Sports briefs
By Associated Press
Masters champ Scheffler posts a 63 and leads the RBC Heritage by one shot
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. | Scottie Scheffler drilled his opening tee shot — straight down the middle, of course — with a grandstand packed with spectators behind him. What got his attention was when he looked back from the green and saw that it was empty.
Thousands of fans didn’t want to miss the Masters champion on Saturday in the RBC Heritage, and Scheffler didn’t disappoint.
His shots were like lasers into the greens as he quickly worked his way into the lead and stayed there. One last birdie on the 18th hole at Harbour Town gave Scheffler a bogey-free 63 and a one-shot lead over Sepp Straka.
“It felt to me like the crowd was coming with me today, and there was definitely a lot of cheers out there,” Scheffler said. “I’ve always enjoyed playing in front of a crowd. It may not look like I’m paying much attention to them out there, but I can feel their energy, and it’s great to have the support.”
He won a green jacket last week, perhaps a plaid jacket from Harbour Town this week. Scheffler wasn’t kidding when he talked about how much he hates to lose.
At stake Sunday is a fourth win in his last five starts, and a chance to become the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win the Masters and the next PGA Tour stop on the schedule. The only other Masters champion to do that was Gary Player in 1978.
“I think when I’m playing my best, sometimes it feels like I’m competing against myself a little bit out there, trying to keep pushing and stay as focused as I can,” Scheffler said.
“At the end of the day, we’re out here competing against the best players in the world. I love competing against these guys, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of coming out and competing tomorrow.”
Scheffler was at 16-under 197. Straka made a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 65 to get within one shot. They will be in the final group Sunday, with a different wind and thunderstorms in the forecast.
Two-time major Collin Morikawa made one mistake late, coming up short of the 16th green and missing a 10-foot par putt. He had a 68 and was two shots behind. Masters runner-up Ludvig Aberg (68) was among those three shots back.
All of them are chasing the No. 1 player in the world in the midst of a dominant stretch of golf not seen since Tiger Woods in his prime.
Scheffler has gone 51 consecutive holes at par or better at Harbour Town. He posted his 39th consecutive round at par or better dating to the Tour Championship last August.
“I think we all expect him to play well, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Aberg said. “All I try to do is focus on myself and make sure that I hit the shots the way I want to and then see where that takes me.”
Scheffler started three shots behind and already was tied for the lead with a tee shot to a pin at the back right corner of the 221-yard seventh hole, converting a 10-foot birdie.
Even the bad breaks led to birdies. On the reachable par-4 ninth, his drive stopped short of the bunker on a down slope of grass, leaving him a flop shot to a short pin with the green running away from him. All he could manage was a pitch to 35 feet. He rammed home the birdie putt, and never really stopped until finishing with a 7-foot birdie on the 18th.
For a moment, it was setting up as a duel with Aberg, the Swedish stud who has been a pro for 10 months and already is regarded as Scheffler’s biggest threat because he never seems to miss. But he missed a drive on the 12th into the trees and made bogey to fall out of a share of the lead, and Aberg had to settle for pars the rest of the way.
The crowds were particularly large in the warm and sunshine, often lining the entire fairway two- and three-deep to watch golf’s newest sensation. Scheffler has three wins and a runner-up finish in his last four tournaments.
The only player to beat him was Stephan Jaeger by one shot in the Houston Open — Scheffler missed a 5-foot putt that would have forced a playoff. They played together for the first time since then and Jaeger held his own with a 67.
Against Scheffler these days, that’s just not enough.
Scheffler wasn’t entirely prepared for this week. Winning can be draining, even more when it involves a Masters green jacket. He flew home to Dallas on Sunday night, spent two days with his pregnant wife, managed nine holes of a pro-am at Harbour Town and here he is again.
Patrick Rodgers is the only player within five shots of Scheffler who has yet to win on the PGA Tour. The former Stanford star has felt his game was in a good place and he was hopeful of getting another chance. And then he saw Scheffler’s name starting to rise on the scoreboards as he was starting his round. Rodgers hung in there with a 68.
“It feels inevitable at this point,” Rodgers said. “His ball-striking is incredible. For me to have a chance tomorrow, I’m going to have to play 18 great holes. And I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Maroulis becomes first U.S. female wrestler to qualify for three Olympic teams
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Helen Maroulis, the first American woman to win a wrestling gold medal, became the first U.S. female wrestler to qualify for three Summer Games as she earned a spot Saturday night on the American team for Paris.
Maroulis, competing at 57 kilograms, dominated former Olympian Jacarra Winchester in a best-of-three series.
The two-time Olympic medalist Maroulis topped Winchester with a pin in the first match and a 6-0 decision in the second, sweeping the series. With a bloodied nose, Maroulis bowed to a sea of cheering fans before having her arm raised by the official at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s campus.
“It just makes me think back to myself as a little girl, and if you told me that I was gonna do this, I don’t think I would’ve believed you,” Maroulis said, adding she wasn’t aware she was breaking a record.
Maroulis became the first woman wrestler to win two Olympic medals for the United States when she earned bronze at 57 kg in Tokyo. Now 32, she captured her gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I definitely think that I’m coming into a peak season right now,” Maroulis said.
A Maryland native, Maroulis wrestles and trains with the powerhouse Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club in Arizona.
Winchester was an Olympian for the United States at 53 kg in Tokyo and was a world champion in 2019 at 55 kg. Winchester was originally slated to wrestle at 53 kg but didn’t make the weight cutoff, forcing her up to 57 kg.
All six of the women who were earning spots on the U.S. team Saturday qualify directly for the Olympic tournament in Paris this summer, avoiding an international qualifying tournament.
Dave McCarty, former Royal and member of 2004 Red Sox championship team, dies at 54
BOSTON | Dave McCarty, a member of the Boston Red Sox championship team in 2004 who played with seven MLB teams in an 11-year career, has died. He was 54.
The Red Sox announced McCarty’s death in a statement, saying the former first baseman and outfielder died Friday after suffering a cardiac event in Oakland, California.
McCarty was in Boston earlier this month and was at Fenway Park as part of the club’s 20-year celebration of the ‘04 championship team that claimed the World Series for the first time since 1918.
McCarty played his last three seasons in the majors with the Red Sox from 2003-05. In 118 games with Boston, he hit .286, with five home runs. He appeared in 89 games in Boston’s title-winning season, with 25 starts at first base and six in the outfield, in addition to three pitching appearances.
A native of Houston, Texas, he was selected by Minnesota in the first round, third overall, of the 1991 draft out of Stanford. After three seasons with the Twins (1993-95), he went on to play for the San Francisco Giants (1995-96), Seattle Mariners (1998), Kansas City Royals (2000-02), Tampa Bay Rays (2002) and Oakland A’s (2003) before closing his career in Boston.
McCarty batted .242 with 362 hits, 36 home runs and 175 RBIs in 630 big league games.
After ending his playing career, McCarty was an analyst for the New England Sports Network from the summer of 2005 through the 2008 MLB season.
Ruud beats Tsitsipas to win Barcelona Open for biggest career title a week after loss in Monte Carlo
BARCELONA, Spain | Casper Ruud took his revenge against Stefanos Tsitsipas by winning the Barcelona Open final in straight sets on Sunday for his biggest career title, a week after losing to the Greek in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
Ruud won 7-5, 6-3 for his first title of the season after losing the three other finals he played this year.
“Honestly, this has been worth the wait,” Ruud said after the triumph in Barcelona. “A lot of finals that I’ve lost have been tough, a bit disappointing, of course. Any time you reach a final, it’s nonetheless a good week, so you can’t be too hard on yourself, but this one has been a long time coming.”
Seventh-ranked Tsitsipas had comfortably won in straight sets in Monte Carlo but this time Ruud prevailed, converting three of the six break points he earned.
“I’m super happy to do it here in Barcelona in front of a packed stadium and on Rafa Nadal Court,” the sixth-ranked Ruud said. “It’s special to me because I looked up to him (Nadal) all my childhood, came here myself as a 13-year-old boy to watch him and the others play here. It’s a great feeling.”
Ruud is eyeing next month’s French Open after finishing runner-up at Roland Garros last year, one of three Grand Slam finals he has lost.
The 25-year-old Norwegian snapped a 10-match winning streak for Tsitsipas, who was 10-0 on clay this season and was seeking his 12th career title. Tsitsipas had lost all three of his previous Barcelona finals — in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
It was the 11th career title for Ruud, and the 10th on clay. His last title had been in Estoril in April 2023.
—From AP reports
