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Wow, what a weekend, right?
Let’s get to it.
Weekend winners
› Harris English. The Baylor School golfer delivered the best round Sunday at the PGA Championship. It was nowhere close enough to catch you know who — more on the SS Golfing Machine in a moment — but English’s final-round 65 moved him from 36th ($83,630) Sunday morning to T2 Sunday evening. He made $1,418,667 for sharing runner-up honors.
› Caitlin Clark. Look, there is no greater face of any team sport league these days. How’s this for a cool stat? Her season-opening triple-double in Indiana’s rout of Chicago — and arch-rivalry Angel Reese — was Clark’s third in her WNBA career. That is now tied with Candace Parker for the third most ever in league history. Clark has played one season and one game. Clark was also called for a flagrant foul on Reese, which sparked a little hubbub. I thought it was a good basketball play.
› Journalism. No fake news here. My pick for the Derby delivered in the Preakness.
› UTC hoops. Dan Earl got a six-year extension, and I truly believe that dude gets it. Mocs will be a SoCon contender as long as Earl is in town.
› SEC softball. Nine of the 16 teams in the Super Regionals are from the SEC, and that’s after 14 of the league’s 15 teams made the NCAA tournament. Wow.
Weekend losers
› All the off-the-court noise. The WNBA is investigating alleged “hateful comments” made toward Reese after her altercation with Clark by Indiana fans. And the racial hyperbole is tiring. This article says the rivalry is “a mirror for American bigotry.” PUH-lease. Was Bird-Magic? Is Mahomes-Allen? And the cries for “not enough attention on the rest of the league” when Clark gets mentioned seem short-sighted in terms of the benefits for the WNBA as a whole and the business model of sports media.
› Texas A&M softball. The No. 1 Aggies were bounced in the College Station Regional, becoming the first top-national overall seed not to make the Super Regionals.
› Game 7 drama. The Thunder crushed the Nuggets, and the ever-forlorn Toronto Maple Leafs were waxed 6-1 in win-or-turn-in-the-gear playoff games.
› Paul Skenes’ run support. Man, dude is the best 3-5 pitcher ever. He has a 2.44 ERA and has allowed 17 earned runs in 10 starts. And he’s 3-5.
› The late Sunday afternoon challengers without the initials S.S. at the PGA. Man, that felt like it could have been the Travelers or the Truist more than a major with the way everyone not named Scottie folded like lawn chairs. I’ve felt more drama from a Carrot Top double feature.
Scottie and rarefied air
I think we have hit Tiger Woods territory with Scottie Scheffler.
> Three golfers in the last 100 years have collected 15 Tour wins and three majors before turning 29. They are Jack, Tiger and Scottie.
> Since collecting his first Tour win at Phoenix in 2022, Scottie’s 15 victories are as many as the combined total of Rory, Xander, Morikawa and JT (the world golf ranking’s second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-ranked players in the world respectively).
> Scottie’s now eight-for-his-late in closing tournaments when he has the 54-hole lead.
> From The Athletic: “The only other players to win so much, so early? Tiger Woods (1996 to 1999) in 3 years, 32 days, and Jack Nicklaus (1962 to 1965) in 3 years and 45 days. Scheffler has done it in 3 years, 94 days.” Wow, and Scottie has 15 wins in his last 70 starts. Read that again.
Scheffler won the tournament on Saturday, when he played a nearly perfect 18 holes that statistically were off-the-charts great.
Golf stats folks say he hit eight perfect shots, including a 305-yard 3-wood to within a yard of the hole for eagle on the short par-4 14th that highlighted his third-round 65.
Scottie’s place among the one-name all-timers will have to be leveraged with enduring dominance, but the state of his game — and maybe the game of his peers — leaves us with a very familiar question that became the rage when Tiger was at the height of his powers, especially at the big events.
Because, like Tiger, Scottie pushes, powers and perseveres at the highest-profile non-majors too. He has won Jack’s tournament and twice at Sawgrass.
So, when the U.S. Open and the Open Championship come rolling around later this summer, golf is back to its major conversation starter:
“You picking Scottie or the field?’
This and that
› SNL’s 50th season finale was over the weekend. I did not watch. But I think the traditional joke swap from Colin Jost and Michael Che is genius. Here is this year’s.
› Wow, an emotional end to the Bradley Central-Siegel high school baseball game seen in this clip. What do you think about the play at the plate, safe or out?
› Excellent Spring Fling primer here from TFP sports editor Stephen Hargis.
› That Andrew Fischer reached base safely in every UT baseball game is pretty amazing. Here’s more from Paschall.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners and losers. Go.
As for Multiple Choice Monday, let’s try this:
Which current athlete is the most dominant in his/her sport?
— Scottie
— Patrick Mahomes
— Shohei Ohtani
— Katie Ledecky
— Other (specify).
As for today, May 19, let’s review:
Andre the Giant would be 78 today.
Secretariat won the 1973 Preakness on this day in 1:54.
Boston retired Bobby Doerr’s No. 1 on this day in 1988.
Rushmore of the best sports stars to wear No. 1.
Go.