Shane Lowry came into Sunday’s fourth and final round of the Open Championship with a huge four shot lead, though many felt he was ripe for the picking seeing as how he had let go of such a lead once before. That would not come to fruition on this day, however, as Lowry not only playing steadily but pulled away in difficult conditions to capture the Claret Jug via a six-stroke victory. The turning point came when both he and playing partner Tommy Fleetwood, who was four shots back at the time, had trouble on the 14th hole. Lowry managed to make a bogey, but Fleetwood dropped back another stroke thanks to a double bogey, handing Lowry a five-shot lead. A hole later, it was six, and he wouldn’t look back then. The Irishman took down the title of Champion Golfer in Northern Ireland and became just the third man to win the tournament by six or more in the last 40 years. History was thwarted in the battle for third place, with Tony Finau holding off Brooks Koepka. Had Koepka finished top three, he would have been the first man to have ever finished in the top three spots in all four majors.
The San Francisco Giants have been surging of late in the NL West, so much so that they are now no longer clear ‘sellers’ for the upcoming trade deadline. Some opine, and these may be wishful thinkers, that they could actually be active buyers. Regardless of that, they got back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon after a minor blip, thanks to a 12th inning home run by Mike Yastrzemski that won them the game 3-2 over the New York Mets. In their last 18 games, they have won 15 times and are now 50-50. They are still a long, long way back from the Dodgers, 16 complete games, but there is very much a chance- if they can keep up this trend- for them to make the playoffs as a Wild Card. It’s players like Yaz and co. that have kept them in it, by hook or by crook, in manager Bruce Bochy’s final season.
It was absolutely devastating to hear about Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Kendrick Norton’s amputated arm earlier this month thanks to a car accident. Having finally been released from the hospital sometime last week, Norton got some more good news yesterday as it was announced that he would be placed on the non-football injury list. Though the Dolphins are waiving him, since they need his spot on the roster for someone else, they will still pay him his full salary. All the while it will not count toward the cap. It may seem expected, but it’s a very nice gesture and one the NFL definitely needed to have make the rounds.
