 62 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and finished a shot behind Brooks Koepka.
The semi-final match-ups have been set in the Suncorp Super Netball League after the top two teams lost on the weekend of the league.
The weekend results mean that Romelda Aiken George’s Swifts will take on Shamera Sterling’s Thunderbirds at Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday, June 24, the in the first of two semi-final clashes. The winner will face victor of the West Coast Fever/Melbourne Vixens clash at the RAC Arena on Sunday, June 25.
On Saturday, league leaders New South Wales Swifts fell victim to the Adelaide Thunderbirds who won the electrifying encounter 60-57 at the Ken Rosewall Arena. Thunderbirds led 32-29 at half-time but by the end of the third both teams were locked on 42 points apiece heading into the crucial fourth quarter.
Thunderbirds edged it taking the quarter 18-15 to seal victory.
Eleanor Cardwell scored 25 goals and Lucy Austin 16 for the Thunderbirds, who moved back into second place with their ninth win of the season and broke a nine-game winning streak by the Swifts for whom Romelda Aiken George scored 27 which included her 8000th goal in the league. Helen Housby supported with 11 goals.
Defending champions West Coast Fever slipped back to third after going down 65-62 Collingwood Magpies at the Silverdome to record their fifth loss of the season.
In her last match as a Magpie, Shimona Nelson scored 51 goals which proved to be enough to overcome the 53 scored by Fever’s Jhaniele Fowler and help script the franchise’s fairytale ending.
Meanwhile, the Sunshine Coast Lightning burned the Queensland Firebirds 66-60 and GIANTS defeated Melbourne Vixens 60-57.
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton sealed a second World Cup of Darts trophy for Wales with a clinical performance in their 10-2 victory over Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright in Frankfurt.
The 2020 champions had beaten Belgium in a nervy 8-7 thriller to reach the title decider against the Scots, who had eliminated German hosts Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler to set up the all-British final.
Price and Clayton quickly cruised to a 3-0 lead before Wright took out 93 to hold and secure the Scots’ first winning leg.
Victories in five successive legs for Price and Clayton, however, gave the Scottish duo a mountain to climb but they clawed back another leg win through Anderson’s 12-darter to make it 8-2.
That was the end of the celebrations for ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson and PDC world number two ‘Snakebite’ Wright, however, as Wales soon found themselves one away thanks to Clayton equalling his match-highest 116 checkout in the 11th.
Price was off-target in the 12th, missing three darts at double 18 before Clayton stepped up to seal the result.
The Iceman Price credited his team-mate for the win, telling Sky Sports: “Honestly I think I struggled a little bit in that game. Jonny was the one to pick our trophy up. He won it for us tonight.
“He was fantastic at scoring, checking out. I was there in between but he was clinical. Fair play to Jonny. What a player, absolute gentleman as well.
“It’s a difficult sport against the best players in the world week-in and week-out and to win by that margin is a little bit flattering. We’re thrilled to win and Jonny carried me tonight, so happy days.”
The Scots were still in good spirits as Anderson lavished praise on his opponents, though joked he might not feel so festive come the end of the year.
He said: “The Welsh have got a cracking darts team. We tried, and we’re not getting any younger bit we’ll still try.
“You’ve got Gerwyn, what he’s done in darts over the last few years and you’ve got the Ferret (Clayton) – I ain’t sending him no Christmas card this year.”
The final was a much smoother affair for the 2023 champions than their semi-final, which saw them narrowly evade a Belgian comeback.
Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts had already ensured there would be a new winner in the revamped tournament after ousting defending champions Australia to reach the last eight.
Price and Clayton, who lost to the Aussies in last year’s final, looked to have put the contest in cruise control when they were two legs from advancing at 6-3 but the Belgians rallied to force a deciding leg.
Scotland, meanwhile, dashed Clemens and Schindler’s dreams of reaching a fairy-tale final in front of the home support after the Germans had shocked England’s top-seeded Rob Cross and Michael Smith to advance with an 8-3 victory in the quarter-final.
Clemens and Schindler won three successive legs to make it 7-2 and it ultimately proved too significant a deficit for Cross and Smith to overcome.
Lewis Hamilton said he was honoured to be fighting two world champions after finishing behind Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso at the Canadian Grand Prix.
In his newly revamped Mercedes machine, Hamilton claimed his second podium in succession, a fortnight after he finished runner-up to Verstappen at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
“It is quite an honour to be up there with two world champions,” said Hamilton. “I was really excited to be third, and just trying to be in that mix.
“We didn’t have the pace today. We knew this would not be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the low-speed corners, and that was where I was losing time to Fernando and Max.
“But we are chipping away and I do believe we will get there at some stage. Our pace was better today so we are going in the right direction.”
Hamilton scored just one top-three finish in the opening six rounds of the year but the seven-time world champion will now head to the next round in Austria on July 2 with the momentum of two strong showings in Barcelona and Montreal.
The 38-year-old started third, and was up to second at the opening corner after he breezed past a slow-starting Alonso.
Hamilton kept ahead of Alonso at the first round of pit stops, but he could do little to prevent the evergreen Spaniard from regaining second place on lap 22 of 70.
“Aston Martin took a step ahead of us this weekend with their upgrades but we are working on bringing more upgrades to move forward,” added Hamilton.
“It is great to have this consistency and to be up on the podium.”
For Verstappen, the Red Bull man completed an emphatic lights-to-flag victory to finish 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso and move 69 points clear at the summit of the world championship.
It marked the Dutch driver’s 41st win in Formula One – to draw him level with triple world champion Ayrton Senna – and a century for Red Bull.
“To win the 100th grand prix for the team is incredible,” he said. “It is amazing and I never expected to be on these kind of numbers for myself, too.”
Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance to win the Canadian Grand Prix and match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories.
The Dutchman led every lap at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to draw level with Senna and extend his championship lead.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished runner-up, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell retired on lap 55 of 70 following an earlier prang with the wall.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari, with Sergio Perez sixth. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams.
Verstappen, who notched up Red Bull’s 100th win in Formula One, now leads Perez by 69 points on his unstoppable march to a hat-trick of titles.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry to emulate Senna and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners.
Verstappen was not even born when Senna won his 41st and final race at the 1993 season-ending Australian Grand Prix. Senna lost his life the following year in Imola following a fatal crash at the Tamburello curve, aged just 34.
Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak.
Indeed, Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel, they have every chance.
Verstappen’s triumph was sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane. Alonso was slow away from his marks, and Hamilton leapfrogged the green Aston Martin machine to take second spot.
Hamilton set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds.
With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9.
Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs.
After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment.
After five laps behind the safety car, Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road.
Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane.
Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind.
A second round of pit stops followed and Hamilton set about reeling Alonso in. But Russell’s race came to an end while running in eighth with 15 laps remaining when he was told to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear.
Alonso was also struggling with a brake problem and Hamilton sensed blood. “Hamilton is 1.9 seconds behind,” Alonso was told with eight laps to run.
“Copy,” replied the 41-year-old. “Leave it to me.” Alonso was true to his word, holding off Hamilton’s advances.
Verstappen ran across the second chicane with a handful of laps to run.
“I nearly knocked myself out on that kerb,” said the Dutchman with a chuckle before taking the flag 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso with Hamilton 4.5 sec further back.
Defending champion Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from next week’s cinch Championships at Queen’s due to an abdominal injury.
The 27-year-old Italian missed the clay court season due to a stomach muscle tear and lost 6-1 6-2 to Lorenzo Sonego last week on his return to action in Stuttgart.
Berrettini joined an elite group of players last summer when beating Filip Krajinovic in the cinch Championships final to become one of eight players in the open era to successfully retain the Queen’s Club crown.
The world number 21 was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2021 – he withdrew last year after testing positive for Covid – and it remains to be seen if the Italian will be fit enough to compete at SW19 next month.
Top seed and world number two Carlos Alcaraz will make his debut at Queen’s and faces qualifier Arthur Fils in the opening round.
Alcaraz, 20, has limited experience on grass and will be hoping for an extended run in his bid to improve on his best result on the surface, which was in reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.
Unseeded record five-time champion Andy Murray faces a tough opening match against Australian world number 18 Alex de Minaur.
The 36-year-old Scot heads to Queen’s in fine fettle after back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass at Surbiton and Nottingham as he continues his build-up to Wimbledon.
British number one Cameron Norrie, Wimbledon semi-finalist last year and the fifth seed at Queen’s, will play Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round.
Second seed Holger Rune, beaten by Norway’s Casper Ruud in the French Open quarter-finals, will bid to win his first tour-level match on grass when he faces American Maxime Cressy.
American third seed Taylor Fritz, a two-time title-winner on grass after victories at Eastbourne in 2019 and 2022, will play Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round.
Hollywood loves a sequel and golf is no different, with Los Angeles Country Club already slated to host the US Open again in 2039.
However, the odds might be against the North Course becoming part of a long-running franchise considering the reviews of the course have not exactly been of the five-star variety.
“I just think the golf course is interesting, to be polite,” was the best review defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick could come up with.
“There’s just too many holes for me where you’ve got blind tee shots and then you’ve got fairways that don’t hold the ball. There’s too much slope.
“I think the greens certainly play better when they’re firmer. They’re rolling really, really well. Some of the tee shots are just a little bit unfair. You hit a good tee shot and end up in the rough by a foot and then you’re hacking it out.
“Meanwhile someone has hit it miles offline the other way and they’ve got a shot. Yeah, not my cup of tea.”
Two-time champion and US PGA winner Brooks Koepka pinpointed some of the problem areas in an interview with GolfWeek.
“On eight, you can hit it where it barely lands on the left side and still miss the fairway right,” he said. “And everybody hits it to the same spot on three. Like why don’t we just play it from the wedge area? It makes no sense.”
The sloping fairway on the 10th caused a similar issue and even players who said they like the course, including world number one Scottie Scheffler, had some issues with the set-up.
“It can be frustrating at times with how firm the greens are and how much softer the fairways are,” Scheffler said.
“On seven yesterday (Friday) it’s just frustrating that my ball lands just short of the green yesterday and barely gets onto the green.
“Max’s (Homa) ball lands a foot on to the green and goes over the green. The only guy who actually got a look for birdie was Collin (Morikawa) and he yelled ‘fore’ because he thought he was going to hit the volunteer in the left rough.”
The layout and topography of the course has also been criticised for contributing to a lack of atmosphere, with the USGA limiting the daily attendance to 22,000, with around 9,000 tickets on general sale.
Grandstand seating around the 18th green is also severely restricted for various reasons, with the first hole running parallel, the ninth green and 10th tee being in close proximity and, perhaps most importantly, no enthusiasm from members to erect a grandstand directly in front of their clubhouse.
Tournament organisers told Golf Digest they are considering allowing spectators to walk down the 18th fairway behind the final group on Sunday, as long as there is no prospect of a play-off.
Of course, whoever lifts the trophy on Sunday evening will probably not care about any issues with the course, with joint leaders Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark seeking a first major title and Rory McIlroy his fifth after a wait of 3,234 days.
The last 24 US Open winners – and 48 of the last 49 – were within four shots of the lead entering the final round, meaning Scheffler and Harris English also come into the equation.
With popcorn in hand it will make for fascinating viewing.
A bit of La Liga glitz and glamour hit Gowran Park on Sunday when Maxux made an impressive debut in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies & Mares Maiden.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained three-year-old is owned by Real Madrid player Álvaro Odriozola who recently tasted Copa del Rey glory with the Spanish giants but takes a keen interest in both racing and breeding in his spare time.
The daughter of Frankel is a sister to Cunco, the Group Three winner who was the first of the sire’s progeny to make the racecourse – and she went someway to justifying the 200,000 guineas she commanded at the sales, making good headway to work her way into the contest before pulling clear in the closing stages to register four-and-three-quarter-length victory at 12-1.
Assistant trainer Brendan Powell said: “She is very relaxed and chilled out at home. She is a typical Frankel. She has got an engine, will stay further and Mikey (Sheehy) said he thinks she could be pretty smart.
“She loved the ground and will stay up to a mile-and-a-half no problem. We will try and get a bit of black type with her and she will be a nice broodmare prospect for her owner down the line. His big passion is breeding so hopefully this is a smart one for him.”
The scuffling New York Mets received a big boost Sunday as slugger Pete Alonso came off the injured list less than two weeks after being diagnosed with a left wrist sprain and bone bruise.
Alonso sustained the injury on a hit by pitch at the Atlanta Braves on June 7 and was expected to be out for at least three-to-four weeks.
Instead, he is in the lineup Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Alonso enters Sunday’s action leading the National League with 22 home runs while ranking second with 49 RBIs in 62 games.
The Mets are in fourth place in the NL East with a 33-37 record after increasing their spending this past offseason to a luxury tax payroll record of roughly $430 million.
Nostrum could return to action in the Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes during Newmarket’s July Festival.
Sir Michael Stoute’s talented colt was unbeaten in his first two starts as a juvenile, including when impressing in the Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket in September, and was last seen finishing third to fellow Juddmonte-owned 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean in the Dewhurst last autumn.
He was likely to return with Classic aspirations in the early part of the season, but any hope of that was scuppered when meeting with a setback in the spring, and having lost the race to be fit in time for a Royal Ascot run, connections are now pencilling in the Listed event Baaeed won in 2021 on July 13 for the Kingman colt’s comeback.
“He’s in good nick and is getting close,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“A loose plan is that he will run in the Henry Cecil at Newmarket’s July Meeting. It’s the one-mile Listed race that Baaeed won a couple of years ago.
“We were probably about two weeks short of being ready for Ascot and Sir Michael said let’s take our time and start off slow. So that looks like the plan as long as everything continues to go OK between now and then.”
Although unable to make an appearance in either the Classics or at Ascot’s summer showpiece, Mahon believes there is plenty to still look forward to and is backing Nostrum to make his mark in the second half of the season.
He continued: “It’s not the be-all and end-all (missing the start of the season). If you are a Group One horse then there are plenty of races in the second half of the season and even next season if he is a Group One horse, he’ll be able to showcase his talent.
“From a commercial point of view, you would love to be there for the Guineas and Ascot etc but I suppose you have to remember that with Chaldean as well, we would probably have been trying to keep them apart anyway.”
Katie Boulter reflected on a “special” moment as she won her first WTA Tour title at her home tournament in Nottingham.
Boulter beat Jodie Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977 to cement her position as British number one and surge up to a career-high 77 in the rankings.
The 26-year-old has travelled from her Leicestershire home to the Nottingham tennis centre since she was four years old, so to win here makes it extra special.
“I actually found some photos of me at the beginning of the week where I was training here as a ‘tiny topper’ and I looked so happy and like I was having the time of my life,” she said.
“I tried to remind myself before the final that that little girl still loves playing tennis and just enjoys every single moment she is out on court. I am very proud of myself to be in that position, whatever happened.
“I have so many special feelings, I am staying at home, mum’s cooking makes all the difference. It does feel very special because it is my home tournament.
“I dreamed of this moment, to win this tournament, as a little girl when I was four years old.
“Having come here as a fan and now as a player and somehow finding a way to win it means more than everything to me.”
Victory completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.
Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.
Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.
And Boulter, who said she will celebrate with a meal out at the pub, hopes this can be just the beginning for her.
“I’m at a career high and really happy but not content and have a long way to go,” she said. “My aim is not to be top 100, it’s to be 50, 40, 30 and ever since I broke through the first time I believed I had the game to become that player and that will always be my main focus.
“Hopefully I can find some consistency and make this week in, week out. My challenge is to find consistency and I’m proud to have brought that every week.
“I played lights-out today and went for the title, wanted that trophy, and told myself I had to back myself to win it.
“I will be sleeping with my trophy tonight and it’s nice to have some reward that I can look back on. Next week will be about resetting and I will be ready for Birmingham – that’s my job.”
Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, but she is also taking the positives.
“A bit gutted today, a tough, tough match, Boults played absolutely incredibly so credit to her, for me this has been such a positive week,” she said.
“I have beaten some really good players, proved some things to myself, so I will only take the positives.
“I will take positives from this and confidence from it and hopefully play some good tennis in the coming months.”
Lou Williams, a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner and the most prolific bench scorer in NBA history, announced his retirement Sunday.
Williams spent 17 seasons in the league, with the last coming in 2021-22 when he played for the Atlanta Hawks. He appeared in 1,123 games and started just 122 times.
Williams scored 13,396 of his 15,593 points as a reserve, the most points off the bench in NBA history ahead of Jamal Crawford (11,279).
Williams and Crawford are the only players in league history to win the Sixth Man of the Year award three times.
Williams was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005 (45th overall) after going straight to the NBA from high school.
He also played for the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Blue Rose Cen stormed to her second Classic of the year when landing the Prix de Diane Longines in imperious fashion at Chantilly.
Christopher Head’s stable star had already taken the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in impressive style at ParisLongchamp last month and having conquered all before her at a mile, was even better on her first attempt at 10 furlongs.
With stablemate Wise Girl setting the fractions on the front end, big-race pilot Aurelien Lemaitre had the daughter of Churchill positioned handily tracking the pace along with French Guineas runner-up Lindy and the previously unbeaten Pensee Du Jour.
However, there was only one winner once the contest entered the business end and upon straightening for home, Lemaitre pushed the button to an almost instantaneous response from his mount, shooting clear of her pursuers and keeping on powerfully to register a clear-cut triumph.
Aidan O’Brien’s Never Ending Story picked up the silver medal with Francis-Henri Graffard’s Tasmania keeping on for third, but the day belonged to Blue Rose Cen who was handed a quote of 12-1 by Coral to tackle an extra two furlongs in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.
She also becomes first filly since Jean-Claude Rouget’s La Cressonniere in 2016 to do the French Guineas/Oaks double and she now joins the likes of Zarkava, Divine Proportions and Allez France to win all three of the Prix Marcel Boussac, Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane.
Andy Murray was given the best Father’s Day present after being surprised by his children following his title win at the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title as he beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the Challenger Tour event to make it 10 wins in a row after also triumphing at Surbiton last week.
The former world number one was hoping to make a quick dash down the M1 to be home in time to see his four children before they went to bed, but was given a nice surprise as his wife Kim and Sophia, Edie, Teddy and Lola made their presence known during the trophy presentation.
Despite their effort to travel to Nottingham to see their dad win a 10th career grass court title, Murray revealed they were actually more interested in going to McDonald’s.
“To be honest, after I had the kids I was motivated to keep playing so they could watch me when I was older, but they are not really that interested,” Murray said.
“I thought they might be but they’re not. It is really nice for them to come, I have loved having them come and watch today, but I realise for them, they are more interested in other things.
“But it was still nice because they haven’t been to Wimbledon, they came to Queen’s when I played doubles there, but they haven’t been around it at all. They are more interested in when we are going to McDonalds after the match.
“I didn’t know they were coming. I was obviously hoping with the early start I would get down the road this evening, I had no idea they were coming.
“They showed up last week, we live quite close to Surbiton, and after I won the first set they decided to come and try and see the end. As they arrived it started raining, they hung around for a couple of hours but then it started getting close to bedtime so they went and as they got home I got back on court.
“They obviously decided to make the effort to come down here and thankfully I managed to win.”
A 10th win in a row renewed hope that Murray will be able to have a good run at Wimbledon, which starts in a fortnight.
This is his best sequence of results since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.
And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where a run to the quarter-finals could see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.
He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week, with world number one Carlos Alcaraz and number two Holger Rune among others in the draw.
However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and match play this week, Murray looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.
Winning the Nottingham Open may not have the prestige of his previous successes, but they are still special to Murray.
“I love winning tournaments. Since all of the injury issues that has been a bit tougher for me,” he said. “All of these trophies I have won since the operation, they mean a lot to me.
“I’m not saying it’s the same as winning at Wimbledon, but I know how hard it is what I’m doing right now, I know how hard I’m working to getting back to trying to win tournaments and they still mean a lot to me.”
Katie Boulter won her first WTA Tour title after beating fellow Briton Jodie Burrage in the Rothesay Nottingham Open final.
Boulter, who is from Leicester and considers this her home tournament, beat Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977.
She had only reached a quarter-final before but now follows Johanna Konta as a British winner here, cementing her position as British number one and surging up the rankings to inside the top 80.
It also completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.
Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to the criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.
Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.
Playing at Nottingham has always meant a lot to Boulter, with her mum and granddad able to watch, and she made sure this was going to be her moment from the off as she surged into a 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to an early break.
Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, and she struggled to match her compatriot throughout.
Boulter broke again but she missed her first chance to serve out the set only to quickly settle any nerves by breaking Burrage for a third time to take the opening set.
Another early break in the second set tightened her grip on the match and it never loosened, claiming victory and her maiden title on her second championship point.
There was a warm embrace between the British pair at the end as Boulter enjoyed her moment.
Craig Kieswetter is dreaming the next stage of the Echoes In Rain journey leads to an Ascot Gold Cup triumph as the former England international cricketer has eyes for only one trophy at Royal Ascot.
Kieswetter was named man of the match in the World Cup Final when England conquered the cricketing world at the 2010 T20 World Cup. But since crossing the boundary for the final time at the tender age of 27, he has gone on to play a major role in Barnane Stud and now stands on the brink of reaching the pinnacle of Flat racing when the standard bearer of his family’s racing operation lines up in Thursday’s main event.
Trained by Willie Mullins, Echoes In Rain has raced 23 times in a dual-purpose career that has seen her win nine times, striking at Grade One level twice – including on her most recent outing at the Punchestown Festival when she arguably produced a career best, romping to an imperious nine-and-a-half-length victory.
Her record could be even more impressive if not racing in the era of Honeysuckle, but it is somewhat fitting that the Barnane stalwart could provide her owners with their biggest triumph on the ultimate stage.
“She’s an incredible horse and all the credit has to go to Peter, Ross and Anna Doyle who purchased her for us and Willie and his team for the way they have looked after her,” said Kieswetter.
“She’s one of those horses that doesn’t come around too often and she has given us so much pleasure over the jumps and on the Flat for a good few years.
“As grateful as we are for the great times and the journey she has taken us on, at times it has been frustrating because she has come up against Honeysuckle. It’s been an amazing journey and it would be great to continue that journey on Thursday.”
Mullins is seeking his own slice of history and he attempts to become the first man to win both the Cheltenham and Ascot versions of the Gold Cup in the same year.
Vincent O’Brien is the only man to win both races, but it was not in the same calendar year – showing just how remarkable Mullins’ achievement would be.
The Closutton handler came close to Gold Cup glory 10 years ago, when Simenon was narrowly denied by the late Queen’s Estimate in the week’s premier staying contest.
Kieswetter continued: “Willie is happy with the mare and hopefully he can create a bit of history for himself and become the first trainer to win both Gold Cups in the same year – that would be one hell of an achievement.
“He’s a genius and he knows what his plan is. He is hungry to give the race a good crack and is sending a good team of horses for the week. It’s extremely exciting, the Gold Cup is the Gold Cup and we’re just hoping the mare gives a good account of herself and if she does, we will be happy with that.
“After chatting to Willie, he did mention a couple of options for her at the Royal meeting and some other Flat races throughout the season, but I think he must be quite chuffed with her and confident after her last performance.
“Willie isn’t going to just enter a horse for the sake of entering it, so he must be confident and that in turn gives us confidence.”
Barnane Stud broke their duck at the Royal meeting when the William Haggas-trained Candleford stormed to success in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes 12 months ago, a result that simply whetted Kieswetter’s appetite to return in search of further glory during one of the biggest weeks of the racing year.
Now, like their horses, the close-knit family operation is ready to make the step up to the highest level and – win, lose or draw – they are determined to enjoy the day to its full potential.
“Last year we had a nice result with Candleford in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes,” added the South African-born owner-breeder.
“Just to have a runner is great, but to have a winner is very special. It’s an incredible week of racing.
“The Gold Cup is steeped in history and tradition. The whole week of racing is amazing, but the Gold Cup is the pinnacle of the week and to have a runner the trainer is confident in is very exciting.
“We have the whole team over from Barnane and South Africa and we will be racing with a lot of friends, so it will be a fun day.
“If she wins the Gold Cup, I’m pretty sure we will open up the local pub to the whole of the town and drink them out of Guinness.”
A Gold Cup victory would make Echoes In Rain a valuable broodmare proposition for Barnane Stud with Kieswetter tentatively mooting they could decide to pull stumps on her racing career there and then in the Ascot winner’s enclosure if big-race success came her way.
There is, of course, plenty of water to cross through Swinley Bottom before a date with the breeding sheds is inked into the diary, but it appears Kieswetter’s mating plans are as aggressive as his exploits with cricket bat in hand as he suggests he would not be shy in pointing Echoes In Rain the way of Frankel amongst others.
He said: “If she does happen to do something special, she will undoubtedly be going to the best Flat stallion. It would make sense being a Gold Cup winner or placed mare, so she would be deserving of the full treatment and we certainly wouldn’t hold back on her.
“Frankel is most probably on the cards. He’s a superstar and his results are outstanding. But that is something we will sit down as a team and no doubt discuss the options. Although it is important we don’t get carried away and we need to get through Thursday first before we can sit and decide anything.
“The fact we are able to even have these dreams is what the sport is all about and we are grateful for.
“We’ve got a beautiful team, both over here and in South Africa, and what we want to do is breed top quality racehorses and that is what the goal is.”
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