Report:Charlie Woods finishes in three-way tie for 32nd in American Junior Golf Association debut

May 20, 2024

Charlie Woods finishes in three-way tie for 32nd in American Junior Golf Association debut

Charlie Woods had a rough start to his American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) debut last weekend at the Will Lowery Junior Championship.

Woods shot 21-over-par and finished in a three-way tie for 32nd place with Jack Michael and Spencer Mills while the winner of the event, Patmon Malcom, finished at -7.

Woods turned in rounds of 78, 81 and 78 in the three-round event held at the Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, North Carolina.

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Charlie made his AJGA debut on a sponsor’s exemption, according to TW Legion, and his father, Tiger, was spotted at the event, according to reports.

Golfer Charlie Woods shows off his new ring with his father, Tiger Woods, during a ceremony to celebrate The Benjamin School boys golf team 2023 state championship on March 26, 2024 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.More

Earlier this week, Tiger Woods and his ex-wife Elin Nordegren attended a ceremony for the Benjamin School golf team, which featured their son Charlie, as team members received state championship rings, according to Golfweek.

Sherlon Christie is a social media editor for USA TODAY Sports. Contact Sherlon at [email protected] or on X @sherlonchristie

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie Woods finishes in three-way tie for 32nd place in AJGA debut

Vancouver Canucks right-winger Brock Boeser out for decisive Game 7: report

VANCOUVER — Canucks star Brock Boeser will miss Game 7 of Vancouver’s second-round playoff series Monday against the Edmonton Oilers, according to reports.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, citing several unnamed sources, was first to report Sunday that the 27-year-old right-winger is dealing with a blood clotting issue that is not considered life threatening.

Boeser has seven goals and five assists in 12 playoff appearances this year, and recorded career highs in goals (40) and points (73) during the regular-season campaign.

He logged 18 minutes and 40 seconds in ice time during Vancouver’s 5-1 loss to Edmonton in Game 6 on Saturday, and did not appear to be dealing with any injuries when he spoke with reporters after the game.

Boeser did not practise with the Canucks on Sunday. The team did not comment on Boeser’s status.

The best-of-seven series is tied at 3-3 and the winner of Monday’s game will face the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference final, which starts Thursday in Texas.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2024.

Xander Schauffele wins first major at PGA Championship in a thriller at Valhalla

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele faced yet another major champion down the stretch and this time delivered some magic of his own. He swirled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the PGA Championship for his first major championship in another thriller at Valhalla.

The birdie putt denied Bryson DeChambeau — and LIV Golf — a chance at another major title and put Schauffele in the record book with the lowest 72-hole score in major championship history.

“I just kept telling myself, ‘I need to earn this — earn this and be in the moment.’ And I was able to do that,” Schauffele said. “I don’t really remember it lipping in. I just heard everyone roaring and I just looked up to the sky in relief.”

And with that, the Olympic gold medalist got something even more valuable in silver — that enormous Wanamaker Trophy after a wild week at Valhalla.

He closed with a 6-under 65 to beat DeChambeau, who was entertaining to the very end by turning a huge break into an unlikely birdie on the 16th hole and a 10-foot birdie on the par-5 18th for a 64.

“Shot 20-under par in a major championship,” DeChambeau said. “Definitely disappointing, but one that gives me a lot of momentum for the rest of the majors.”

Schauffele became the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2005 at Baltusrol to win the PGA Championship with a birdie on the last hole to win by one.

And this took all he had.

He already had mud on his golf ball on two key holes along the back nine that kept him from attacking the flag. His drive on the 17th bounced back into a bunker, forcing him to scramble for par and stay tied with DeChambeau, who had finished two groups ahead of him. And then his tee shot rolled just far enough toward the edge of a bunker to present another problem.

Schauffele had to stand with his feet in the sand, gripping well down on the 4-iron, aiming out to the right and hoping for the best. He drilled a beauty, some 35 yards short but with a good angle. He pitched to 6 feet and was never closer to finally winning a major.

“I told myself this is my opportunity — capture it,” Schauffele said.

The putt broke just enough left to catch the left edge of the cup and swirled around before disappearing. Schauffele, who exudes California chill, raised both arms above his head with the biggest smile before a hard hug with Austin Kaiser, his caddie and former teammate at San Diego State.

DeChambeau was on the range, staying loose for a potential playoff, watching Schauffele from a large video board. He saw the winning putt fall, and walked all the way back to the 18th to join in with so many other players wanting to congratulate the 30-year-old.

Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship last year and remains the only LIV Golf player to win a major. DeChambeau was closer to matching him.

“I gave it my all. I put as much effort as I possibly could into it and I knew that my B game would be enough,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just clearly somebody played incredibly well. Xander’s well deserving of a major championship.”

Viktor Hovland, the FedEx Cup champion who wasn’t sure he even belonged at Valhalla while trying to work his way out of a slump, also had a 10-foot putt after DeChambeau hit his to tie for the lead. He missed the birdie, then missed a meaningless par putt and shot 66 to finish third.

Schauffele, who began this championship with a 62 to tie the major championship record, finished at 21-under 263 with that winning birdie. That beats by one shot the major record previously shared by Koepka in the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive and Henrik Stenson in the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon.

And so ended another memorable week at Valhalla.

Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who arrived five days after the birth of his first child, was arrested and briefly jailed on Friday morning for not following directions of police investigating a fatal car crash involving a pedestrian an hour earlier.

He got out of jail and to the course in time to play the second round and shot 66. But it caught up with him on the weekend. Scheffler fell out of contention with a 73 on Saturday — his first round over par since last August. He closed with a 65 to tie for eighth.

Two players — Schauffele on Thursday and Shane Lowry on Saturday — tied the major record with a 62. Scoring records seemed to fall just about every day on a rain-softened course.

All that, and it came down to one putt that Schauffele will never forget.

But then, he was great from the start when he holed a 30-foot birdie putt at No. 1 to break out of a tie with Collin Morikawa. Schauffele went out in 31 and figured he had a comfortable lead, only to see a board that showed DeChambeau and Hovland in close pursuit.

And then Schauffele made a soft bogey on the par-5 10th, the easiest hold at Valhalla, and he suddenly was tied. He had runner-up finishes to Scheffler at The Players, to Rory McIlroy last week at Quail Hollow.

Kaiser recalls Schauffele telling him, “We’ve got to go get it.”

He hit 7-iron to 8 feet for birdie on the 11th, another 7-iron to 6 feet for birdie on the 12th and the lead was restored. He held on with pars from mud balls, and with a clutch save on the 17th, setting up a moment that was all his.

In so many ways, this time was overdue. He had gone nearly two years since last winning at the Scottish Open. Schauffele had eight consecutive finishes in the top 20 at majors coming into Valhalla. He already had a pair of runner-up finishes and six top 5s.

In the last two months alone, he lost 54-hole leads when he was chased down by Scheffler’s 64 at The Players Championship and by McIlroy’s 65 at the Wells Fargo Championship.

The victory was his eighth on the PGA Tour — that doesn’t include his Olympic gold from the Tokyo Games in 2021. This one moves him to a career-best No. 2 in the world, still a long way from Scheffler but assuring Schauffele of qualifying for the U.S. team in the Olympics.