After an enforced absence in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Open is thankfully back on this year's golf calendar.
Royal St George's will host the 149th edition of the tournament, a welcome return to the Kent course that saw Darren Clarke triumph a decade ago.
Shane Lowry is the defending champion, having prevailed at Royal Portrush in 2019, but can he retain his crown? Will one of the big guns instead get their hands on the famous Claret Jug, or could another long shot follow in the footsteps of Ben Curtis, an unlikely champion at the venue back in 2003?
Ahead of the opening round, it is time to take a look at some of the players who could be in contention for glory in the final major of the year.
RAHM READY FOR OPEN CHALLENGE – Nicholas McGee
Jon Rahm has struggled to capture his best in four previous appearances at The Open, just one of which has seen him finish with an under-par score (-3 in 2019). However, only in 2018 has he missed the cut, and his blistering form in 2021 suggests he should be firmly in the mix this week.
His 11 top-10 finishes rank as the most on the PGA Tour this season. Rahm also leads the tour in scoring average (69.6) and in strokes gained (2.02 avg). Second in strokes gained tee to green and (1.82 avg) and fifth in greens in regulation (71 per cent), Rahm has displayed consistency that should lend itself to links golf. Further optimism came with a seventh-placed finish at the Scottish Open. The stage looks set for him to emphatically turn his Open fortunes around.
SPIETH HAS THE BELIEF – Russell Greaves
Jordan Spieth has three key things in his favour at this tournament: he's a man in form, he's exceptional with the putter, and he's won it before. The 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year has an overall putting average of 1.566 on the PGA Tour in 2021, placing him seventh in that metric.
That showing on the greens has laid the foundations for a year in which the 27-year-old has enjoyed eight top-10 finishes. He was in a tie for third at the Masters and boasts a career aggregate score of 21 under at the Open Championship, marking him down as a leading contender in Kent.
NO DOUBTING THOMAS AFTER RECENT RUN – Dan Lewis
Justin Thomas has struggled on the links in his career but ended up in a tie for eighth at the Scottish Open last week – his first top-10 finish since winning the Players Championship in March. He opened and closed with rounds of 65 at the Renaissance Club, where he used a new putter, and has not carded a bogey in his last 25 holes.
The 28-year-old may not be among the top group of contenders, but the 2017 US PGA Championship winner is certainly capable of carrying his momentum into this event to claim a second major in his career.
DUSTIN'S TIME TO HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT - Timothy Abraham
The form book might be against him, but world number one Dustin Johnson can have a Claret Jug-shaped silver lining to a disappointing 2021 in the majors. The American failed to make the cut at both the Masters and the US PGA Championship, alongside a 19th-placed finish in the U.S. Open this year.
An aggregate career score of +15 in The Open is hardly the stuff of a potential champion, but a decade ago he tied second behind champion Clarke. Johnson is a better player now, and the type of optimist capable of winning a major out of the blue. Write him off at your peril.
GLORY FOR RORY AGAIN? ABSOLUTELY! – Chris Myson
The Open champion in 2014, Rory McIlroy is rightly seen as a contender in Kent. He did miss the cut at this tournament in 2019 – but that was the first time he has done so since 2013.
When the Northern Irishman gets to the weekend at The Open, he is usually competitive. He had four consecutive top-five finishes prior to his previous disappointing outing and has a total of five in his career, including that triumph seven years ago. A top 10 at the U.S. Open gave McIlroy some much-needed major momentum and he can now finish with a flourish in his final opportunity this year.
HATTON CAN LINK IT ALL TOGETHER - John Skilbeck
Considering the winners Royal St George's has thrown up in the 21st century - Curtis and a past-his-prime Clarke - you might as well stick a pin in the field and take your chances. Tyrrell Hatton has twice won the Dunhill Links Championship which points to him knowing how to handle an Open course, and he has scored victories on each side of the Atlantic in the past 18 months so brings recent experience of closing out tournaments successfully.
Whether he wins or not is another thing: there are missed cuts on his Open Championship CV. However, two top-six finishes in the last four editions suggests the Englishman might not be far away.
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker says "short memory" will help him move on from his disastrous Game 3 shooting performance ahead of Game 4 on Wednesday.
Booker shot three from 14 from the field, going at 21.4 per cent, and only made one from seven three-point attempts in Game 3, finishing on 10 points as the Milwaukee Bucks won 120-100.
The result pulled the NBA Finals series back to 2-1 in the Suns' favour ahead of Game 4 in Milwaukee.
"Short memory, just move on," Booker said when asked how when asked about his Game 3 shooting.
Booker had scored 31 and 27 points in the opening two Finals games, shooting at 48 per cent and 38.1 per cent respectively, as well as hitting seven three-pointers in Game 2.
The 22-year-old has already scored 500 points this postseason, steering the Suns to their first NBA Finals in 28 years.
Despite the momentum shift in the series and his own poor display, Booker remained unflapped.
"Just understanding the task at hand and simply you just have to be better if you want to win the game," Booker said.
"That's obviously something I want and something this whole team and coaching staff and training staff wants and this whole city wants.
"I would say it's a good pressure. These are the moments that you prepare for and that you train so hard for, what we're in right now. You have to be excited about it."
Milwaukee won praise for their defensive efforts on Booker in Game 3, but Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said his side expected him to be much improved in Game 4.
"I wouldn't say there was one specific thing or anything we did different," Budenholzer said.
"He's a great player, but he's human also. I think we're expecting we're going to have to be even better on him.
"We just got to be prepared for a really good Devin Booker going into Game 4."
Vladimir Guerrero Jr homered like his father 15 years ago as he won the MVP with the American League defeating the National League 5-2 in MLB's annual All-Star Game in Denver on Tuesday.
The American League extended their winning run to eight in a row, with Guerrero's home run marking the 200th in All-Star history.
Shohei Ohtani started on the mound for the American League All-Star team, sending down a shutout innings with no hits, tossing down the fastest pitch of the game at 100.2 mph.
Ohtani went 1-2-3, taking out Fernando Tatis, Max Muncy and Nolan Arenado.
The Japanese two-way star, who led off as the designater hitter, was zero-and-two at-bat but earned praise from American League manager Kevin Cash.
"We're all in awe of his ability to do that," Cash said about Ohtani's two-way game. "He came in hyped up on this stage.
"He gets warmed up to get take the at-bat, he was sitting in his chair to catch his breath.
"The way he's handled everything makes it more special, watching him interact with his teammates and handle the media, it's pretty remarkable."
Guerrero Jr's 468-feet home run meant the Guerreros joined the Bonds and Griffeys as father-sons who have homered in All-Star games.
The 22-year-old Toronto Blue Jays slugger went one-from-three, with two RBI along with his solo home run in the third inning and becomes the youngest MVP in history.
"It means the world to me," Guerrero Jr said. "I just want to say thank you to my dad. This is for you."
J.T. Realmuto got the National League on the board with a solo home run in the fifth inning, while Ohtani's Los Angeles Angels team-mate Jared Walsh made a crucial diving catch at left from a Kris Bryant fly ball to round out the win.
Team USA head coach Gregg Popovich is confident his side is getting better after responding to rare back-to-back losses with a 108-80 win over Argentina on Tuesday.
The gold medal favourite's preparations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics were shaken up after consecutive exhibition game defeats to Australia and Nigeria.
But the Americans were much improved 12 days out from their Olympics opener, led by Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal who both had 17 points and six rebounds.
USA led 58-42 at half-time and never looked back, as Bam Adebayo returned to the starting five with good impact.
“I thought we sustained it pretty well in our game against Australia, and we competed well, rebounded, played defense, ran the floor and had good pace for one half, but then it dissipated through the second half,” Popovich said.
“Tonight, I thought we maintained [effort] pretty much throughout the game, so hopefully that's a sign that we are in a little better condition.
"To play these games is huge for us. So, it was better, and it is getting better, bit by bit, every day.”
Popovich also praised Adebayo along with Draymond Green, while Jayson Tatum missed the game with a right knee injury with no timeframe confirmed.
"I thought both Bam and Draymond Green facilitated a lot of action, and they were very active," Popovich said. "They got everybody involved, which is something that's really important for us."
Beal added that the side had learned some important lessons from the Australia and Nigeria defeats.
"The biggest thing we have to realise is that it’s not the NBA, and coach Pop keeps re-emphasizing that to us every single day," Beal said.
"It’s more physical. These guys have been playing together for five, 10-plus years, so they have this experience and chemistry. We're trying to develop that in a short period of time."
USA have further games against Australia and Spain, before departing for Tokyo next Monday with the first Olympics game against France on July 25.
The Los Angeles Clippers announced on Tuesday that star forward Kawhi Leonard has undergone surgery on a partially torn ACL.
Two-time NBA Finals MVP Leonard sat out the Clippers' last eight games in the postseason with a knee injury, with details undisclosed at the time.
The Clippers confirmed on Tuesday that the 30-year-old had gone under the knife, with no timeframe set on his recovery.
ACL surgery typically requires 12 months of rehabilitation and recovery to return to the court, although the Clippers stated Leonard's tear was only "partial" offering hope of a shorter timeframe.
Leonard originally sustained the knee injury in Game 4 of the Conference Semi-Finals against the Utah Jazz.
The Clippers had insisted Leonard was a game-by-game proposition but he did not return in the postseason as they bowed out in the Conference Finals to the Phoenix Suns.
The small forward averaged 24.8 points per game in the 2020-21 NBA regular season, along with 6.5 rebounds and a career-high 5.2 assists per game.
Leonard averaged 30.4 points per game in the postseason, with a career-best field goal percentage of 57.3 per cent, before injury intervened.
French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova made light work of qualifier Isabella Shinikova to start her Prague Open campaign with a win.
Following her triumph in Paris, Krejcikova made it to the round of 16 at Wimbledon only to lose to eventual champion Ash Barty.
Krejcikova will be representing the Czech Republic at the Tokyo Olympics, and is using this home tournament as a warm-up event.
The second seed defeated Shinikova 6-2 6-3 to tee up a second-round tie with Ysaline Bonaventure. With Petra Kvitova already out, Krejcikova will be hoping to seal a third singles title of her career.
Compatriot and fourth seed Marie Bouzkova did not fare well, however, as the fourth seed slumped 3-6 6-4 6-2 to world number 141 Storm Sanders.
Fellow Czechs Katerina Siniakova and Tereza Martincova did progress, beating Jodie Burrage and Samantha Murray Sharan respectively.
While Krejcikova will look to take advantage of a weakened field and prepare for the Olympics in ideal fashion, one player who will not be at the Games is Johanna Konta.
The British number one said on Tuesday she had withdrawn from Tokyo 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19 and seeing her tennis fitness suffer, having also had to pull out of Wimbledon. Konta, who is not in action this week, described the blow as "a heart-breaking reality".
At the Hungarian Grand Prix, third seed Bernarda Pera had to come from behind to beat Julia Grabher – ranked at 201 – 5-7 6-1 6-2.
Pera, who joins a fellow American seed, Danielle Collins, in round two, will next face Anhelina Kalinina.
Irina-Camelia Begu, a finalist in Budapest 10 years ago, will not be making a repeat trip to the title match, the fourth seed losing 6-3 6-4 on Tuesday to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
Meanwhile, at the Lausanne Open, fourth seed Camila Giorgi scored a ruthless 6-2 6-0 win over Norway's Ulrikke Eikeri.
Brooks Koepka would relish a Sunday showdown with rival Bryson DeChambeau at The Open as the pair's feud continued at Royal St George's.
The American duo have been exchanging barbs for a long while now, with Koepka invited to offer an explanation when he faced the media ahead of the 149th Open in Kent on Tuesday.
Koepka revealed the issue started at the 2019 Northern Trust at Liberty National after he called out his compatriot for slow play.
A disgruntled DeChambeau took it up with Koepka's caddie, Ricky Elliott, before the pair apparently decided to call it quits, only for DeChambeau to stoke the fire with some unflattering comments about his countryman during a public online video game session.
Four-time major winner Koepka explained: "It was at Liberty. He didn't like that I had mentioned his name in slow play, so we had a conversation in the locker room, and then I guess we said something else in the press conference but didn't mention his name in it, and he walked up to Ricky and said: 'You tell your man if he's got something to say, say it to me.'
"I thought that was ironic because he went straight to Ricky. Ricky told me when I came out, I hit a few putts, and then just walked right over to him, we had a conversation.
"We both agreed we'd leave each other out of it and wouldn't mention each other, just kind of let it die off, wouldn't mention each other's names, just go about it.
"So then he decided I guess he was going on that little, whatever, playing video games online or whatever and brought my name up and said a few things, so now it's fair game."
Asked about the prospect of being paired with DeChambeau for the final round at golf's oldest major this weekend, Koepka said he would be up for the battle.
"Yeah, I would enjoy it. I would enjoy it. I'll be close to the final group come Sunday," he said.
"I always feel like I play well in the big events, the majors. I think it would be a lot more people tuning in, with everything that's gone on over the last two years, something like that, three years. So yeah, I think there would be a lot of people tuning in."
With the Ryder Cup to come at Whistling Straits in September, the two are set to be team-mates, but Koepka can handle a week of being on the same side.
"It's only a week. I mean, look, I can put it aside for business," he said.
"If we're going to be on the same team, I can deal with anybody in the world for a week. I'm not playing with him.
"I'm pretty sure we're not going to be paired together; put it that way. I think it's kind of obvious. It doesn't matter.
"We're not going to be high-fiving and having late-night conversations. I do my thing, he does his thing."
Speaking later the same day, DeChambeau was a little more succinct, saying of Koepka: "He can say whatever he wants. I think he said something back at Liberty National not upholding something. I don't know what he's talking about in that regard."
Jan-Lennard Struff suffered a disappointing defeat on home soil to Laslo Djere at the Hamburg European Open on Tuesday.
Djere triumphed 6-4 7-5 against the seventh seed to book a last-16 tie against qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild at the ATP 500 event.
It was a day of missed chances for world number 47 Struff, who took just one of eight break-point opportunities and hit five double faults as he went down in one hour and 50 minutes.
There was no such disappointment for Filip Krajinovic, though the sixth seed had to work hard before seeing off home wild card hope Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-1.
Krajinovic will face another German next in the form of Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The number one seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is yet to start his campaign in Hamburg.
In the Nordea Open, held in Bastad, there was a first-round defeat for teenage talent and sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who went down in three sets to Swiss qualifier Henri Laaksonen.
Rory McIlroy believes missing the cut at the Scottish Open could prove beneficial as he bids for glory at The Open.
The four-time major winner, who claimed the Claret Jug in 2014, endured a testing couple of days at the Renaissance Club, where an intruder attempted to steal his club.
McIlroy failed to make the weekend but that gave the 32-year-old extra preparation time ahead of the 149th Open at Royal St George's.
He will try to atone for a poor showing at the 2019 edition of golf's oldest major, where he missed the cut as the home hope at Royal Portrush.
The omens bode well for McIlroy, who has bounced back to win the next tournament in three of the previous nine instances where he has seen his campaign ended after two rounds.
Asked if that fact was mere coincidence, McIlroy said: "No, I certainly don't think it's a chance statistic.
"Look, I think in golf you always learn more about your game when you've missed a cut or struggled or not played as well. I think anyone can play well, anyone can hit the ball great and give themselves chances to win, but you just learn more.
"I've always learnt more from disappointments and from not doing as well, but I've always tried to learn. I've always tried to figure out, okay, why did this week not go so well, and then you give yourself a couple of thoughts and they're fresh in your mind going into the next week.
"That's why I say in golf there's always next week, and that's a great thing, because you can right some wrongs pretty quickly. I've been able to do that in the past.
"I missed the cut at Memorial a couple years ago, went down and won the Canadian Open the next week. Yeah, missed the cut at the Masters and then went and my next start was Quail Hollow and I won.
"Golf always just gives you another opportunity to go out and play well and to see if you've learned from your mistakes, and I've always made it a priority in my career to really try to learn from my mistakes, all the way back to what happened at Augusta in 2011 and going and winning the U.S. Open the next major."
Indeed, after his disappointment in Northern Ireland in 2019, McIlroy closed that year by winning the FedExCup, which he said "gave me a few million reasons to feel better".
He will tee off at the Kent links in pursuit of a second Open title on Thursday at 15:21 local time alongside Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith.
Jon Rahm is eyeing a historic double at The Open Championship this week as he seeks to add to his U.S. Open triumph.
The Spaniard is among the leading contenders at Royal St George's after claiming his maiden major at Torrey Pines last month.
Just six players have doubled up by winning both The Open and the U.S. Open in the same year, with Bobby Jones having done so twice before Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods repeated the feat.
Woods managed it in 2000 and Rahm has the chance to join that elite club 21 years on.
"It would be pretty incredible to win both Opens in one year. It would be amazing," said Rahm.
"I did have a sense of relief after winning the first major. I felt like for the better part of five years, all I heard is major, major, major just because I was playing good golf, as if it was easy to win a major championship.
"But the fact that you are expected to win one means nothing, but you're playing good golf, so a bit of relief in that sense, but it doesn't really change.
"There's still the next one to win, so I still come with the same level of excitement obviously and willingness to win.
"I'm focused on the fact it would be pretty incredible to be able to win The Open. Nobody after Seve has been able to do that [from Spain]."
Rahm, who will tee off alongside reigning champion Shane Lowry and 2010 winner Louis Oosthuizen on Thursday, also underlined why he was sticking to his plans to play at the Olympics despite many players having opted out of competing in Japan.
"I can't speak for other people, so I don't know why they're opting out of it, you'd have to ask them," he said.
"I'm not going to speak for them. In my case, I've been really fortunate enough to represent Spain at every level as an amateur since I was 13 years old.
"I've been able to win many team events representing Spain worldwide. Once you turn professional you don't really get that chance. You get a little bit of the Ryder Cup, but it's not the same thing as the Olympics or a World Cup maybe.
"To be able to have that chance as a pro, something that up until four or five years ago was not even a possibility, to me it was something I would never doubt.
"You get the chance to call yourself an Olympian, which is only a very select group of people in history that can call themselves that, and if you were to get a medal, especially a gold medal, you're even more of a select group, right?"
France claimed their first away win over Australia for 31 years as they secured a nail-biting 28-26 victory in the second Test at AAMI Park.
Les Bleus let victory slip through their grasp in a dramatic finish in the first game between the nations in Brisbane last week.
Despite controlling much of Wednesday's contest in Melbourne, France risked suffering a similar fate and losing the series when Michael Hooper crossed in the 71st minute and Noah Lolesio then gave Australia their first lead of the match with a 40-metre penalty in the 75th minute.
But there was a final twist in the tale as France gained a penalty in the scrum and Melvyn Jaminet split the uprights to take his tally to 23 points and give his side a first triumph against the Wallabies in Australia since June 30, 1990.
The boot of Jaminet and Damian Penaud's first-half try had France ahead 16-13 at the interval, with Jake Gordon keeping the Wallabies in touching distance by going over from close range in the 38th minute.
Lolesio levelled matters at 16-16 six minutes after the restart but Jaminet's accuracy from the tee gave France a seemingly commanding nine-point lead, the tourists dictating matters despite a bruising performance from Marika Koroibete.
Koroibete gained 181 metres for the Wallabies, but it was their captain who looked to have turned the tide, Hooper scoring for the third successive game for the first time in his Australia career. Lolesio converted from out wide and then knocked over a long-range penalty.
Yet France were not to be denied this time around, an immense effort in the scrum allowing Jaminet to set up a decider back at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm will tee off alongside 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year Shane Lowry at the 2021 Open Championship on Thursday.
Spaniard Rahm won his maiden major at Torrey Pines, edging out Louis Oosthuizen by one stroke, and is among the favourites to prevail at Royal St George's this week.
Lowry was a popular winner when golf's oldest major was held at Royal Portrush two years ago, with the 2020 event having been cancelled amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Irishman, whose trio goes out at 09:58 local time and also includes 2010 victor Oosthuizen, will seek to become the first man to defend the Claret Jug at the Kent links since Harry Vardon in 1899.
Any superstitious players might have hoped to be drawn in Branden Grace's group, as he has played with the eventual winner in his first two rounds at each of the previous two Opens.
The South African featured with Francesco Molinari at Carnoustie in 2018 and Lowry in Northern Ireland the following year.
Jordan Spieth, a winner in 2017, and 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau are the lucky pair, with that group teeing off at 09:25.
Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy will head out in the afternoon with Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith, while world number one Dustin Johnson starts his bid for a first Open title at 10:20 with Will Zalatoris and Justin Rose for company.
Brooks Koepka is an 08:45 starter and the star attraction of a threesome that includes Jason Kokrak and Garrick Higgo.
Darren Clarke, who prevailed when last Royal St George's last hosted in 2011, is an 08:25 starter alongside Bernd Wiesberger and amateur Joe Long.
The action will begin at 06:35, with English trio Richard Bland, Andy Sullivan and Marcus Armitage having the honour.
Pete Alonso proved his own claim that he is the "best power hitter in the game" after being crowned back-to-back Home Run Derby champion at Denver's Coors Field on Monday.
Alonso, who was the winner in 2019 before last year's event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, defeated Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini 23-22 in the final.
The head-bopping New York Mets slugger, who batted second, finished the job with six home runs in a row in bonus time, winning with 35 seconds left.
Alonso was the dominant hitter throughout the derby as Los Angeles Angels' two-way top seed Shohei Ohtani, failed to fire, losing to Juan Soto 31-28 in the first round after being tied twice.
The 26-year-old Mets right-hander defeated Kansas City's Salvador Perez 35-28 in the first round, before knocking off Soto 16-15 with 50 seconds to go in the semi-finals.
"I've done this before and I'm extremely confident in my ability to hit the ball out of the yard," Alonso said. "I feel like I'm the best power hitter in the game. It was on display tonight."
Alonso continued his domination in the final against Mancini, who had a great run to the final having overcome stage three colon cancer only 12 months ago.
"Trey's story is unbelievable," Alonso said. "Everybody in the derby put on a show. I'm just happy he was able to participate and put on a show."
Florida-born Alonso would not commit to chasing a third Home Run Derby title despite admitting winning it "never gets old".
"I don’t know, we'll see," he said. "I'm going to enjoy this one for now. I'll have to think about it, but this event is so fun."
Alun Wyn Jones could yet feature for the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, having made a "remarkable" recovery from a dislocated shoulder.
The 35-year-old, who was set to captain Warren Gatland's touring party in South Africa, suffered the injury against Japan at the end of June but could still fly out on Tuesday, subject to medical confirmation.
The Lions face South Africa A, a side packed with 11 World Cup winners, on Wednesday and Gatland revealed in Monday's news conference that Jones could well return.
"A few weeks ago we didn't think there was an option," the Lions head coach said. "We're waiting for medical reports from him to see what happens with that.
"He's been back fully training with Wales – he's training this week with them. I think he's doing a double session with them tomorrow and we'll see what the outcome of that is."
Conor Murray, who is yet to start a game on tour for the Lions, came in to act as Jones' replacement in the captaincy role.
However, Gatland appreciates the invaluable role the Welshman could play if fit.
"He has made a remarkable recovery in terms of that injury, which wasn't as bad as they first thought," he added.
"It would be a boost to the squad having someone of his experience and calibre to come back into the squad."
Experience is exactly what Jones brings, as he represents the only member of the current touring squad to have faced the Springboks with the Lions previously, while also being the most-capped international of all time.
Having triumphed comfortably in the three pre-test matches against South African club sides the Lions and the Sharks, Gatland's team face South Africa A in what is being billed as an unofficial fourth test.
A subsequent fixture against DHL Stormers will follow before the three showpiece clashes with the Springboks get underway on the 24th July, by which time Gatland will be hoping Jones is fit.
Shohei Ohtani's remarkable 2021 season is set to continue after he was named as the starting pitcher for the American League in the MLB All-Star Game, having already been confirmed as the starting designated hitter.
Japanese sensation Ohtani has gone from strength to strength in his first year, pitching and batting in the same game for the Los Angeles Angels.
The two-way superstar has 33 home runs, 12 stolen bases and 87 pitching strikeouts already this term. Only Babe Ruth had previously passed 25 homers, 10 stolen bases and 75 strikeouts in an entire AL career.
Ohtani is five clear atop the homer standings in the major leagues, making him an obvious choice as the AL's starting DH.
But the 27-year-old made history as the only player to make the All-Star Game as both a hitter and a pitcher, and it was confirmed on Monday he will start from the mound in Tuesday's showpiece.
"This is what the fans want to see," said Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, in charge of the AL team. "It's personally what I want to see."
Ohtani could first bolster his reputation further, however, as he prepares to take part in Monday's Home Run Derby, where the Angels ace is the favourite.
Rebecca Sramkova handed number-one seed Petra Kvitova a shock defeat on home soil at the Prague Open to record her first WTA Tour-level win in a main draw since 2017.
The unseeded Slovakian took the first set 7-6 (7-5) before Kvitova bounced back to take the next 6-3. Sramkova, however, battled through injury to win the final set 6-4 and upset the two-time Wimbledon winner.
Seventh seed Nina Stojanovic avoided an early exit as she recovered from a first-set loss to beat Vitalia Diatchenko 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-3, while ninth seed Greet Minnen defeated Italian Giulia Gatto-Monticone 6-0 4-6 6-1.
Unlike Kvitova, the top seed at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Yulia Putintseva, cruised past Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-2 6-4 to record a straight-sets first-round win in Budapest.
But Irina-Camelia Begu, the fourth favourite, was not as fortunate as she failed to secure second-round progression, falling 3-6 4-6 to the unseeded Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
The Hungarian Grand Prix provided more shocks, with Irina Bara knocking out eighth seed Sara Errani courtesy of a 4-6 7-5 6-2 triumph, while seventh seed Viktoriya Tomova crashed out to Paula Ormaechea in straight sets.
On day one of the Ladies Open Lausanne, favourite and 2021 Roland Garros semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek shook off a first-set loss to dispatch of Marina Melnikova 2-6 6-3 6-2 and book her place in the next round.
Meanwhile, second seed Fiona Ferro was leading her French compatriot Harmony Tan 7-5 2-1 before play was suspended for the day in Switzerland.
Benoit Paire was gifted a place in the second round at the Hamburg European Open by Ricardas Berankis' foot injury, but fellow countryman Richard Gasquet could not get past Marco Cecchinato in his first-round clash in Sweden.
Lithuania's Berankis forced Paire to a first-set tiebreak but, due to rolling his ankle earlier in the game, then had no option but to retire hurt.
His retirement granted Paire just his third ATP win of 2021.
At the same event, there was also a first ever ATP win for Sebastian Baez, who coasted past Corentin Moutet 6-1 6-2 to claim a straight-sets victory.
In the Nordea Open, held in Bastad, Italian Cecchinato triumphed over former world number seven Gasquet 6-2 5-7 6-3 to reach the second round.
The 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist, who fought off Gasquet's second-set comeback, will now face either Federico Coria or Francisco Cerundolo in the next round.
In the other first-round ties, Yannick Hanfmann recorded a straight-sets win over Thiago Monteiro, while Elias Ymer, playing in his home country, beat Taro Daniel 6-2 6-7 (6-8) 6-4.
British and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland is pleased to see so many players pushing for Test places after naming a much-changed team to face South Africa A.
The Lions have won all four warm-up matches so far ahead of the start of their three-match series with South Africa later this month, including back-to-back wins over the Sharks.
Gatland has made 12 alterations following the 71-31 victory over the Sharks on Saturday, with Anthony Watson, Chris Harris and Dan Biggar the only ones to be retained.
Watson moves from right wing to full-back and Harris will shift to outside centre to play alongside Bundee Aki, while Maro Itoje partners Iain Henderson in the second row after recovering from illness.
Wednesday's clash in Cape Town will be a proud occasion for tour captain Conor Murray, who will lead out the Lions for the first time.
Gatland has a number of big calls to make in terms of team selection for the opening game with world champions South Africa on July 24, with just two warm-up matches to go.
"We're pleased to have arrived in Cape Town as we near the halfway stage of the series," he said.
"Wednesday's game against South Africa A will be our toughest encounter since we arrived here and we're looking forward to it.
"We expect them to be physical in the contact area and look to test us at scrum time.
"I think we've benefitted from playing at altitude in the first three games. While the boys have felt it in their lungs, they'll be all the better for it now we're at sea level.
"As we move towards the business end of the tour, it's pleasing to see so many players putting in some stand-out performances.
"As coaches we want the players to make Test selection as hard as possible and that's what we're seeing."
Lions team to face South Africa A:
Anthony Watson, Louis Rees-Zammit, Chris Harris, Bundee Aki, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Conor Murray; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Iain Henderson, Josh Navidi, Tom Curry, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Mako Vunipola, Zander Fagerson, Adam Beard, Tadhg Beirne, Sam Simmonds, Gareth Davies, Elliot Daly.
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