Mimikyu bids to open her account for the season in the Sky Bet Lester Piggott Stakes at Haydock.
The daughter of Dubawi saw off the reopposing Time Lock to land a novice event over this course and distance 12 months ago and went on to win a Newmarket handicap and the Group Two Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster before the end of her three-year-old campaign.
She was narrowly beaten by River Of Stars in the Bronte Cup at York a fortnight ago and joint-trainer Thady Gosden is expecting her to take a step forward in a race his father John and owner George Strawbridge won in 2016 with Mimikyu’s sister and subsequent Group One heroine Journey.
He said: “She ran a very nice race first time out this year in the Bronte when just denied.
“She’s come out of that well. She’s obviously dropping back down in trip two furlongs at Haydock and she’s got the hood off, which will help we think.
“It was fast ground at York last time and she’s won on soft, so she’s not ground dependent, and Haydock is a nice, even track for her.”
Following her neck defeat to Mimikyu at Haydock in June last year, Time Lock went on to push fellow Juddmonte-owned filly Haskoy close in the Galtres Stakes at York.
The winner went on to go close in the St Leger and won a Group Three on her recent reappearance, while Time Lock again finished second on her comeback in a Listed race at Goodwood.
Juddmonte’s racing manager Barry Mahon is hoping for a sound surface on Merseyside to give Time Lock the best chance of running up to her best.
He said: “Hopefully we get good to firm ground as we want proper summer ground for her, so hopefully there’ll be no over-watering going on.
“I think she’s going to develop into a good filly this year. She’s a big, scopey filly and hopefully she could develop into a very good filly.”
Roger Varian switches Modaara to the turf following a 13-length victory on the all-weather at Kempton, while German hopes are carried by the Peter Schiergen-trained Nachtrose.
William Haggas won last year’s renewal with Sea La Rosa and would love to follow up in a race now named in honour of his legendary late father-in-law with Sea Silk Road.
Haggas said: “I think it is a great honour that officials at Haydock Park have named the race in memory of Lester. The family are absolutely thrilled.
“Haydock was the place where Lester had his first winner and rode his last winner so there is no more appropriate venue to have a race run in his memory.”
He added: “It would be lovely if Sea Silk Road could win on Saturday. She is a filly that has not yet won a Group race but she won a Listed race last year and was second in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot.
“First time out this year in the Middleton they went too slow for her over that extended mile and a quarter and she didn’t really relax.
“She has come forwards for that run though and going back to a mile and a half I think will suit her. We are hopeful she will go well.”
The field is completed by Poptronic, who finished third behind the Gosdens’ Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes and trainer Karl Burke feels she may have been underestimated in the market.
“She ran a good, solid race first time up and will improve for stepping up to the mile and a half. I think they’re making her the outsider of the field, but she’ll run a good race, she’s a good filly and she’s in good form,” said the Spigot Lodge handler.
Australian challenger The Astrologist gets the opportunity to reassert his Royal Ascot claims in the Sky Bet John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock on Saturday.
Trained in partnership by the father and son team of Leon and Troy Corstens, the six-year-old has been placed at Group One level on multiple occasions in his homeland and was beaten just a head by Danyah in the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan in March.
That excellent effort encouraged connections to target the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at the big meeting and he made his British debut in last month’s 1895 Duke of York Stakes under Ryan Moore.
While on the face of it The Astrologist’s performance in finishing seventh at York was underwhelming, hopes in the camp are high he can bounce back to something like his best on Merseyside.
“We’re very happy with the way he came through York. Obviously, as everyone knows, he needed the run and that is why he is having another run before Ascot,” said assistant trainer Dom Sutton.
“It is a strange one because we were hoping he’d have a little bit more residual fitness from Dubai, but it was a formula we’d never used before – he’d never had eight weeks between a run and obviously he had to deal with the flight and the travel.
“Back in Australia we use barrier trials as stepping stones to getting them to the races and obviously we couldn’t do that here, so we were kind of a little bit in the dark.
“He handled everything well leading up to York and we were hoping he could run a nice, bold race, but Ryan got off him and said in the last furlong he really needed it.”
With a step up from six to seven furlongs not expected to be an issue on a flat track and fast ground, Sutton is optimistic about his chances of victory, with Moore once again in the saddle.
He added: “He’s been pretty competitive over seven furlongs back home, the ground should suit and he’s ticked every box fitness-wise and gallops-wise in between runs, so hopefully it shouldn’t be a problem.
“Looking at the field you’d hope that he’ll be going pretty close. If circumstances mean he doesn’t win, as long as he’s hitting the line and running well we’ll be happy.”
A horse going the other way in distance is the Eve Johnson Houghton-trained Jumby, who was last seen finishing down the field over a mile in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
The son of New Bay won the Group Two Hungerford Stakes over the intermediate trip last summer and his trainer is confident of a bold showing.
She said: “He’s won a Group Two over seven furlongs and a mile just stretched him in the Lockinge.
“He likes fast ground and we’ve been very pleased with him since Newbury.”
El Caballo bids to get his season back on track for the in-form Karl Burke team.
The four-year-old won his first four starts of last year, including the Group Two Sandy Lane at Haydock, but disappointed in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and missed the rest of the campaign.
He trailed home last of 10 runners on his reappearance in the Cammidge Trophy on heavy ground at Doncaster and Burke is hoping conditions will be more favourable.
“We don’t want fast ground and I’m just hoping they put a decent amount of water on – they usually do at Haydock,” said the Spigot Lodge handler.
“We’ve got to get him started, he’s working really well and if we can’t run here on good, fast ground we’re going to struggle for the rest of the summer.
“Hopefully he can go and show himself to good effect. We’re stepping up to seven furlongs, he’s won over seven and I think that will help him.
“This looks a nice race for him to go for and he’s still got the ability, I have no doubt about that.”
Tim Easterby’s Boardman and the Charlie Fellowes-trained Gorak are both course and distance winners but face a step up in class, while Stan Moore’s The Wizard Of Eye, who also contested the Lockinge last month, completes the line-up.
Comparisons with her idol Rafael Nadal may be distinctly premature but Iga Swiatek can take another step towards establishing her own dynasty at Roland Garros with a third title on Saturday.
The Pole has only suffered two defeats on the Parisian clay, winning her first title as an unseeded teenager in 2020 then reclaiming it last year.
Swiatek is yet to drop a set this year – although she was pushed hard in the semi-finals by Beatriz Haddad Maia – and will be a big favourite to beat Czech Karolina Muchova for what would be her fourth grand slam title overall.
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“Rafa, what he did and what he’s still doing, it’s pretty amazing,” said the 22-year-old.
“So it was totally out of my reach. And still he played so well so many years. I don’t know if it’s going to be possible for me. But I just try to compete, keep it cool year by year and just do everything step by step.”
At 43rd in the world, Muchova is the fourth-lowest ranked woman to reach the final of the French Open, continuing a trend of unexpected slam contenders.
The Czech certainly has not come from nowhere though, having made at least the quarter-finals at every slam except the US Open, and would surely have been a consistent member of the top 20 but for injuries.
She produced a stunning victory over second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals on Thursday, battling back from 5-2 down in the deciding set and saving a match point in a three-hour epic.
What stood out most was Muchova’s variety and intelligence as she fought Sabalenka’s pace with craft and guile.
Her final opponent is a fan, with Swiatek saying: “I really like her game. I really respect her, and she’s, I feel like, a player who can do anything. She has great touch. She can also speed up the game.
“She plays with that kind of freedom in her movements. And she has a great technique. So I watched her matches and I feel like I know her game pretty well.”
Muchova’s style is a throwback in a game now dominated by power, but the 26-year-old is happy to be different.
“I think I have it like that in everything in life, I don’t really want to be like anyone else,” she said.
“It’s the type of game I enjoy and I believe in. We are trying to improve it with the team. Now we can see as well that it works, so that’s nice. I’ll keep it this way.”
The strength of Czech women’s tennis is one of the enduring wonders of the game. Ten of the world’s top 100 hail from the country and they have a number of promising teenagers.
“I’ve been asked this every time I’m in the press conference,” said Muchova when asked for an explanation of her country’s success.
“I think I’m always trying to come up with a different answer to make it a little different. I think there is plenty of Czech players playing, good Czech players, and the younger generations, they look up to us and we practise with them.
“I think they can see it’s possible to be a top tennis player. We have as well great coaches.”
Muchova and Swiatek’s only previous meeting came back in 2019, when the Czech won a close battle.
Intriguingly, Muchova maintained her perfect record against players ranked in the top three by beating Sabalenka, extending it to 5-0.
“I don’t think I will be the favourite,” she said. “It’s nice. I didn’t really even know about this statistic.
“It just shows me that I can play against them. I can compete, and obviously the matches are super close. It’s great to know that I win against the top players, and that for sure boosts my confidence.”
Karl Burke expects to have a clearer idea of Cuban Slide’s capabilities after he contests the bet365 Two Year Old Trophy at Beverley on Saturday.
The Spigot Lodge handler has been firing in juvenile winners left, right and centre this season and few were more impressive on debut than this son of Havana Grey.
Cuban Slide was an odds-on favourite for a five-furlong novice event at Musselburgh and justified the cramped odds with a nine-length demolition job.
But while that Scottish success was visually striking, Burke is not convinced of the depth of the race and is anticipating he will learn more about his colt’s big-race credentials in East Yorkshire this weekend.
“I think he’s a nice horse, he’s obviously got good ability and he works well at home,” he said.
“I don’t think it was much of a race that he won, so we’re on a finding-out mission as much as anything.
“I do think he’s useful, but whether he’s top class or not I’m not sure. Stepping up to six furlongs could see him to good effect, but he’s not slow and a stiff five with a good draw should be fine.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him run and learning a bit more about him.”
Richard Fahey is represented by Bombay Bazaar, a Kodiac juvenile who also comes into this in winning form having been victorious over the course and distance last month.
He was previously third in a Thirsk maiden when beaten four lengths, with Kevin Ryan’s Sergeant Wilko the winner and Dominic Ffrench Davis’ Valadero the runner-up.
The latter was previously second in the Brocklesby, while Sergeant Wilko has some positive collateral form having finished second on debut to Hugo Palmer’s Balon d’Or – subsequently third in the Lily Agnes and second in the Woodcote.
Next time out Bombay Bazaar got off the mark by an easy four and a quarter lengths and Fahey is looking forward to seeing him return to the Westwood.
“He improved a lot for his first and second runs and he seems to have gone on again,” Fahey said.
“I don’t know what he beat that day (at Beverley) but he beat them well, he will be a better horse again and whether or not he’s good enough, we’ll see.
“The form will do and we’re getting better, so we’ll see.”
Other contenders include the Ryan-trained Room Service, who was a debut winner at Wetherby, and Richard Hannon’s Fusterlandia, second on his introduction at Leicester late last month.
Andrew Balding’s Loaded Gun, David O’Meara’s Scoops Ahoy and the unraced Mehigburn from Roger Fell and Sean Murray’s yard complete the field.
Ziggy’s Phoenix makes a swift return to action as she bids for a third win this season in the Hilary Needler Trophy at Beverley on Saturday.
The two-year-old, who is owned by Middleham Park Racing, won a Ripon novice earlier in the season and was then victorious in the Lily Agnes at Chester.
She subsequently headed to Chantilly in search of Listed honours in the Prix la Fleche, but could finish only fourth of eight runners in the hands of Gerald Mosse.
Richard Hannon sends the Kodiac filly back into battle just six days later, with connections “hopeful” the quick turnaround will not be a problem.
“She got caught out on a wing and raced away from the rail in France, but she kept on well to the line,” said Middleham Park’s director of racing, Tim Palin.
“She is down in grade a notch to a level she’s already been successful at and escapes a penalty.
“We’re backing her up quite quickly, but she’s got a decent draw (stall four) this time and we go there hopeful.”
Richard Fahey saddles Midnight Affair, a daughter of Dark Angel who caught the eye finishing second to the Royal Ascot-bound Soprano on her debut at Newmarket last month.
Midnight Affair was unlucky not to make more of a race of it after meeting traffic problems and is a hot favourite to go one better on the Westwood under Danny Tudhope.
“She ran a good race first time out. Things didn’t happen for her, but she still went well for a first run,” said Fahey.
“She’s drawn in stall six and I’d be happy with that.”
Other hopefuls include Charlie Johnston’s Never Fear, the winner of a Wolverhampton maiden, and Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda, who was beaten just half a length when fourth at Sandown on debut.
Tallulabelle (David O’Meara), Alfa Moonstone (Craig Lidster), Callianassa (Brian Ellison), Miss Woo Woo (Robert Cowell) and La Boo (Mick and David Easterby) complete the field.
Plans remain fluid for Soul Sister following her Betfred Oaks triumph at Epsom last week.
Disappointing in a soft ground Fred Darling at Newbury on her three-year-old debut, the Frankel filly bounced back with a surprise victory in the Musidora Stakes at York last month.
Soul Sister proved that was no fluke by clinching Classic glory on the Surrey Downs a week ago under Frankie Dettori and she holds an entry in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot.
However, while joint-trainer Thady Gosden reports the three-year-old to have taken her Epsom exertions well, connections have not got as far as finalising the next plan of attack.
“She’s come out of it well. Obviously every Classic is a hard race, but she seems happy and well in herself at home,” said Gosden.
“We’ll see how she is, but it was fantastic to win the Oaks with her.”
On the other side of the coin there was disappointment for the Gosden team ahead of the Oaks, with their other leading contender Running Lion withdrawn on veterinary advice just seconds before the off after kicking the back gate of the starting stalls.
The daughter of Roaring Lion is set to bid for compensation and redemption in the French equivalent, the Prix de Diane, at Chantilly on Sunday week.
“It was obviously frustrating with Running Lion, it was sort of a freak event really. The plan is for her to go to France, I think,” Gosden added.
Cory Hill has become the latest player to withdraw from Wales’ preliminary World Cup training squad.
The former Cardiff and Dragons lock, who had been playing in Japan, was recalled by Wales head coach Warren Gatland following two years out of Test rugby.
But 31-year-old Hill has pulled out of the squad to pursue a club contract opportunity outside of Wales, the Welsh Rugby Union said.
“I am gutted to be leaving the squad, but an opportunity has come up and I need to take it for my family,” Hill said.
“Wishing the boys all the best at the World Cup, and I hope to be back in a Wales jersey in the future.”
Gatland named a 54-man group last month for the tournament in France later this year.
Lock Alun Wyn Jones, flanker Justin Tipuric and scrum-half Rhys Webb, who have 291 Wales caps between them, subsequently announced their retirements from international rugby.
And Cardiff prop Rhys Carre was then released from the squad after he failed to meet individual performance targets.
The PA news agency understands that Gatland has no plans to call up a replacement for Hill, whose new club want him available for them during the World Cup period in September and October.
Hill made his Wales debut against Australia in 2016, while a 32nd and latest appearance came during the 2021 Six Nations against France.
Gatland’s remaining second-row options in his squad are Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Dafydd Jenkins, Ben Carter, Rhys Davies, Teddy Williams and Christ Tshiunza.
Frankie Dettori will replace Richard Kingscote on Desert Crown in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Kingscote won the Derby on the Sir Michael Stoute-trained four-year-old last season, but the colt was beaten on his first run since Epsom in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown by Hukum.
With Dettori available, owner Saaed Suhail has decided to snap up his services in what will be the Italian’s last ever Royal Ascot ahead of his retirement later this year.
Suhail’s racing manager Bruce Raymond told Nick Luck’s Daily Podcast: “He (Suhail) just feels that for Desert Crown to win this race is all important and while Frankie is around he wants to give the horse every chance.
“He believes Frankie is unbeatable around Ascot and that is why. It’s no disgrace for Richard at all, I myself was jocked off Carroll House when he won the Arc.”
Waipiro will drop back in trip for the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot, as trainer Ed Walker felt he did not see out the Betfred Derby trip.
Runner-up to Military Order in the Lingfield Derby Trial, Waipiro was sent off a 25-1 chance in the premier Classic at Epsom, where he did not help his chance at the start.
Tom Marquand’s mount made up plenty of ground and was in contention with two furlongs to race, before his run petered out, eventually finishing sixth, some 10 and a half lengths behind the impressive Auguste Rodin.
Walker was making no excuses, however. He said: “It was a good run. I don’t think had he probably jumped better, he would have finished too much closer.
“I don’t think he truly stayed. I wasn’t convinced at Lingfield and I wasn’t convinced again at Epsom.
“His last furlong was weak and at Lingfield that was the same. He came to Military Order and eyeballed him, and looked like he was going to beat him, then just in the last 100 yards, he didn’t quite see it out.
“I hoped it was just immaturity and inexperience at Lingfield, but I think Epsom reiterated he didn’t see it out.
“If he truly stayed, he would have gone with White Birch (third) and I think him and The Foxes didn’t stay, didn’t go with White Birch, who stayed extremely well.”
The Group Three Hampton Court Stakes over 10 furlongs on June 22 is now on the cards for the son of Australia.
Walker confirmed: “I think we will go back to 10 furlongs. He came out of it well and the Hampton Court is the plan. I hope the race doesn’t come too soon, but that’s the plan. The quicker the ground the better for him, really.”
Plans thereafter remain fluid, although the Lambourn handler believes the colt’s future could lie in the Far East.
“Obviously the Siu family, who own him, have lots of horses in training in Hong Kong,” added Walker.
“His half-brother which they owned, Waikuku, was a Group One winner in Hong Kong, having finished runner-up in the (Hong Kong) Derby in 2019, and if he’s not looking like competing at the highest level here in the UK, I think there is a good chance they will understandably take him to Hong Kong.
“It’s kind of my job description for them to identify horses for them and qualify horses for Hong Kong. If he can’t be winning the best races in the UK, then he’ll probably win a lot more money in Hong Kong than he will here.
“There’s a chance he will get his head back in front, (and) he’ll stay here. We’ll see what happens at Ascot and go from there.”
England’s Aaron Rai claimed a share of the lead after the first round of the Canadian Open with compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick a shot behind as he warmed up for his US Open title defence.
Rai recovered from a terrible start to shoot a five-under-par 67 to sit alongside Corey Connors – looking to become the first Canadian winner in 69 winners – and American pair Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower.
A week before the US Open in Los Angeles, Fitzpatrick’s bid for a third PGA Tour title began with a four-under-par 68 at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
Having started on the back nine, the 28-year-old fired five birdies and would have been sharing the lead were it not for a bogey on his penultimate hole of the day.
He was one of nine players on 68, ahead of an even larger group on three-under-par which included former US Open champion Justin Rose and fellow English duo Callum Tarren and Harry Hall.
Rai had looked in all sorts of trouble after dropping four shots in three successive holes from the third to slump to three over, but he turned things round in remarkable fashion.
After recording birdies on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn on one over, the 28-year-old from Wolverhampton picked up further shots on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th – where he came close to making a hole in one – 16th and 18th to move to five under.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy, whose build-up to the tournament saw him fielding questions about the shock merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, was one under after an eventful opening 71 that included five birdies and four bogeys.
“At the end of the day, this is business and my job is playing golf,” said McIlroy. “The more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that’s happened in the boardroom, I’ll be much happier.
The world number three is seeking a hat-trick of victories at the Canadian Open following triumphs in 2019 and 2022, with the tournament having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.
McIlroy was one behind England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Knox, whose fellow Scot Martin Laird was among those on one-under-par. Tyrell Hatton and Ireland’s Shane Lowry both opened with level par 72s.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick will defend his title when the 123rd US Open takes place at Los Angeles Country Club from June 15-18.
Fitzpatrick is bidding to join Brooks Koepka (2017-18) in winning back-to-back title as the US Open returns to LA for the first time since 1948.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year’s third major championship.
Brooks Koepka
Koepka won the US Open at Erin Hills in 2017 and triumphed again 12 months later at Shinnecock Hills, making him the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win back-to-back titles. He also won the US PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019 before suffering career-threatening injuries and a loss of form, but won his third US PGA and fifth major title at Oak Hill last month. Koepka now has more major wins than regular PGA Tour titles and looks set to be a factor in the game’s biggest events for years to come.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler was unable to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods in winning successive Masters titles, although a share of 10th at Augusta ensured his worst result in 2023 remarkably remains a tie for 12th in the Genesis Invitational. He finished joint second behind Koepka in the US PGA and third in the Memorial Tournament, both times being let down by his putting. The world number one leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee and tee to green, as well as greens in regulation, but is ranked just 114th in total putting.
Jon Rahm
Rahm’s brilliant early-season form had taken a slight dip before the Masters and he then four-putted the first hole at Augusta National, but the 2021 US Open winner responded superbly to shoot an opening 65 on his way to a four-shot victory and second major title. He recovered from an opening 76 to make the cut in the US PGA, but finished a distant 50th and was 16th in the Memorial after shooting four over par over the weekend.
Max Homa
Homa has yet to record a top-10 finish in 15 major appearances, with a best result of 13th in the 2022 US PGA, but the California native has won four of his six PGA Tour titles in his home state and set the course record of 61 at Los Angeles Country Club on his way to winning the prestigious Pac-12 title in 2013. The field averaged 73.29 on the par-70 layout when Homa carded nine birdies in his bogey-free round; he also three-putted the par-five eighth for par.
Patrick Cantlay
Another California native, Cantlay held the course record at LACC until it was broken by Homa and has played there a lot as it re-opened after renovation work in 2010, shortly before Cantlay began attending UCLA. The world number four has made the cut in all seven US Open appearances to date – he was low amateur in 2011 – and has recorded five top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2023, including a tie for ninth in the US PGA after a closing 66.
Golf’s major championships have always stood out from the crowd, but perhaps now more than ever.
Just as a relatively stable status quo seemed to have been established in the men’s professional game, Tuesday’s announcement of a peace deal between golf’s warring factions ironically plunged it back into turmoil.
Rory McIlroy admitted he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” and still “hated” LIV Golf, stressing that those players who he felt had done irreparable harm to the PGA Tour and started litigation against it would not be welcomed back with open arms.
On the other side of the coin, some of the players who pocketed eye-watering sums of money to join the breakaway understandably gloated on social media as it looked like they would be able to have their cake and eat it after all.
Exactly how the shock merger of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour’s commercial operations with those of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV, shakes out remains to be seen.
But for now, the Masters, US PGA Championship, US Open and The Open potentially offer welcome refuge from the world of secretive deals and morally questionable sources of money which threaten to permanently taint the world’s biggest Tours.
Which brings us to the 123rd US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, a largely unknown venue in professional golf which staged the Los Angeles Open five times, most recently in 1940.
The North Course did also host the Walker Cup in 2017 as a United States team featuring current world number one Scottie Scheffler, two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and PGA Tour winners Will Zalatoris and Cameron Champ thrashed Great Britain and Ireland 19-7.
Six years on, Scheffler will contest the first US Open in Los Angeles since 1948 on a remarkable run of form as he bids to claim a second major title following his Masters triumph in 2022.
As well as winning the prestigious Players Championship and defending his title in the WM Phoenix Open, Scheffler has finished runner-up in the US PGA Championship and been no worse than 12th in 13 events in 2023, despite being hampered by a decidedly misfiring putter.
Third place in the Memorial Tournament was achieved on the back of gaining 20.74 strokes from tee to green, the second-best performance since the PGA Tour began tracking such data 20 years ago.
And his ball striking needed to be outstanding because Scheffler lost 8.58 strokes to the field on the greens, ranking him dead last of those to make the cut at Muirfield Village.
“I feel like I’m making progress,” Scheffler insisted after his closing 67. “I can start feeling the ball coming off the blade again, which is good. Even today, I just go through my round and I’m like ‘how did some of these putts not go in?'”
If Scheffler finds the answer to that question he will be a hard man to beat, but he faces stiff competition from the likes of US PGA winner Brooks Koepka and Masters champion Jon Rahm, perhaps along with the likes of course record holder Max Homa and defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
A fit-again Koepka bounced back from the disappointment of failing to convert a 54-hole lead at Augusta National to win his fifth major title at Oak Hill, looking every inch the player who won the US Open in 2017 and 2018.
Afterwards, Koepka was more concerned about his own achievement than the implications of becoming the first LIV player to win a major, and just 16 days later that debate was seemingly rendered moot by news of the shock merger.
As for what happens next, all bets are off.
Carter Verhaeghe scored 4:27 into overtime and the Florida Panthers rallied for a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday to cut their deficit in the Stanley Cup Final to 2-1.
Vegas appeared headed for a 3-0 series lead with a lead late in regulation, but Matthew Tkachuk scored off a rebound with 2:13 remaining to force the extra period.
After the Panthers killed off a penalty to start overtime, Verhaeghe scored on Florida’s first shot of the extra session by firing a wrister from the high slot through traffic and past Adin Hill.
Brandon Montour also scored and Sergei Bobrovksy stopped 25 shots as the Panthers notched their first-ever win in the Stanley Cup Final after they were swept by Colorado in 1996.
Florida improved to 7-0 in overtime in these playoffs, recording more wins in OT than in regulation.
Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone had power-play goals for Vegas. Marchessault’s goal was his 13th in his last 13 playoff games and his fourth of the series.
Florida lost Tkachuk early in the first period after he took a big hit from Vegas’ Keegan Kolesar. Tkachuk missed the rest of the period but returned a few minutes into the second.
Game 4 is Saturday in Florida.
One of the key architects to the deal between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the rival LIV Golf has called for people on all sides “to come together”.
Jimmy Dunne, an independent director of the PGA Tour Board, played a key role in the approaches to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the backers of LIV – and persuading PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan to consider a deal.
He broke the news of the merger to his friend Rory McIlroy, who said he felt like “a sacrificial lamb” and “hated” LIV Golf, but Dunne called for the rival factions to unite.
He told Golf Channel: “The reality is that we need to come together as people. We have too much divisiveness.
“At some point in time – whether it’s our view of the Japanese or our view of the Germans – there is a point in time where you have to say, let’s try to get to know one another.
“Let’s try to understand, let’s try to demonstrate by example.”
The golfing controversy is mirrored by claims of Saudi sportwashing amid criticism of human rights and abuses and connections with the 9/11 attacks – a group representing families of victims accusing Monahan and PGA Tour leaders of “hypocrisy and greed”.
Dunne’s company was based in the World Trade Centre and lost 66 employees in the attack. He only missed being in the building because he was playing in a golf tournament.
“Every day, the first thing I think about is (Sept 11)… several times during the day I think about it and the last thing I think about at night is that,” the 65-year-old told the Golf Channel. “That has not changed since that day. And I’m not alone in that.
“I would guarantee that every one of those family members has that same condition. It is just a reality of how unbelievably sad and awful that day was.”
He continued: “I’m quite certain – and I’ve had conversations with a lot of very knowledgeable people – that the people I’m dealing with had nothing to do with 9/11.
“If someone can find someone who unequivocally was involved with it, I’ll kill them myself. We don’t have to wait around.”
England’s Aaron Rai claimed a share of the lead after the first round of the Canadian Open as compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick was a shot behind as he warmed up for his US Open title defence.
Rai recovered from a terrible start to shoot a five-under-par 67 to sit alongside Corey Connors – looking to become the first Canadian winner in 69 winners – and American pair Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower.
A week before the US Open in Los Angeles, Fitzpatrick’s bid for a third PGA Tour title with a four-under-par 68 at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
Having started on the back nine, the 28-year-old fired five birdies and would have been sharing the lead were it not for a bogey on his penultimate hole of the day.
He was one of nine players on 68, ahead of an even larger group on three-under-par which included former US Open champion Justin Rose and fellow English duo Callum Tarren and Harry Hall.
Rai had looked in all sorts of trouble after dropping four shots in three successive holes from the third to slump to three over, but he turned things round in remarkable fashion.
After recording birdies on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn on one over, the 28-year-old from Wolverhampton picked up further shots on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th – where he came close to making a hole in one – 16th and 18th to move to five under.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy, whose build-up to the tournament saw him fielding questions about the shock merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, was one under after an eventful opening 71 that included five birdies and four bogeys.
“At the end of the day, this is business and my job is playing golf,” said McIlroy. “The more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that’s happened in the boardroom, I’ll be much happier.
The world number three is seeking a hat-trick of victories at the Canadian Open following triumphs in 2019 and 2022, with the tournament having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.
McIlroy was one behind England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Russell Knox, whose fellow Scot Martin Laird was among those on one-under-par. Tyrell Hatton and Ireland’s Shane Lowry both opened with level par 72s.
Karolina Muchova produced one of the shocks of the French Open by upsetting Aryna Sabalenka to reach her first grand slam final.
Muchova came from 5-2 down in the final set, saving a match point, to win 7-6 (5) 6-7 (5) 7-5 and will take on defending champion Iga Swiatek, who survived her first test, beating Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2 7-6 (7).
Miyu Kato found Paris redemption in the mixed doubles, winning the title with German Tim Puetz after her disqualification from the women’s doubles.
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The men’s finalists will be decided at Roland Garros on Friday.
The blockbuster match comes first up when world number one Carlos Alcaraz meets Novak Djokovic for only the second time in a generational clash for supremacy in the men’s game.
The second encounter, meanwhile, sees Casper Ruud trying to make a second final in two years against Alexander Zverev, whose semi-final here last year against Rafael Nadal ended with him leaving the court in a wheelchair.
Antiguan cyclist Andre Simon passed away at a medical facility in Houston, Texas on Thursday, his family confirmed.
Simon’s death comes 13 months after he was left physically paralyzed after being hit by a car along with fellow cyclists Sean Weathered, Ghere Coates and Tiziano Rosignoli along the Sir George Walter Highway.
Simon was airlifted to the US after the accident where he continued to receive treatment.
He was 35-years-old.
His family also thanked all who were involved in the valiant efforts made to assist him.
Aidan O’Brien’s Buttons just grasped a debut success in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden at Leopardstown.
The two-year-old is by Kingman and out of the 2011 Oaks runner-up Wonder Of Wonders, with Ryan Moore opting to ride her ahead of her equally well-bred stablemate Content.
Wayne Lordan took the ride on the latter, by Galileo out of Mecca’s Angel, and the two were engaged in a very tight finish with Ger Lyons’ Serious notions.
On the line Content was visibly beaten, but the judge had to split the other two fillies and Buttons was eventually announced the winner by a nose.
“We’re delighted with her. We rushed her a little bit to get her out because we thought she could be a Chesham filly, but Ryan just said she’s too babyish for that,” said O’Brien.
“We’ll just pull back and give her a bit of time before we go again.
“Ryan said even though she’s by Kingman she will stay and seven (furlongs) would be her minimum. She was green turning and everything. She’s a very well-bred filly.
“Wayne’s filly finished very strong and she’s a well-bred filly as well.”
O’Brien and Moore did miss out when the strong late charge of Salt Lake City proved not enough to overhaul 15-8 favourite Moon De Vega and Billy Lee in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Glencairn Stakes.
The market leader hit the front deep inside the final furlong when taking over from Vega Magnifico and ultimately had a neck to spare over the Ballydoyle runner.
The winner was making it two from two since joining Paddy Twomey, who said: “She’s a nice filly to have. She won her winners’ race and now she’s after winning her Listed race.
“I thought initially that nine furlongs might be a bit sharp for her, but she did it well in Gowran over nine and a half and Billy said there that she’s very comfortable at that distance.
“I’d say she’ll go for the Kilboy Stakes on Oaks weekend, it’s nine furlongs and a Group Three. That would be the logical next step.
“We haven’t been hard on her at home so hopefully she can keep improving.”
Matt Fitzpatrick was one shot off the clubhouse lead jointly held by fellow Englishman Aaron Rai midway through the first round of the Canadian Open.
A week before his US Open defence, Fitzpatrick began his bid for a third career PGA Tour title in steady fashion with a four-under-par 68 at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
The 28-year-old, having started on the back nine, rolled in five birdies before a bogey on his penultimate hole of the day – the 352 par-four eighth – left him one shot behind the early leaders, which included Rai.
Rai had looked in all sorts of trouble after dropping four shots in three successive holes from the third to slump to three over, but he turned things round in remarkable fashion.
After recording birdies on the seventh and eighth to reach the turn on one over, the 28-year-old from Wolverhampton then picked up further shots on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th – where he came close to making a hole in one – 16th and 18th to move to five under.
That left him in a four-way share of first place with American pair Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower, and home hope Corey Conners.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy, whose build-up to the tournament saw him fielding questions about the shock merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, was one under after an eventful opening 71 that included five birdies and four bogeys.
The world number three is seeking a hat-trick of victories at the Canadian Open following triumphs in 2019 and 2022, with the tournament having been cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.
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